Tag Archives: cd

HOWTO make DVD and CD .iso images using dd or cat in Linux

Please note that making security backups of your DVD/CD:s may be illegal in your country.

for the purpose of making these backups, the programs you need are standard, *NIX programs, and it is a safe bet that you wont need to install anything.
You may also need to have root permissions in able for you to access the DVD or CD devices.

Heres how to back up the device:

with cat:

with dd:

replace /dev/dvd0 with what ever device it is corresponding with your CD/DVD rom player. If you’re unsure, you might find that $ cat /etc/fstab might provide you some useful information.

The two commands above copies the CD rom or DVD to the home folder. Making a image file with the iso 9660 or the Universal Disk Format file system. Please note that neither cat nor dd cares about file system. Dd copies blocks, and cat prints a file to stdout.

I have heard that cat does not copy the mbr record of the devices copied with it, but I know that dd does.

Note that if you’ve made the image file as the root user, you might have to chmod the file, and it might also be nice to change the files ownership

how to loopback mount the .iso file:

replace iso9660 with udp if your mounting a dvd image.

and how to umount it:

or