My computer won't allow me to duplicate a CD! Error code -8058

Question

I need to copy a CD and my lousy computer won't allow me. Is there some reason why it's not?

Answer 1

You didn't mention what CD you are trying to copy.
If it is just a regular CD, then it is possible that it is somehow copy-protected. This is a standard industry practice to prevent you from making copies of their programs. This is supposedly to crack-down on software piracy.
If it is a DVD, then the above suggestion is still possible. All DVD movies (well the commercial ones) are copy protected. And, duplicating them by any means is actually illegal in the United States (although there are programs that will do it - but those programs are also illegal here).
Copying program DVD's (such as the Mac OS) is legal if the license agreement permits it, and even then usually only for the purpose of having a backup in-case the original gets scratched or damaged somehow.
If it is not copy protected, and it is a DVD, then:
You should verify that your source DVD and destination DVD-R are the same type of disk, and that your drive can write that type of disk.
There are standard DVD disks and Dual-Layer disks. The Dual-Layer disks hold roughly double the capacity of a standard disk.
So, if you are trying to copy a Dual-Layer disk to a standard DVD disk, then it's not going to work.
Likewise, your drive also needs to be capable of writing to a dual-layer disk. Only the drives in the 17-inch MacBook Pro are able to do this. The 15-inch MacBook Pro is not able to write dual-layer disks.
Now, assuming that both the disk you are reading and the disk you are writing to are NOT Dual Layer DVD disks, then you may have a media problem.
In this case, it could be that the media is not a type that works well in your computer. Some drives are very particular about who's disks they'll work with. Others will burn anything.
So, I would check to see if the computer will burn files to that disk (or the same kind of disk) without trouble.
If it will write to that disk, but still will not copy the disk you are trying to duplicate, then you are probably dealing with copy protection or disks that are in a format that either you cannot write or are of different types.
If you are working with a DVD, you can usually tell if it is a dual-layer disk by seeing how large it's reported capacity is in the Finder.
Right-click on the disk on your desktop, and then click on "Get Info". If the reported capacity is beyond 4.7 GB, then you are most likely working with a dual-layer DVD.
And, of course, the obvious, don't try to copy a CD to a DVD or a DVD to a CD.
And, one more detail is that you need to have plenty of space available on your hard drive to burn a DVD or duplicate one. I tried with about 4 or 5 GB of space free, and was given an error. But, with more space available (around 20 GB) the computer was happy to burn a disk for me.
Again, without more information, it's hard to say for sure what your problem is. But, hopefully the ideas above will provide you with some help in making sure you are on the right track.