Nero DVD-Rom Guide - Printer Friendly version

1. Introduction

“Nero Burning Rom DVD-ROM (ISO)”

INTRODUCTION

This is a simple guide for creating a DVD-ROM (ISO) project using what is probably the most popular and best known ROM burning software, Nero. Using this method you can backup data onto blank DVD media. While there are several ways of creating such a project, we will explore the simplest way of going about the task.

The software version used here is 6.0.0.19.

2. Step1

“Nero Burning Rom DVD-ROM (ISO)”

Running Nero

Begin by putting your media into the DVD recorder drive (if you haven't already done so) and launch Nero (you should have a shortcut on your desktop, or select it by going Start>Programs>Nero>Nero Burning ROM). As soon as the application opens, a dialog box is briefly displayed with the program's version details, owner, etc. This is followed by the "New Compilation" dialog screen.

Select the option DVD from the drop-down menu located on the top left corner. Below the drop-down selection will appear a series of icons listing the various activities that can be performed on DVD media. For our purposes, select the DVD-ROM (ISO) icon. In the Multisession section (screen shot below), select one of the following:

Start Multisession disc if this is a new media that has never been written to. With this option selected, it is possible to burn more data on the media sometime in the future, hence the name multisession.
Continue Multisession disc if the media has been created at a previous session using the Start Multisession disc option. In this way it is possible to append or update data already written on the media.
No Multisession if this is going to be a one time burn and no more data is going to be written in the future. This restriction also applies to rewriteable media, which will require that you erase the rewriteable media first, before being able to write new data.

Since we are starting with a new, unwritten to media, choose Start Multisession disc

Next, select the Label tab as shown below, and enter a volume label for your media. By default, Nero enters the label NEW, but you can enter any name you like, up to a maximum of 32 characters. Applications such as Windows Explorer show the volume label along with the drive letter which can help identify the media in the drive. If you forget or don't want to enter a volume name at this point, you can enter a volume label later on.

On the top right corner of the dialog screen, press the "New" button.

Only if under the Multisession section you chose Continue Multisession disc, you will now see a screen similar to the following:

This lists any previous sessions written on the media. Choose the last session and press OK.

Regardless of the multisession options chosen, the following screen should now appear.

3. Step2

“Nero Burning Rom DVD-ROM(ISO)”

Disk info

At this point you are ready to begin. But before we start the "drag and drop" procedure used in creating our DVD, there are a few pointers that maybe worth knowing. First of all you can obtain information regarding the media that you want to burn: whether it is blank or if previous sessions exist on it, the total media capacity (both in megabytes - MB and in duration mm:ss:hh), and so on. This information is available at any time, not just during a burn process.

From the main menu bar, choose the Recorder option. A drop-down menu should now appear as shown below.

Select the Disc Info option. Alternatively, you can also activate this option at any time by pressing the keyboard shortcut keys Ctl and I (simultaneously), or by seelcting with your mouse the disc info icon from the toolbar .

In any case, the following dialog box should appear with information for the media that you have inserted.

Just press OK to close the window.

4. Step3

“Nero Burning Rom DVD-ROM (ISO)”

Choosing the Recorder

This is an option for those that have more than one recorder installed in their computer. You can select or change the recorder you want to use each time. It is also possible that Nero recognizes by default your CD recorder while you want to use your DVD recorder. Select the Recorder option from the main menu bar and choose the "Choose Recorder "option. Here again, there is the keyboard shortcut (Ctrl +R) available or select the icon from the tool bar.

The following screenshot is a sample. As can be seen, this PC had only one recorder installed. The first device listed, Image Recorder, is a virtual device whereby an exact copy of the contents of a CD or DVD media can be stored on a hard disc and is refered to as an image. This is not an option in our case, so we make sure our DVD-RW drive is selected. If you have more than one RW drive installed on your PC, select the desired drive (mouse click on it) and click the OK button.

5. Step4

“Nero Burning Rom DVD-ROM (ISO)”

Erase RW Disk

If you are using a rewritable disk and you want to erase it before proceeding, choose the Recorder option from the main menu bar and select "Erase Rewritable Disk" from the drop-down menu as shown below.

The following selection list will appear. Select either "Quick-erase" or "Full-erase". The basic difference is that Quick Erase erases the directory and file structure on the media but not their contents. So, while you can't see what files were previously stored on the disc, in truth their contents will still be somewhere on the disc. Choose quick rather than full since it is faster. Next select the recorder in which the RW media is inserted and select the Erase button. Wait for the procedure to finish afterwhich you can close the window.

6. Step5

“Nero Burning Rom DVD-ROM (ISO)”

Burn

You should now have the screen shown below, with the split display showing the files on your PC on the right pane (File Browser), and the contents of your DVD on the left pane. If this is a new, unwritten DVD, the left pane should be blank. If this is not the first session to be written on the media, then the left pane should display existing files already on the DVD media. Locate and choose in the File Browser pane, the folders and/or files to be written. For example, by selecting Local Disk (C:) in the right pane, the contents for the drive appear under the Name column along with respective sizes. Once you have selected any folders or files in the right pane, with the mouse drag and drop your selections into the left pane. Repeat this process for as many folders or files you want to back up. At the bottom of the display window, a bar will fill up indicating how much space the intended folders and files will take up. You should not exceed the capacity of your DVD media.

Once you have finished dragging all folders and files to be backed up, select Recorder from the menu bar, and then "Burn Compilation..." from the drop down menu, or press the icon on the toolbar menu.

You should now have a screen similar to that shown below. In the Action options list, select one of the following:

Write if you want to burn the media immediately
Simulation if you want to test the burn process before burning
Determine maximu speed if you want Nero to determine the maximum burn speed for you

You can also set the write speed from the "Write speed" drop-down menu (which is dependent on the maximum available write speed of your DVD drive and the maximum write speed possible for the DVD media), and how many copies to be made. One final detail is the volume label given to the media which can be changed or corrected by selecting the Label tab (along the top of the dialog window) and entering the required name. To begin the burn process, select the Burn button.

The burn process can take several minutes depending on the total size of all the folders and files to be written, and the writing speed selected. Simply be patient and watch the progress bar which indicates percentage of the compilation completed so far.

As soon as the procedure is complete, the following confirmation dialog box will be displayed. You have now successfully backed up your files onto DVD media.