I have always enjoyed using daemon-tools to create a virtual cd or dvd out of an iso image, but now I have the need for something even more capable. I need a program that can emulate an actual cd burner, not just a player, so that I can burn protected tracks from itunes to a fake "cd" on my hard drive and re-rip them without worrying about errors and wasting money on blank cds. I have searched for such a program with google with no luck - any ideas?

Maybe WinISO is what you're looking for (but I'm no sure).

This software allows you to add/remove (and not only extract) files to/from a bin or iso CD/DVD image file. Additionally, it can be used to create image files from files which are on the HDD or a CD/DVD and convert various image file formats to bin or iso.
http://www.winiso.com/

Unfortunately, it's not freeware, but you can use a limited version:

WinISO is a nice program but this is not what I mean. What I am looking for is a program that would create a fake cd burner that as far as windows and any cd burning apps are concerned works like the real thing. That means that the fake burner would show up in windows explorer with its very own drive letter, in device manager as a "Generic SCSI CD-RW Device" or whatever, etc. I should be able to open up Nero or any other cd burning app and set my virtual cd-rw as the default burner.

Not exactly what you are looking for, but will work nonetheless:


Use Nero to burn to file

Open Nero.
Go to : Recorder > Choose Recorder, then select "Image Recorder" (Virtual Device).
Now burn the audio CD as you normally would (select where you'd like to save the file). It now becomes an .nrg file (cd image, just like .iso but native to Nero).
There are programs which will convert the .nrg to ISO, but the following is easier.


Nero comes with Image Drive. It works the *same way that Daemon Tools does*. The difference is that Daemon Tools doesnt read .nrg files. Image Drive will... You can then use EAC (or whatever you use) to rip the "Virtual CD".

I don't have iTunes installed, but I'd think that you have to use iTunes to burn the protected media to audio-cd. So you can't use Nero...

So the only option here (besides using a real cd-r/w) would indeed be a driver which emulates/creates a virtual cd-rw drive and then you burn from iTunes to that. I don't know any of such software which can do this.

I also don't know any virtual cd-rw besides the Image Recorder of Nero (latest 5.5 version). The latest Daemon tools version can already mount Nero Image files.

cya

JohnV is correct - ultimately the goal is for iTunes itself to recognize the virtual burner. I think it would also be necessary for the virtual burner to report a real device string to windows like "Plextor model blah blah blah" so that iTunes would recognize it as one of its supported drives. VMWare does this with its virtual ethernet adaptor, reporting it as an AMD PCNet NIC regardless of whatever NIC you really have installed on the host OS.

I would suggest making a feature request to Alcohol Software.

I don't know of any such software, but alternatively you could burn to CD-RW and then reuse the disk.