dd if=/dev/cdrom of=cd_image
cdrecord -v speed=2 dev=1,0,0 -data cd_image
The dd command copies the input file (if), which in this case is the device /dev/cdrom to the output file (of) which in this example is a file called cd_image (on the hard drive in the current working directory). The second command copies the file cd_image that was created by the dd command onto an empty CD.
For data disk with error, you might want to try:
dd conv=noerror,notrunc if=/dev/cdrom of=cd_image
cdrecord -v speed=2 dev=1,0,0 -data cd_image
The option "conv=noerror,notrunc" specifies that the potential read errors are to be ignored, and files not truncated on error.
For audio CDs, I use these command to make a copy:
[rip the content of all audio tracks on the CD, from track 1 on. The tracks are saved into files in the current directory and named: track01.cdda.wav, track02.cdda.wav, etc.)]
cdparanoia -B "1-"
[write all the audio files to the CD, one by one. The tracks are separated by a 2 s gap]
cdrecord -v speed=2 dev=1,0,0 -audio track*
To copy an audio CDS in the most accurate way, man cdrecord recommends doing this:
cdda2wav -v255 -D2,0 -B -Owav
cdrecord -v dev=2,0 -dao -useinfo *.wav
To make an exact copy of mixed mode CDs:
[The dd command will output an error message when the the data has ended and audio started. This is expected and OK]
dd if=/dev/cdrom of=cd_image
[rip the content of all audio tracks on the CD, except the first track since it is data]
cdparanoia -B "2-"
[Write the data and subsequent audio files, piece by piece]
cdrecord -v speed=2 dev=1,0,0 -data cd_image -audio track*
7.7.7 Re-writable CDs
Re-writable CDs (CD-RW) are used the same way as regular write-once CDs (CD-R), but you have to blank re-writable disks before you will be able to re-use them, e.g.:
cdrecord -v speed=2 dev=1,0,0 blank=fast
To see other (more thorough and slower) options for blanking, use:
cdrecord blank=help
For example this thorough blanking can take 0.5 hour on my system, but is not really necessary unless the old data is confidential:
cdrecord dev=0,0,0 blank=disk
Again, older stereos often will not play CD-Rs.
7.7.8 Simplifying long commands with aliases
To simplify writing long commands required by cdrecord (or cdrdao), I may want to define a global alias by placing the following line in the file /etc/bashrc:
alias cdrecord="cdrecord -v speed=2 dev=1,0,0"
Re-login for the changes in /etc/bashrc to take effect. After creating this alias, I can record a CD using the following shortened command (no need to specify the CD writer speed and device name all the time):
cdrecord -audio track*
