Mount ISO images on Windows
Windows 8.x and later default utility
Starting with version number 8, Windows includes a very useful function that allows you to mount ISO files without resorting to third-party software: just right click on the image to mount, select the item Monta from the context menu and a virtual drive is created containing all the data from the original ISO file.
All very simple, right? However, not everyone has Windows 8.x or Windows 10 installed on their PC; many are still stuck in Windows 7, Vista or even XP and therefore other programs must also be considered. Now I propose some of the best available in the free sector.
WinCDEmu
WinCDEmu is one of the best software for loading ISO files: it is free, open source and works on all versions of Windows from XP onwards. To download it to your PC, connect to its official website and click on the button Download twice in a row. When the download is complete, open the installation package named WinCDEmu-xx.exe click her cousin Yes and then install, Install e OK but I will complete the setup.
At the end of the procedure, right click on the ISO image to mount, select the item Select a drive and mount the image from the menu that appears, choose the letter to assign to the virtual drive that will be created by WinCDEmu and press OK per portare to finish l'operazione.
When you have finished using the ISO image, to "unmount" it, open theFile Explorer Windows (the yellow folder icon located at the bottom left of the taskbar), select the item Computer / This PC from the left sidebar, right click on the virtual drive icon and select the item Eject give the menu answer.
Virtual CloneDrive
If WinCDEmu does not fully satisfy you, you can mount ISO files with Virtual CloneDrive, a free program created by the same manufacturer of the very famous CloneDVD and AnyDVD. To download it to your PC, connect to its official website and click on the button Download located next to the item Virtual CloneDrive (At the bottom of the page).
When the download is complete, open the installation package named SetupVirtualCloneDrivexx.exe and complete the setup by clicking on first Yes and then Accept, NEXT, Install for two consecutive times e Close: very easy! At the end of the operation, to mount an ISO image in Virtual CloneDrive, right click on it and select the item Monta (Virtual CloneDrive) give the menu check if you press.
To unmount an image after its use, open theFile Explorer Windows, select the item Computer / This PC from the left sidebar, right click on the virtual drive icon and select the item Eject from the context menu (just as seen before with WinCDEmu).
If you want, you can have Virtual CloneDrive manage multiple virtual drives, and therefore multiple ISO images, at the same time. All you have to do is call up the program icon from the Windows notification area and set the desired number of drives in the drop-down menu Number of units.
Mount ISO images on Mac
Do you have a Mac? Then it is really weird that you are reading this tutorial. macOS, in fact, includes a tool that allows you to mount ISO files without resorting to external programs. His name is DiskImageMounter and, to exploit it, just double click on the image to mount.
If on your computer you are unable to mount ISO images by double clicking on their icons, try to restore the default ISO file association on Mac by following these five simple steps.
- Click on the icon of any file in ISO format;
- Press the key combination cmd + i on the computer keyboard to call up the window with advanced file information;
- Expand the field Open with;
- Select the item DiskImageMounter from the drop-down menu located under the item Open with;
- Press on the button Edit everything.
At this point you should be able to mount the ISO files in virtual drives by simply double clicking on their icons. Otherwise, ie if you get error messages while trying to mount ISO images (eg "no mountable file system"), you may have come across a file that cannot be "mounted" in live mode. To solve the problem, install The Unarchiver or any other software for managing compressed archives and extract the ISO file with it as if it were a ZIP archive. This way you will be able to access the content of the image file without burning it, even if you will not be able to mount it in a virtual CD / DVD drive.
Mount ISO images on Ubuntu Linux
Also Ubuntu, in its most recent versions, offers a tool to mount ISO files quickly and easily. To exploit it, all you have to do is select the ISO file to mount with the right mouse button and click on the item Open with Mount Disc Images Present on the menu if you press.
The Ubuntu sidebar will show theCD player icon: click on it and you can view the contents of the selected ISO file. To unmount the image file at the end of its use, instead, right click on the CD player icon and select the item Disassemble give the menu check if you press.
If you use an outdated version of Ubuntu and / or fail to mount the ISO files following the procedure I have just shown you, open theUbuntu Software Center (the orange shopping bag icon located in the left sidebar) and search Furius the ISO mount. As easily understood, it is a free software that allows you to mount ISO files in virtual drives.
Once you have found the program, to install it on Ubuntu, press the button Install placed next to its name, type the Password of your user account and wait for the download to complete. It shouldn't take long.
How to mount ISO files
