I was looking for a free and easy way to copy a homemade DVD and I came across ImgBurn. ImgBurn is a free application that acts as a CD or DVD burning application, but more importantly it makes creation of .iso files and burning of .iso files seamless. One of the best things about ImgBurn is that the program has a very small footprint, and unlike most of the other burning software out there, ImgBurn doesn’t take a long time to load tons of modules that you’ll just never use. Further, the interface is simple and intuitive, and all of the information you need about the disc in your drive is clearly displayed.
ImgBurn can do a lot more than I’m stating above, but one of the other “bonus” features (as I will call it) that I like about ImgBurn is that in addition to the standard progress bar that’s available with most cd or dvd authoring programs, ImgBurn gives you what I’ll call a “play-by-play” of the burning process. You can remove this window (why would you?) — but I prefer to leave it open — as the program shows you step-by-step what’s happening in the burning process. For someone like me who burns a lot of discs, I like to see what’s actually going on instead of progress bar that leaves me guessing in the process.
And by the way, here’s how to make a copy of a homemade dvd for free:
I. Create an .Iso file for the DVD
1. Open ImgBurn and select “Create image file from disc” (and put your disc in the drive if it isn’t already in).
2. A window will open that shows summarizes the procedure — click the icon at the bottom of the window to start the process, and save the newly created .iso file.
II. Burn the .iso file you created in step I to a DVD
1. Open ImgBurn and select “Write image file to disc” (and put a blank DVD in the drive if it isn’t already in).
2. A similar window will open. This time you will need to select an image file (at the topmost window), and you should select the .iso you just created. Check any settings you want, and then click the icon at the bottom of the windows to start the burning process.
That’s it!
So for a no-frills free .iso program, that can easily copy homemade DVDs (and create and burn .iso files) check out ImgBurn. It’s lightweight, easy to use, and will remain in my toolkit of computer utilities.