How-To: Make Backup Copies Of Your DVDs (XP/Vista)

After the wonderful Thanksgiving dinner you promised to show the kids the movie Ratatuee, or some equally kid-friendly film, with the goal of shutting them up for just a couple hours. You open the DVD box, their eyes glued to your every move, only to find the DVD is missing. Now you have deal with pack of whinny DVD-hungry kids, or maybe this is not your fate? Perhaps you made a backup copy of your movie, or you want to.

Let me show you how.

Copying a DVD is just like copying a VHS tape...ok, I lied. It takes more time and effort, but the results are worth it. Furthermore, it is within your copyright rights to make a personal copy to protect your DVD investment.

Copying a DVD to DVD
What you will need:

• The DVD you purchased
• A computer with a DVD writer drive (DVD+/-RW Drive)
• A blank DVD-R or DVD+R
• Free or Not Free Software (based on your situation)

Windows XP/Vista

1. Download, insall, and run the software DVD Decrypter (free) to copy the DVD data.
1. Insert your DVD movie into the computer.
2. Under the menu bar select Mode -> ISO -> Read
3. Select your DVD Drive under where it says "Source".
4. Look at the information on the right side and find the Number of Layers.
1. If it says "1", then we can easily copy the DVD.
2. If it says "2", then we will have to compress the DVD.
5. In DVD Decrypter we just determined if your DVD is a single or double layer disc. This is important information because you will be copying your movie to a blank single layer disc. If the movie is on a double layer disc, it will have to be compressed to fit on a blank single layer disc.
2. For a single layer disc
1. Under where it says "Destination", select where you would like the DVD data to be temporarily saved. It will be saved as a ISO file (.iso).
2. Click on the image of (DVD) > [Hard Drive] to begin copying. This should take 10-30 minutes.
3. When it is finished copying, select Mode -> ISO -> Write, under the menu bar.
4. Select the ISO file (.iso) that you just saved, under "Source".
5. Under "Destination", select your DVD Writer Drive (DVD-RW).
6. Click on the image of [Hard Drive] > (DVD) to begin making a DVD copy.
7. Done.
3. For a double layer disc, read this guide.