Can Disk Utility make image from ISO disc?

Question

Level 2

478 points

Can Disk Utility make image from ISO disc?

I have a couple of Windows-format (Get Info says "ISO 9660 File System (Joliet)") CDs that I'd like to make backup images of, but Disk Utility apparently won't/can't do it; when I try, this message appears:

"Unable to create "xxx.dmg" - Input/output error."

Is it that Disk Utility can't work with the ISO 9660 File System? (It makes an image from a Mac-type CD okay.) Any suggestion how to make an image from such a CD?

TIA,
Andrew Main

MacBook Pro 17" 2.16GHz, Mac OS X (10.4.11), 2GB RAM, 160GB HD, SuperDrive

Posted on Mar 29, 2008 2:58 PM

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Answer 1

Kappy

Level 10

361,741 points

Mar 29, 2008 3:14 PM in response to HandyMac

Try this:

<font "size=+1">Duplicate a CD or DVD

1. Insert the DVD/CD;
2. Open Disk Utility, and select the DVD/CD from the left side list (select the DVD/CD icon on top);
3. from the DU File menu select New | Disk Image from Disk 1;
4. Choose to format the disk image as DVD/CD Master, name the disk image and click Save;
5. When the .cdr file is finished select it with mouse and press COMMAND-I to open the Get Info and check the box to lock the file;
6. Choose the .cdr file from the left side list, click Burn, and insert a new, blank DVD or CD.

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Answer 2

HandyMac Author

Level 2

478 points

Mar 30, 2008 5:58 AM in response to Kappy

Thanks for the response, but your suggestion didn't work:

With the CD inserted, three CD icons appear in the left pane of Disk Utility:
1) 48.8 MB MATSHITADVD-R
2) 42.5 MB Untitled 0
3) [name of CD]

According to the information panel at the bottom, #1 is 48.8 MB, Partition Scheme: CD partitionscheme; #2 is 42.5 MB, Partition Scheme: CD ROM_Mode1; and #3 is Format: ISO 9660 File System, Number of Folders: 0, 42.5 MB, and Number of Files: 0.

When I select #1, File:New offers only Blank Disk Image or Disk Image from Folder...; Disk Image from (Select a Device)... is inactive (greyed out).
When I select #2, File:New:Disk Image from Disk1s0 (name of disc) is available.
When I select #3, same as #2.
When I try to make a disk image (DVD/CD Master) from either #2 or #3, I get the same result:

"Unable to create "[name].cdr" - Input/output error."

Could the disc be copy-protected somehow? Seems unlikely, it's a pretty simple disc, with some dictionary software on it. Or is Disk Utility unable to deal with an ISO disc? I know that the Windows/Linux equivalent to a .dmg is called .iso, but apparently Disk Utility can't make such images?

I tried the freeware utility Burn, which "Failed: There was a problem creating the image." Says it uses the same Apple engine as Disk Utility.

However, the shareware CDRevolution did manage to make an image file (its own ".cdrev" format, unreadable by Disk Utility), and did burn what appears to be a perfect copy of the CD. So my initial problem is now solved.

I'm still wondering why Disk Utility couldn't handle it.

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Answer 3

Kappy

Level 10

361,741 points

Mar 30, 2008 7:34 AM in response to HandyMac

The disc could be copy protected. If three icons appear on the Desktop then the disc would seem to have multiple sessions burned on it.

The ISO designation usually means the filesystem is ISO 9660. This is a type of filesystem and is not the same as .dmg which simply means a disc image. OS X reads and writes ISO 9660 formatted discs.

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