Making an ISO in Ubuntu

So many ways to make ISOs, using ubuntu, but where is mkisofs when you need it?

My favorite way to make an iso from a cd or dvd used to be:

mkisofs -r -o cdimage.iso /media/dvd

Now mkisofs is not part of the ubuntu distro but genisoimage is and can be used with the same options. You can issue the mkisofs command still but it is linked to genisoimage.

Jörg Schilling maintains mkisofs but has had disagreements with the Debian / Ubuntu contributors so the mkisofs code was forked and genisoimage was created and maintained separately. To read more about this read http://www.linux-watch.com/news/NS6848359973.html

So the ways I know of to make an iso image on ubuntu are:

1. dd if=/dev/cdrom of=file.iso bs=1024
2. genisoimage -r -o cdimage.iso /media/dvd
3. brasero (comes installed in the distro, Applications -> Sound and Video)
4. Nautilus (right click on disk icon, choose "Copy Disc")

I prefer the first option these days, but only because I like the commandline and it's generally less keystrokes than option 2. :)

Now to burn a dvd from the iso image run:

growisofs -dvd-compat -Z /dev/dvd=dvd.iso

Or you can always use brasero or right-click on the icon of your iso file from nautilus and choose "Write to Disc..."

So many options...