Rip/copy your own protected DVDs

2008-08-19T21:32:00.000-07:00

How to copy your own protected DVDs for backup.

This is a tutorial to show you exactly how to copy / backup your own protected DVD movies on to another DVD for back up purposes and to avoid wear on your original disks.

Requirements:

DVD Writer
Windows OS
A Blank DVD+R or DVD-R Disc.
A little time.

For this tutorial you will need 3 pieces of software:

Software Requirements:

One: DVD Decrypter

Two: DVD Shrink
Three: Nero (Burning Software) or other.

Unfortunately i can not provide a full version of this software as it is not free. There is a trial available using the link above you can download it, but it is pretty large.

Heres the tutorial:

Assuming you have the above software installed follow the steps below and learn how to backup your dvd movies.

DVD Decrypter

Insert the DVD you would like to backup into your DVD Disk Drive.

Note: this software removes the protection on your DVD which is there for those people who are trying to copy other poeple’s DVDs that they have not paid for, so this will add a step to the process unfortunately.

Once you have DVD Decrypter open and the original disk in your DVD Writer drive you will notice that DVD Decrypter will look like this [see image 1.1] below.

Step Three: Select the destination folder you would like to send the copied data to (this is the same place you will need to read the data from when using DVD shrink later on) and click on the gree arrow at the bottom of this window to begin decrypting.

Step Four: Be patient this could take up to 20 mins to copy your DVD, dont forget your computer has to process 9.4 GB of data (Dual layer disk). While you are copying data you should see a screen like the image below. [see image 1.2]

After this DVD decrypter will hopefully finish successfully and we can move on to DVDShrink.

DVD Shrink

The next part of this equation is to restore this data on to your backup DVD, which is generally only half the size (4.7 GB, a single layer disk). You will be loosing some quality along the way, but most of the time im my opinion, it is unnoticeable.

Step One: Open DVDShrink and click on the ‘Open files’ button towards the top of the window, this is where you will navigate to the place you saved your files when you started DVD Decrypter up. Once you have navigated to this folder you must click on the OK button.

You should see a window like this pop up [see image 1.3]

Step Two: Once this process has finished you will see a window where you can see specifc details of the DVD you have just copied. It is important to note the percentage quality you will be getting when you then copy this on to a disk.

You can see this figure in the in the same spot as circle in red in the image below [see image 1.4]

Ideally this figure should be above 60 - 65% otherwise you may begin to notice the loss.

Step Three: In order to go ahead with the encoding and burning of this compilation you must click the back up button to the toward the top of the window [see image 1.5] below.

Step Four: Ensure that your DVD writer drive is selected in the first drop down menu and ensure that you have an empty temporary folder for DVDShrink data to be copied to in the process.

Step Five: insert your BLANK DVD Disk into your DVD writer drive and click ok.

Step Six: Encoding will now begin to happen, followed by the burning of your new DVD.

Provided you have an up to date DVD Player you will be able to store your original disk and now use your backup to prevent damage to the original.

Speed up my computer using Windows XP / Vista

2008-07-28T17:55:00.000-07:00

How i speed up my computer and keep it safe.

There are only a couple of programs/ utilities i use in order to keep my computer safe and up to speed on the internet.

1 - An Antivirus Program - AVG Antivirus (free)

AVG should be used to scan for viruses on the regular basis to help speed up your computer.

2 - Spybot - Search and destroy (free)SD

Spybot is an antispyware program i use all the time to help protect me from threats on the internet. Download Spybot here

3 - Windows MSCONFIG (free with windows xp / vista)

MSCONFIG can be the tricky part. In order to use the MSCONFIG utility to disable/ enable startup programs you must open a run command box, start > run. From there you can select the startup tab and, select / deselect the programs you want or don't want starting up.

I use these 3 programs on a weekly basis to keep my computer safe from viruses, spyware and unwated 'start-up' programs. If you are only just finding ways of speeding up your already infected computer. These tools can still be used to clear your computer from threats. However, cleaning your computer out is never a one off, it is important to consistently update your software and utilities and run scans through your computer on a regular basis.

Computer Safety Tips - How to

Rip/copy your own protected DVDs

Speed up my computer using Windows XP / Vista