How to use DVD43 + Handbrake on Vista Home Premium 64 bit

Here's how I used Virtual Box, Windows 2k, DVD43 and Handbrake on my Core i7 920 machine running Vista 64 bit for backing up DVDs.

1. install Oracle's Virtual Box (it's free :) )
2. install a 32 bit OS -- Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Vista or Windows 7. I chose Windows 2000 because it was closer (<24" away) than my unused XP disk (which is right over there *pointing at shelf <~5' away* ).
3. install .NET 2.0 (required for Handbrake)
4. connect an external USB DVD drive (I actually took at DVD ROM drive just kicking around and the IDE to USB module from my hard drive external enclosure and fit them inside a shoebox -- I know, it's totally redneck and my dear wife reminded me of that point when I showed it to her.....). Anyway, I had to use an external drive using UDP to circumvent some weird thing in how DVD43 wasn't seeing the DVD from the mounted SATA DVD drive.
5. in the Virtual Box settings I had to find my shoebox DVD drive and enable "passthrough".
6. Install DVD43.
7. Install Handbrake. I used .93 (I don't like v .94). BTW, must run in >1024x720 mode.

Works like a champ. :) Just posted it here for posterity.

ok, so for us not so wise folk, what is a vertual box. it sounds cool especialy the oricle ( free part).

anyway, if ya got the time to point me in the learning direction I have the time to do some reading. I will google VIRTUAL BOX just to see what it says, but i like all of your input and links better.

thanks, ward

hmm, googled it. way out of my league. it did sound cool though:t

cheers.

heya wardD,

here's the English-equivalent of what I said above:

Virtual Box and Virtual PC 2007 are ways to virtualize another PC without building another one. I've been unable to use DVD43 (for dvd decryption) and Handbrake (most excellent DVD ripping tool) on my Vista 64 PC to backup our DVDs and pass those vids over the network to the Xbox 360 in the family room. Instead of dumping Vista I resorted instead to virtualize Windows 2000 -- a 32 bit OS -- to continue to use these free apps.

beeblequix, thanks for those links. havent done all the reading, but it does sound interesting and I am definatley going to play around with it just to exspand my computering horizons.

as always, I apreciate your(every ones) time and patients with me.

ward.

I saw the guide for ripping DVD's with Handbrake/DVD43 in Maximum PC around the same time I got my Vista64 PC. I installed the programs on a virtualized copy of my old WinXP PC because I did not trust these programs to be trojan free. Having a virtualized PC to run apps is great! Especially apps you don't trust.

You can start from scratch like Beeblequix said for a clean environment to play with. I like to virtualize my old PC before I upgrade to a new OS. You can use the free VMWare converter (http://www.vmware.com/products/converter/) to take a snapshot of your current OS, then use the free VMWare player (http://www.vmware.com/products/player/) to run the snapshot of the OS as a virtual machine.

It's just another option to play with. You can not install an OS from scratch with the VMWare converter like you can with Virtual Box or Virtual PC, but it is handy for making a virtualized copy of your current setup.

VMWare also offers free and paid for virtual machines that can be run by the VMWare player. I don't know if there are updated VM's for web browsing, but there used to be a Mozilla VM you could download for free that when "played" gave you a totally safe and contained web browsing session, and you didn't have to worry about picking up a nasty virus while surfing (your! porn).