Hi:

Is it possible to make a copy of a cd/dvd onto another one in such a way that the target disk is a bit-by-bit replica of the source disk? Data, metadata and every thing which in one or other way is information. In particular, the lead-in area.

Example: suppose we speak of 3 1/2" floppy disks, and each sector is organized as preamble, data area and postamble. A program may be written that copies preamble, data area and postamble to the target sectors. That is, for this program, every thing in the source disk is data. Well. This is what I mean by a bit-by-bit replica. Thanks for reading. Regards.

E.S.

Depends on the cd/dvd. Most burn apps only know a few formats. The most common phrase is an ISO image. That only assumes the disk is in one of a few formats to begin with.

If you want to make a image like rawrite then you might have to mount it raw and use cat > filename maybe.

It would be easier if we knew the format of the disk.

It depends on what you're trying to copy, but I usually use 'cdrdao' for audio CDs for example, it's probably the best way to make an exact copy of an audio CD.

Note that many times, it cannot be done to such a level as to bypass copy protection ... that would probably be illegal anyway.

"Copy protected" media are just that.

They often have areas of the CD / DVD / FD formatted in a non-standard way, so they cannot be read using the normal tools. If they cannot be read properly, they cannot be re-written properly either. Not even with relatively low-level tools like dd

Did you remember that it's against the LQ rules ( http://www.linuxquestions.org/linux/rules.html ) to discuss cracking / piracy ?

The media in question are audio CDs (Red Book standard). These disks are not copy protected, for the simple reason that nothing of that sort is provided for in the standard. At least, not commercial audio CDs.

However, when I watch on the screen a GUI burner work, I see it "writing lead-in area" or "writing lead-out area".
Are these areas visible to the drivers? Are these areas invisible even to the driver and can only be seen by the hardware controllers? That's a question. Thanks for reading.

E.S.