I'm totally new and would really appreciate some help

I would like to backup some of my original cd's but don't know the exact process.
I have an Acer cdrw 8x4x32. Should I use Nero or other software?
Is it as simple as creating a cd image from the original disc to your hard drive and then burn the cd from that. I see that patches are talked about a lot. Are they for secruity. Do you you have to insert a patch into the image before you burn it?
Is it best to burn at low speeds to ensure success?
To run a newly burned cd do you have to rename and replace the game.exe file with teh cracked file?

Sorry about all the questions, any help would be greatly appreciated

Russ