Download the archiver to extract the ISO image. How to extract an ISO file. Mounting an ISO image for disk emulation
File iso how to open So what's this. This question may arise for every computer user. In this article I will tell you what the iso format is and how you need to handle it: how to create an iso image and what program to open it with.
The iso file extension is an archived image of a CD or DVD disk that is used by programs to create an exact copy of disks and then burn them. Very often used for storing backup exact copies disks on the media. Essentially, this file is simply an archive container in which the file system of the ISO 9660 standard is collected, which describes the standard for CD-ROM drives. The purpose of creating this format was to ensure full compatibility of the storage medium on different operating systems (such as Unix, Windows, Mac OS).
How to open an iso file using the free 7-zip archiver.
If you have an ISO image and need to burn it to a disc, you can use the free CD BurnerXP disc burning program. You can read how to record.
If you don’t need to burn the image to disk and you just want to open the iso file to, for example, view a list of files or open some, you can use free archiver 7-zip. I will show how this is done using the example of one of the files, and at the end of the article I recorded a video with step by step instructions. You must have the 7-zip archiver installed on your computer.
So, open the folder with the disk image file (iso) and click on the file right click mice. In the menu list we find 7-zip, click and in the menu that opens select “Open archive”. This operation will open our file to work with the files that are inside. In this case, we will be able, for example, to select only some of all the files present and unzip them to a computer for reading or viewing. If you select the “Unpack” menu, a window will open with a choice of where to unpack the entire iso file. When you select the “Unpack here” menu, the program will unzip the entire contents of the archive into the folder in which the iso archive itself is located. And when you select “Extract to...”, the program will expand all the files contained in the archive into a folder that will have the same name as the name of the iso file. In our case, we select “Open archive” because This is the most universal method of working with it.
After this, the archiver will start with a list of files that the iso image contains. Just like in a regular Explorer, you can select files and open folders. To unzip the necessary files, we select a file, folder or several files and folders and click the “Extract” button. A window will open where you need to specify the folder into which the file will be extracted. In my case, I selected 1 file and extracted it to the same folder where the image itself was located. Click Ok.
As a result, the files that we extracted should appear in the selected folder. There is nothing super complicated in the iso file and you can work with it in the same way as with a regular archive.
How to open an iso file using winrar archiver
In principle, you can open an iso with any decompressor program that allows you to work with this iso format. As for the most common winrar program, I will show you how to work with it.
If you already have winrar installed, you can extract all files from the iso image directly from the context menu. But as you can see in the image below, you cannot open the file by right-clicking. You will need to first launch winrar and in the program itself select the required file to open and then extract necessary files. If you often need to open these types of files, it will be more convenient to add the ability to open with an archiver using the context menu.
To do this, launch winrar and open the options menu and then settings. Go to the Integration tab, check the ISO checkbox and click OK.
After this, the right-click context menu on the ISO file will look like this. Also pay attention to the file icon. It took the form of a winrar archive, i.e. When you run such a file, the archiver will automatically start with the contents of the file.
Now you can select the files or folders you need, view the contents, or extract them to your computer. All operations are the same as in the case of the 7-zip archiver.
How to open an iso file with a disk mount program
In previous examples, we looked at options for how to open and extract the contents of a file. However, in most cases you will be faced with the task of watching a video or installing some program or game on your computer. And in this case, you will need a special program that creates a virtual disk drive on your computer and mounts the iso file, which allows you to use it as an ordinary CD or DVD disk. This is necessary if the installer program, to install programs, needs to work not with files in a folder, but with a full-fledged drive.
The most common and also devil paid program for mounting images - this is DAEMON Tools Lite. You can download it from the website daemon-tools.cc. Please note that to download you must click on the following link:
After downloading, run the installation file and install the program on your computer. Once the installation is complete, all ISO files will change their icon to daemon tools and, when opened or double-clicked with the left button, will be automatically mounted as a virtual disk and opened as a disk. To do this, the program will create an additional virtual drive during mounting and when unmounting the image, this drive will be deleted as unnecessary.
