How to Copy DVDs to Hard Drive Free and Fast in 2024?

Whether you want to store your favorite movies or save precious home videos, copying DVDs to hard drive can be a great way to preserve and protect your content. This act not only frees up physical space but also ensures the longevity and flexible playback of your media.

To copy DVDs to hard drive, you can either use DVD ripping software to convert them into a digital format or use DVD copy software to save them as ISO or folder format. In this article, we'll discuss these methods to help you learn how to copy DVDs to hard drive easily and quickly. Whether you opt for the first or the second, DVDFab has your needs covered.

1. Why You Need to Copy DVD to Hard Drive?

• 💡First, DVD discs are easy to scratch and fail to play due to improper preservation and mechanical breakdown. By copying the content to your hard drive, you can preserve the original quality of the disc and prevent any potential damage.
• 💡If you want to share the contents of a DVD with friends or family members, it is much easier to do so by copying the files to a hard drive and sharing them electronically.
• 💡Once you have copied a DVD to hard drive, you can transfer the files to a portable device such as a laptop, tablet, or smartphone. This allows you to watch the content on-the-go without needing to carry around physical discs.

All in all, to avoid potential problems with disc readability or computer failure, you can copy your DVDs onto a hard drive. This method is considered one of the safest ways to store DVD content when done properly.

2. How to Rip DVDs to Hard Drive on Mac or Windows?

Here we will first introduce a powerful DVD Ripper software from DVDFab to help you rip any protected DVDs to hard drive in the digital format as you want.

Rip Protected DVDs to Hard Drive with DVDFab DVD Ripper

DVDFab DVD Ripper is a reliable software that allows you to rip and transfer DVD to hard drive in a few minutes. This tool is capable of ripping any DVD, regardless of copyright protections, to various video and audio formats compatible with different hard drives. It also enables you to customize your DVD with a selection of pre-programmed and customizable profiles. With its versatile features and user-friendly interface, DVDFab DVD Ripper delivers high-speed conversions without compromising on video quality.

What DVDFab DVD Ripper can do

💻 Supported OS: 

👍 Key Features:

• Remove all copy protections from DVDs, even the newly-released DVDs
• Rip DVD to hard drive as 1000+ audio and 2D/3D video format
• Offer 260+ presets specific to popular devices
• Select specific titles, chapters, audio tracks and subtitles from DVD
• Offer advanced settings to adjust output video and audio parameters 
• Come with a versatile built-in video editor
• Supports conversion of multiple DVDs simultaneously at blazing speed

DVDFab DVD Ripper offers a completely-free but limited version, DVDFab HD Decrypter. This free version can not only convert most encrypted DVDs and Blu-rays released one year ago into MP4 or MKV formats, but also copy them to a blank disc or save as ISO file or Folder on your hard drive. Both version are in one DVDFab 13 package for your ease use.

How to Transfer DVD to Hard Drive with DVDFab DVD Ripper

Step 1: Open DVDFab DVD Ripper software and select the "Ripper" module. Insert the DVD that you wish to rip into the DVD drive on your computer and DVDFab will automatically detect and load the disc. Or, you can click on the "+" button to load the source DVD.

Step 2: After the DVD content loads, DVDFab displays all titles and chapters. You can choose exactly what you want to rip. You can also pre-select subtitles and audio tracks, or add external ones.

Step 3: Then click "Choose Other Profile" to choose your desired output format. DVDFab DVD Ripper supports to convert DVD to MP4, AVI, MP4, MKV, etc., and multiple devices, like mobile phones, tablets, gaming consoles.

Step 4: If needed, click "Advanced Settings" to modify the video and audio parameters. You can also edit the DVD by click the "Video Edit" and "Trim" button.

Step 5: Click on the "Folder" icon to choose a location on your hard drive. After you set all the parameters, click the "Start" button to initiate the ripping process. Wait a few minutes until the ripping process is done, then you can transfer the ripped files to your desired hard drive.

3. How to Copy DVD to Hard Drive on Mac or Windows?

In the second part, we will show you how to copy and burn DVDs to hard drive and PC easily without quality loss with DVDFab DVD Copy software.

