Backup Tiger DVD to CD?

Why not use the iMac's superdrive and burn to DVD? If you're worried about internal HD failure, I suggest you buy an external FireWire HD (probably under $100 at the usual places—Fry's, etc.) and use something like Carbon Copy Cloner, SuperDuper!, etc. to make a bootable backup of your HD. Making copies of your install DVD's isn't going to salvage your internal HD.

Probably won't work—at least I wouldn't want to bet you can segment the DVD and then get the installer to run off the CDs. Maybe it's time to consider retiring the external CD writer and upgrade to a CD/DVD writer.

If you really need the CD you could always buy a copy of Tiger and ask for them as CDs...an extra $9.95.

The better idea, however, is to buy an external Firewire HD.

The way I have mine setup is that I have two partitions. One the size of my iBook's internal HD and the other is what was left over. I use SuperDuper! to clone my iBook to the external HD and backup it up everynight. I also made a .dmg file of the Tiger DVD (using SuperDuper!) and put it on the other partition of the external HD.

Then I can always boot from the partition with the .dmg file and it's as if I booted from the DVD.

You're missing the point. The installer needs everything else on the DVD. The installer is basically a script that reads and writes the other stuff to the HD when it runs.

There may be one other issue. Apple has gone to using DLDVD-R media for there discs. Good luck trying to copy that, in any case. Nothnig beats the idea of an external firewire, and a clone, which is a much better idea than Archive and Install, or anything else.

Since you have marked the post a "Solved" it is a good idea to mark the individual posts as "Solved" or "Helpful". This helps future people when they are looking for solutions to problems.

It's also a nice way to say thank you for the time we've taken to reply to your question.

If you really need the CD you could always buy a copy of Tiger and ask for them as CDs...an extra $9.95.
You havev to send back the DVDs when before you get the CDs.

Then I can always boot from the partition
with the .dmg file and it's as if I booted
from the DVD.

Have you actually tried this? AFAIK, you can't boot from an image file, since it takes an app like DiskImageMounter or Disk Utility to mount an image as a volume ... which obviously can't be done until a supporting OS is running.

What I have done is somewhat similar, except I've used the restore function of Disk Utility to restore the installer disk to a suitably sized partition. (There is no need to bother with image files -- just drag the DVD to the sorce & the partition to the destination in D.U.'s restore.)

This works. Startup Disk system preference recognizes it as a startup volume, as does Startup Manager. The only problem is (as scb more or less noted*) the installer disks that come with Macs are DVD-9 (double layer), so it isn't possible to burn an image of this partition to a standard DVD-R or DVD+R. I haven't tried using a DVD+R DL but from what I read, this doesn't produce a bootable clone. (It works fine for a retail Tiger DVD, since it fits easily on a standard DVD±R or ±RW.)

An additional potential problem is the other DVD(s) that come with Macs may need to be inserted during large installs (like ones that include iLife bundles), so such installs may fail unless the other DVD's are available.

*I think it is incorrect to say that Apple's "jumbo" installer DVD's are on DVD-R DL media, since the ±R & ±RW formats refer to laser-burnable DVD media, not commercially replicated media, which aren't burned but stamped from masters. I think the Apple disks are replicated & are thus technically DVD-ROM's (read only, not write once as in ±R or rewritable as in ±RW). The format is DVD-9 (single sided, double layer) OTP (opposite track path). DVD±R standards support this format, but for some reason nobody seems to be reporting success duplicating the Apple DVD-ROM's to DVD+R DL media, which the latest Superdrives supports.

I'd give it a shot, but I'm too cheap to by any DVD+R DL blanks without some reports of success! 🙂

Thanks for the feedback. Good luck.

I was reading this article at http://creativebits.org/macos_x/make_a_dvd_copy_of_mac_os_xtiger
and it reads:
With Mac OS X Tiger 10.4 now in hand, you may want to consider making a personal backup copy. This is an excellent way to ensure you are protected should your original install DVD become damaged or lost. This simple tutorial will show you how to make a reliable DVD copy from Tiger's Mac OS X InstallDVD.
NOTE: This tutorial is for personal use only. Only the legal owner of Mac OS X Tiger should make a backup. In no way whatsoever does creativebits.org condone the pirating or unauthorized duplication of Mac OS X Tiger. Please use this tutorial responsibly.
Now that the legal mumbo-jumbo is out of the way, lets begin. Duplicating CD/DVD’s is usually very easy, especially if you are lucky enough to have two drive bays and Toast Titanium. However, Mac OS X Tiger poses a slight difficulty since it is a bootable volume. The following steps will help you create a perfect working backup copy of Tiger.
Making a DVD Image
Step 1. Insert the retail Mac OS X Install DVD into your drive.
Step 2. Launch Disk Utility (Applications > Utilities).
Step 3. In Disk Utility, you will notice a white pane on the left hand side. In the pane, select the Mac OS X Install DVD by clicking on it once.
Step 4. Click New Image on the Disk Utility toolbar.
Step 5. A dialog box will appear. Give the new image a name. I used 'Mac OS X Install DVD'. Select the destination where you wish to save it. Leave Image Format at Compressed (default) and Encryption at None (default).
Step 6. Click Save to begin creating the image.
Step 7. Once your image has been created DO NOT mount it. Leave the image alone and proceed to the next section.
Burning the Image
Step 1. Launch Disk Utility (Applications > Utilities).
Step 2. Click Burn on the Disk Utility toolbar (upper left).
Step 3. Navigate to where you saved the DVD image created in the previous section. Click on the image file, then click the Burn button. Do not drag and drop the image file into Disk Utility during this step.
Step5. Insert a DVD when prompted and proceed to Burn it. (use good quality media)
Using these exact steps I was successfully able to create a personal backup copy of Mac OS X Tiger. I hope this tutorial helps. Enjoy the newfound features in Tiger!

well, I tried it and Disk Utility tells me there's not enough room on the disk even though info about the install disk says it contains 4.2 gigs and the blank is 4.7.
I then tried to create a burn folder and placed the image in there but from what I've read here I won't be able to mount this image.
Also an Apple chat agent suggested creating a folder and just copying the disk to it but during that process I got a message telling me there were several items not copied because I don't have the "permissions"
I also had a heck of a time trashing some of the files created during this excercise. Remember when macs were like uh macs?