Vista - Create more copies of a DVD

Hi.

When I create a DVD in Windows using Windows DVD Maker I get the option at
the end to create additional copies of my DVD. If I want to create more
copies later on, is there a feature to copy my DVD without having to run
through the whole creation process again which takes hours.

Thanks

Andrew

On Mon, 30 Apr 2007 07:04:00 -0700, Andrew
<Andrew@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote:

>Hi.
>
>When I create a DVD in Windows using Windows DVD Maker I get the option at
>the end to create additional copies of my DVD. If I want to create more
>copies later on, is there a feature to copy my DVD without having to run
>through the whole creation process again which takes hours.
>
>Thanks
>
>Andrew

Get software that supports such a feature like Nero or Roxio CD/DVD
burning suites.

The issue is saving the files that make up a DVD can eat up a lot of
your hard drive's disk space, for example 4.7 GB for a typical DVD.
This is another reason to use tools designed for such a purpose since
you don't need to "save" the source files in that both the products I
mentioned have the ability to "copy" directly from the DVD you've
already burned, then use those images files to make as many more
copies as you wish... typically in minutes, not hours. Again it boils
down to what's more important to you. Saving a few bucks or using time
more wisely but using better tools.

Just so there's no confusion, the process I'm referring to "reads" a
DVD that's already burned, saves the files to a temporary location on
your hard drive, then uses it to burn multiple copies of more DVDs. So
you only need ONE DVD drive, not two to accomplish this kind of job.
It becomes a simple matter of inserting the source DVD, copying it,
remove that source DVD, insert a blank and then burn it. For me, on
average, with a 16X burner set to run only at 8X it takes about 15
minutes, start to finish to make a copy of a fully loaded 4.7 disc.

I should warn you that while it saves disk space on your hard drive,
if you don't keep file copies on a hard drive as insurance and the DVD
itself fails, you will be up the creek without a paddle. So the safest
method is making multiple copies of your DVDs, PLUS have a copy of
your priceless one of a kind files on a hard drive, somewhere. I use
external drives to store backups.

It really comes down to how important are your homemade videos to you?
If you're only making copies of some easily replaceable commerical
movie, that's one thing. However if you're making one of a kind, you
can never replace videos of your family or whatever, then you probably
want to error on the extra careful side, since once a DVD is damaged,
it's gone and there is little you can do to recover it's contents with
any certainity. I hear from people all the time begging me to please
help them recover their unreplacable memories and the truth is you
normally can't, which is why you need to take precautions BEFORE the
data is lost forever.

Regardless what ANYBODY tells you, DVD media is NOT a 100% safe
technology! It can fail just like hard drives can fail, without
warning. Never, repeat NEVER, trust your one of a kind files to just a
single DVD copy or you may be really sorry sometime down the road.