After opening an iso file in this way, you can perform all operations with it just like those available for files on a regular disk. To unmount the image and hide the virtual drive, right-click on the virtual drive and select "eject" from the context menu.
Video “How to open an iso file”
Mounting an ISO image for disk emulation
Quite often, as such, there is simply no need for physical recording on a CD or DVD. Today, almost any ISO file can be mounted to emulate a disk, and you don't need any physical media to do it.
Of course, some programs will only recognize and use the real external drive. And in the case of normal mounting, they simply will not start or display an error. However, there are free programs to emulate ISO images that can simulate a real disc. So, such restrictions can be circumvented. For example, DAEMON Tools Lite allows you to mount images with various parameters. Besides, everything necessary programs you can also find in the review of free applications for emulating CD and DVD drives.
Note: We are talking about bypassing restrictions due to the presence of software flaws or errors, and not about bypassing security mechanisms.
Reading the contents of an ISO file without extracting it
Some applications can read the content ISO file and the same as if you were using a disk. For example, you can install the Windows operating system on virtual machine straight from ISO image without unpacking it. You can also view and edit the contents of an ISO file using almost any archiver. In this case, it will be similar to if you opened a regular ZIP archive with an archiver.
Extracting an ISO file directly to a hard drive or USB flash drive
In addition, you can use archivers such as 7-Zip to extract all directories and files from the ISO image directly to HDD or usb flash drive. Just use the archiver the same way you would with regular archives. There are also special programs, such as IsoBuster.
Now you know what ISO files are, as well as how and how to open and use them.
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Technical Tips
Now we will talk about how to open an iso file. An iso file contains an image of an optical disk. Having at your disposal the image file and, for example, the Nero program, you can easily burn the image to optical media. However, you can do without the procedure of burning an image to disk.
To do this, you can simply unpack the file with the iso extension using an archiver. We suggest using WinRAR as an archiver, which can be downloaded for free using the links below:
If you don't know how many bits of Windows you have installed, .
As an example, let's unpack the image file with the new course by Evgeniy Popov, called Bestseller2012.iso. After installing the WinRAR archiver, go to the folder with the disk image (iso) and in the context menu (called with the right mouse button) select the command Extract to Bestseller2012.
To unpack the iso file, select the appropriate command in the context menu
After this, the process of unpacking the iso file will begin in a folder whose name matches the name of the file.
Once the unpacking process is complete, a folder will appear Bestseller2012 with the unpacked iso file.
At the end of the unpacking process, the Bestseller2012 folder will appear with the unpacked iso file
Now you can go to the Bestseller2012 folder and view the files.
The contents of the iso file are viewable
Since the WinRAR archiver is installed on the computers of almost all even more or less literate PC users, you can open the iso file without installing other programs.
The question of opening certain types of files arises among computer users all the time, since not every extension is supported by a standard set of programs preinstalled in the operating system.
What are ISO files for?
My acquaintance with ISO files began at a time when finding programs on the Internet was a big problem, and low speed and expensive traffic put an end to any attempts at online downloads.
People used the disks and actively copied them from each other. There was one problem with this process - many disks had protection. Games did not play without a disc inserted into the CD or DVD drive, and autorun was required to install programs. In a word, you couldn’t just take and copy files - you needed the disk itself.
During this period, programs appeared that imitated a disk drive, creating its virtual analogue, and the files they worked with received the ISO extension.
An ISO file is a CD image file or DVD disc, containing inside itself in packed form all the data that is present on its physical original ( optical disk). In addition to storing a disk image, using files in this format allows you to create an exact digital copy of the original by recording the data onto a blank CD-RW or DVD-RW.
Most often, ISO files are used to distribute large software assemblies, or for versions of large paid products. Windows type, Microsoft Office, Photoshop, games, etc.
Programs that open ISO files
Two types of programs are used to open image files: archivers and disk drive emulators.
1. Archivers
These are programs that work with archive files. The main purpose of archives is to compress information or combine large number different files in one to make it more convenient to transfer it somewhere. These include WinRar, 7Zip and some others.
The structure of the ISO file is identical to other archive formats, therefore, it is supported by the above archivers.