Copy Protected DVDs to Hard Drive with DVDFab DVD Copy

DVDFab DVD Copy is another outstanding module of the DVDFab software package that allows you to backup DVDs to your hard drive as ISO image files or folders. This tool offers six copy modes, making it possible to copy, clone, burn, merge, split, or customize DVDs to a blank disc, ISO image, or folder. Its regular software updates ensure it stays compatible with any new DVD protections, so you can use DVDFab to copy any DVDs hassle-free.

What DVDFab DVD Copy can do

💻 Supported OS: 

👍 Key Features:

• Keep updating for the latest DVD protection mechanism
• Copy DVDs to a blank DVD-9 or DVD-5 with no loss of quality
• Support for Disc, folder, and ISO input with six different copy modes
• Copy DVDs to the hard drive as folders and ISO image files
• Support batch DVD copying at lightning-fast speed
• Various video and audio settings allow you to customize DVD

How to Backup DVD to Hard Drive with DVDFab DVD Copy

Step 1: Download and install this free DVD copy software. After launching it, select the module of "Copy" and choose a copy mode from the 6 options below.

Next, insert a DVD disc into the optical drive of your computer. Alternatively, press the "+Add" button to load the DVD ISO file or folder, or simply drag & drop the file onto the "+" area. DVDFab can detect a DVD copy protection when reading your file and decrypt it automatically.

💡Note:

1. Full Disc: Copy all content of the disc/ISO/Folder source
2. Main Movie: Only copy the main movie title of the disc/ISO/Folder source
3. Customize: Copy any content you want form the disc/ISO/Folder source
4. Split: Split one DVD 9 into two DVD 5
5. Clone/Burn: Clone DVD or BD in 1:1 ration with nothing lost
6. Merge: Merge multiple DVDs or BDs into one DVD or BD (DVD and BD cannot be mixed)

Step 2: After loading your source file, you can select chapters, audio tracks, subtitles your want to copy. You can choose your favorite from the source DVD video to make a backup copy of a DVD. 

Then click the option of 'Advanced Settings' to identify the volume label and output size: DVD-5 or DVD-9. Do not forget to tick ‘Copy DVD-Video (Video_TS folder)’, otherwise, you will get a blank disc or empty folder. 

Step 3: Then set the file directory to save the output DVD content on a blank disc, as ISO file or DVD folder on computer HDD or on your external hard drive. Finally, click the "Start" button to copy DVD Windows 10 and mac.

4. FAQs about Copying DVD to Hard Drive

How to Copy DVD to Hard Drive Directly without Software?

• Step 1: Insert the DVD into your computer's disc drive.
• Step 2: Open the DVD drive by double-clicking on it. Locate and select all contents and files such as the ISO image or DVD folder. Within these, look for movie files like VTS_01_1, VTS_02_1, VTS_03_1, each representing different chapters of the film.
• Step 3: Copy all these files and then paste them into your internal or external hard drive.

However, this simplistic method can only work with homemade or burned DVDs that have no copy protection. Your copied files might also not play on your devices due to format compatibility problems.

How to Copy Unprotected DVDs to Hard Drive Free with HandBrake?

• Step 1: Insert the DVD you want to copy into your computer.
• Step 2: Open HandBrake, hit "Source" and choose the DVD drive.
• Step 3: After DVD loads, HandBrake will scan for titles. Choose the ones you want to copy.
• Step 4: In the "Output Settings", select the output format as MP4 or MKV.
• Step 5: Pick an output location by clicking "Browse".
• Step 6: Click "Start" to begin ripping DVD to hard drive.

What is the Best Format to Rip a DVD to an External Hard Drive?

MPEG-4 (specifically MP4) is generally considered a good format for ripping DVDs to hard drives due to its balance of high quality and low file size. It also maintains good compatibility with most devices and media players.

5. Conclusion

In a nutshell, next time when you wonder how to copy DVD on Mac or Windows hard drive, do not forget to read through this simple guideline. With this recommended DVDFab DVD Ripper and Copy software, you will be able to copy your DVD to hard drive with high quality and blazing fast speed.