If you break your disc, you can no longer launch the game, or reinstall it, so it is a good idea to create a backup before this happens. This is a sensible thing to do for anything you own on a disc and don't want to risk losing. Additionally, an increasing number of laptops do not have a disc drive in the first place. You should be aware that in many cases software has copy protection that stops this being possible and you should not circumvent DRM. If this is not the case, you should only do this for discs that you own.
How to back up the game from your original disc:
1. Get any image burning/mounting software that can create an .ISO image file from a DVD. There are many free programs that can do this.
2. This will create an exact copy of the disc on your hard drive in the form of an image file, which will be the same size as the data on the disc.
3. You can continue to play with the original disc, but if that disc should break, you now have a backup that would allow you to continue playing or to reinstall the game should you need to.
4. You can use an image mounting program of your choice to mount the .ISO file, which makes it function as if there were a disc in your disc drive. Windows 8 has an image mounting tool built in that can do this, as many newer laptops do not have a disc drive.
Please note, many free dvd burning/disc emulation programs come bundled with various types of adware, which you may find intrusive/annoying. Take care choosing which one to use, and then carefully go through the installation options to avoid installing toolbars or browser changes, if undesired. Some programs also install additional 'features' regardless of this.
