How to Backup your Navigation DVD/CD

Written by 

M.Shukarno Bin Shareef

A prominent Web leader in Navigation Market Software selling and consultancy industry. Bangladesh and in this subcontinent he is one of the keymaker of providing navigation solutions. Helping people and resolving their issues is his concern. Reach him bdcar.bangladesh@gmail.com

With the insane prices map software companies are charging these days for replacement map DVDs (used in DVD-based nav units), it’s a smart idea to create a backup of your nav DVD in case of theft, loss, or damage.

What You Need:

• A computer with a DVD+RW drive (a drive that can both readand write DVDs). I’ve successfully used a Samsung TSSTcorp CD/DVDw SH-s183L.
• DVD Decrypter – the original free DVD reading and decrypting software… and still the best.
• ImgBurn – a free, lightweight CD / DVD / HD DVD / Blu-ray burning application
• A blank dual-layer DVD (look for DVD+R DL on the package). Regular DVD+Rs will only hold 4.7GB of data, which isn’t enough for modern nav discs. A dual layer DVD+R DL will hold up to 8.5GB. I’ve successfully used Memorex DVD+R DL 8X discs, which are read as RITEK-S04-66 in ImgBurn.

Copy the Original Image:

1. Put your original nav disc in your DVD+RW drive.
2. Open DVD Decrypter. Make sure you’re using version 3.5.4.0 (final).
3. From the Mode menu, select ISO, then Read.
4. Choose the Destination on your hard drive for the backup image.
5. Press the green “Play” button to decrypt and save the data to your computer. Depending on the speed of your DVD+RW drive and the amount of data it needs to read, this could take a while. Eventually, you’ll end up with two files: a large one that ends in .ISO and a small one that ends in .MDS. You’ll need both files later.
6. Remove your original nav disc and store it in a safe place.

Burn the Backup Image:

1. Insert a blank DVD+R DL disc into your DVD+RW drive.
2. Open ImgBurn. These instructions are based on version 2.5.8.0 (released June 16, 2013).
3. At the opening screen, select Write Image to Disc.

1. If you have more than one DVD+RW drive, set the Destinationoption to the one that contains the blank disc.
2. Click the small book icon in the lower right corner (if you hover your mouse over it, it says Change Book Type…).

1. Select the tab for the manufacturer of your DVD+RW drive (check your Windows Device Manager and then Google the device name if you’re unsure of the manufacturer).
2. Drop down the Change For: option list and select DVD+R DL Media.
3. Drop down the New Setting: option list and select DVD-ROM.

1. Press the Change button. You should get a “Success” message.
2. Press the OK button to return to the main screen.
3. Click the yellow folder icon to select the source file (if you hover if says Browse for a file…). 

1. Select the .MDS file you created above, which should be stored in the same folder as the .ISO file.
2. Change the Write Speed under Settings to 1x (the program might automatically change this later, which is fine).
3. Press the large “ISO to Disc” icon on the bottom left side to burn your backup image to the blank DVD. 

The status screen will show you the progress of your burn. How long it takes depends upon a number of factors, including how much memory your system has, how fast your processor is, how many other processes are running, etc. I recommend not doing anything else on your system while the disc is burning, to reduce the chance of messing up the burn.

All Done!