The “easy” way (copy these commands from here and paste them into your Terminal shell line, using [CTRL]+[Shift]+[c] to insert them):
sudo umount /dev/cdrom dd if=/dev/cdrom of=file.iso bs=1024
And when you are done, make a checksum (this generates a hash code used to verify the file’s integrity, probably not terribly important if you are just backing up audio CDs or media DVDs, but very important if you are backing up code that you want to be sure not to corrupt) :
md5sum file.iso > file.iso.md5
Remember of course, that file can be whatever name you decide on. Also, on a typical Ubuntu install, the CD/DVD burner should be located at /dev/cdrom, and when backing up DVDs, you may want to use /dev/dvd instead.
You can also do this with folders as well:
mkisofs -r -o file.iso /Some_Folder/
And now for the “easier way”:
Right-click the icon for the CD/DVD on your desktop, and choose “Copy Disc”.
Edit the Copy Disc to: field to File Image and choose where you want to save it.
Easy as cake, but a gruesome pain to find if you were trying to find it in GnomeBaker or some other such utility.
H/T to Kevin van Zonneveld for his much more thorough look at this.
