Burning a DVD to a DVD on my laptop

I have a Dell laptop with a DVD burner. How do I burn a DVD from a DVD? I have this one DVD I want to make a copy of.

Well we can't actually tell you as that would be a Violation of the DMCA & thereby a violation of the Forum Rules

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Actually the DMCA only restricts circumvention of DRM. This of course only applies to DVDs that actually have CSS or other forms of encryption on them - not all DVDs do (home-authored discs generally don't, and a number of professional releases don't either).

In short, it can generally be viewed as a legal grey area, as while DRM circumvention is illegal in most cases (provisions and exemptions to the DMCA exist for fair use purposes), bit-by-bit copies haven't been specifically ruled on, at least not that I could find - any cases that address it are currently pending, and aren't completely about bit-by-bit copying. Bit-by-bit copying preserves any encryption on the disc, hence it doesn't fall under the anti-circumvention category.

In the end, it has more to do with the content of the disc itself. Just because something can play on a DVD player doesn't mean it is protected by the DMCA - content you have the originating rights* to (such as home movies), you can freely copy. If it's material you don't have said rights to, then it falls into that legal grey area.

*note: 'originating rights' is not a legal term, I just couldn't find a good way of phrasing the distinction between self-produced content and other content you own legally, as the latter comes under such things as private use/fair use rights.

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I'm just trying to make a copy of my own DVD. I used to used diskcopy on cds then they renamed it rip and burn. But I cannot find on my laptop anywhere how to make a copy of my own DVD.

Most software I've seen like Roxio, Nero or Toast has a "copy" option in the main menu area. Have you tried this?
Also, what is the name of the software you're using to copy?

Since you haven't stated what type of DVD this is (could be just data for all we know) I don't see any reason to bring up DRM.

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DRM was brought up because of post #2, stating that copying the disc would be a violation of the DMCA. I was simply explaining that that's simply not true in all cases.

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OK it is a DVD with video and voices. I have a new laptop with Vista. There is a windows dvd copier but it doen't work.

Originally Posted by matilda1991

OK it is a DVD with video and voices. I have a new laptop with Vista. There is a windows dvd copier but it doen't work.

Commercial DVD (Like a movie) or Private DVD (Like a Sermon)

And when you say the Windows DVD copier doesn't work, what does it report as an Error ?

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Private DVD. There is no copy DVD or download to file that I see. There is only add thinks like pictures and video. I have only made CDs and on my old computer there was a disksopy button. I downloaded NERO 9 but it caused errors so I took it out. My old computer has roxio but it must be old because there is no reference to DVD only CD.

If I can figure out how to download the DVD to my computer maybe I can burn it from there like music. I have never done this before. Sorry for being so lame.

Download and install ImgBurn:
The Official ImgBurn Website

When it starts up it should be on the E-Z Mode Picker. Choose the 'Create image file from disc' option. Make sure that the drop-down menu has the right drive selected, choose the destination of the file, and click the big icon of the disc > image down at the bottom of the screen. It'll do its thing, and create an .iso file where you chose it to.

Now, put in the blank DVD, click on the Mode menu, and select the 'Write' option (or you could go back to the E-Z Mode Picker and choose the 'Write image file to disk' option, but just going straight there is easier, IMO - I don't use the Picker at all). Give it the location of the .iso you just made, make sure the drop-down has the proper drive selected, and then press the image > disc icon at the bottom. You may want to have Verify checked so that after the burn is completed the disc will be checked for consistency. I normally always have Verify selected for Video DVDs.

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