AB's Useful Box - Creating an ISO image using Linux of a CD or DVD

There are many applications for burning CDs and DVDs from ISO files. But how can you create a image of a CD or DVD and save it as a file, that at some later date can be burnt back to the same media as an exact copy. How to create one of those "ISO" files.

Well, if you have a Linux box it is incredibly easy by using one of the following commands.

dd if=/dev/dvd of=dvd.iso #for dvd
dd if=/dev/cdrom of=cd.iso #for cdrom
dd if=/dev/scd0 of=cd.iso #if cdrom is scsi

Apparently it is also possible to do the same for floppy disks, and directories of files.

Use the mkisofs command to make an ISO from files on your hard drive, start with a directory which holds the files you want.

mkisofs -o /tmp/cd.iso /tmp/directory/

Which results in a file called cd.iso in folder /tmp which contains all the files and directories in /tmp/directory/.

Another via Windows, is to use Cygwin, and do the same.

Most of the above is from a website by Scott Granneman at:
http://www.granneman.com/techinfo/linux/burningcds/makeanisoimage.htm