2. CD/DVD drive emulators
The purpose of these programs is not to work with files inside disk images, but to create virtual disks and mount image files (ISO) instead of physical storage media. Emulators are not designed for editing or working with separate files inside the image.
How to open an ISO disk image file with WinRar?
In the article “” I already talked about this archiver and its capabilities, so if you decide to get to know it in more detail, go there. We are now interested in how to open an ISO using it.
Since your ISO files do not have the typical WinRar icon in the form of a stack of books, I assume that you do not have an archiver or this type files is not included in its settings as a characteristic.
1. If the archiver is not installed
You need to download it from the official website – win-rar.ru/download/
After running the installation file, you will be asked which files to associate with WinRar. If you want to automatically open ISO files with this program, then check this box.
Now all image files will have a corresponding icon and will be automatically opened by the archiver when double-clicked.
The program allows you to make changes to the contents of the archive - delete, add and edit files.
2. If WinRar is already installed and the ISO does not open
The files are designated as unidentified, which means the files are not associated with the program. In this case, it is possible to manually select WinRar when opening a file or change the program settings so that it understands the ISO by default.
To change the settings, launch the archiver. Press the key combination Ctrl+S or top menu select the “Parameters” tab and in it “Settings”.
In the settings, we need the last tab, code-named “Integration” - the treasured plate with the types of associated files is hidden in it. Check the ISO box and click OK.
We have found out how to open a file to extract the necessary data from it and make changes, now let’s move on to using it as an image.
How to run an ISO file with Daemon Tools Lite
To work with image files for their intended purpose, you can use not only this program; there are a number of applications that create virtual disks and using ISO images, the free versions of each are roughly identical in features and user interface.
I feel comfortable using it Daemon Tools Lite because it’s officially free (no need to pay, look for pirated versions and various cracks), and, most importantly, I’m used to it.
Program installation
Official website for downloading the application – daemon-tools.cc/rus/products/dtLite
Download from there installation file, when you launch it you will be prompted to install free version programs with advertising or pay a small fee to use a pure product.
During the installation process, you may be asked a few more questions (something changes depending on the version of the program). In particular, you can choose which shortcuts to put in the system, whether to allow statistics data to be transferred, and which files to associate with this application automatically.
During installation, you may receive installation prompts software For different types controllers - they are not required, but may be useful.
First start
Your first launch of the program will occur immediately after installation, unless you refuse this action by unchecking the box. When you launch it for the first time, Daemon tools will offer to scan all your hard drives(HDD) to search for suitable files (ISO and other related ones). I recommend removing all unnecessary checkboxes and leaving only ISO.
At the end of the scan, the main interface of the program will open, where the image files that were found during scanning will be located in the central part.
Program interface
At the top right is a search window and “+” for searching and adding new images.
At the bottom are icons of active virtual disks, and on the left is a menu for management (which you can do without).
In order to launch an ISO file with Daemon Tools, you need to select it with the mouse and drag it to the virtual disk in the bottom panel. The image will be instantly mounted into the drive and autorun will occur if it was provided for by this file.
All virtual disks are perceived by the system as normal and are displayed in the “My Computer” list.
You can log into such a disk and browse through the folders, just like with a regular disk.
How to turn on multiple drives at the same time
Daemon Tools can open several ISO files at the same time, mounting images into different virtual disks. This means that it is not necessary to extract one file before installing another - you can run at least all found image files at the same time.
To do this, when choosing the desired file image, do not drag it to the disk in the bottom panel, but click on the “Mount” link in the left menu.
In this case, a new virtual CD/DVD drive will be automatically created and the disk image will be installed into it.
Other useful features
The “Quick Mount” icon allows you to add images to the drive directly through Explorer, even if they are not in the list of found ones.
To extract files and delete virtual disks, you need to right-click on the disk with the desired letter and select “Unmount” or “Delete”, respectively.
The paid version of the program has a lot more functions related not to opening ISO images, but to creating and burning them on physical disks. If you need these functions, you can connect them by paying a certain amount.
We are done for today, I hope that now you will not have problems opening ISO files and launching other types of images.