And work with these materials. Imagine you downloaded a game or movie from the Internet. However, they do not want to open and have an .iso extension instead of the usual games.exe or video.avi format.
Background
The described type of files is also called a virtual disk image. Answer to
the question of how ISO files will work and how to unpack them directly depends on what program you will use to run this extension.
However, the definition should be clarified and note that an .iso is a digital image of an optical disk (it can be a copy of an existing CD/DVD or a man-made image). We have selected several programs for you that will help you figure out how to run an ISO file. Let's look at them in order.
using WinRAR program
Let's start with one of the simplest programs that can open ISO files. We are talking about everything that is known. We will not dwell on
all the properties of the archiver, we will only consider opening disk images. If you need the archiver solely as a program for opening ISO files, using it will not cause any difficulties. Using the right mouse button, click on the ISO file.
You will see context menu, find the “Extract” tab in it. This way, the file will automatically be opened through WinRAR, which will prompt you to select a directory to extract the contents of the disk image. All you have to do is wait until the information in the ISO file is transferred to the specified location.
Note that the Windows 7 ISO file can be placed on flash drives if the system needs to be reinstalled. There is a separate category of programs for creating multiboot removable media.
Daemon Tools
Daemon Tools is a program for opening ISO files, but not only that. She happens to be
an emulator that creates virtual drives, installing them on a computer, they allow you to open virtual image disk with .iso resolution. In other words, the application allows the computer to recognize the .iso as a disk located in a CD or DVD drive.
We will not dwell on all the intricacies of Daemon Tools; we will only consider how ISO files are opened using this application. To get started, download and install the program on your computer. Launch the application. In the main window, click on the “Add image” item. Select the ISO file, click the "Open" button.
The image will be placed into the program. Right-click on the icon and select “Mount Image”. Specify the disk image. The ISO file will automatically launch.
ISO files: how to extract images using Ultra ISO
From the name of the application it is clear that it is specifically designed to process
disk images. At the same time, working with the program is quite simple. Let's look at the procedure to play an ISO file in a few steps. Download and install the application on your computer. Launch it. Go to the "File" section and select the "Open" tab, find the required file and specify it.
Once the ISO file is opened, you will see its entire contents on the right side of the program window. And now you can extract these files to your computer, and then easily run them.
Features of the Alkohol 120% program
A well-known program that allows you to work with images. It will help you run or play the contents of ISO files. The application may seem difficult to use for novice users. The program is paid; to use it regularly, you must purchase a licensed version. Let's look at how to use Alkohol 120%.
Download and install the program on your computer. During installation you will be prompted to create a virtual drive. Confirm this action. Restart your computer. After the system boots, you will see a new one among the available drives; it is necessary to open the file.
Select the desired file, right-click on it and click on “Mount image”. After specifying the image, it will autorun and will allow you to see the contents of the file.
Power ISO
Power ISO is a small, easy-to-use emulator for running disk images. This is an extended version of the Ultra ISO application, which allows you to play both ISO files and other images with .md2-5, .mdl, .mdf, .bin resolutions.
Free 7-zip archiver
Download the program from the official website. Install it. The application provides two methods to extract the ISO image. The first is gaining access to the entire contents of the image. The second is to use a specific file that is located inside the disk copy. Let's start with the first method.
Right click on your file. In the menu, select “7-zip - unpack”. A dialog box will open in front of you, at the top of which there is a special field. In it, specify the path intended for unpacking the image. Now let's discuss the second method. Launch the 7-zip application. Use the “Service” function, go to “Settings”, and then “System”. Check the box next to “ISO” and save the settings.
Find your image. Double-click on it with the left mouse button. Select the file you need, click "Extract". Further, all actions are similar to those described in the first method.
CDBurnerXP
CDBurnerXP is an excellent solution for beginner users. The application is provided absolutely free of charge and is compatible with the operating system. Windows system 7, handles the format perfectly. The program is very simple to use.
What can Nero do?
Nero is paid program, however, it has 15 days available free work.
Download the application from the official website. Install it. During installation, always click on “Next” and do not forget to accept the terms. Launch NeroStartSmart and select the NeroImageDrive function.
Allow the first drive, go to the “First drive” item, find the “Open” button - click it, find the file on your computer, click “Open”. Next "OK". The file will be downloaded automatically to virtual drive, it can be opened in “Computer” as a CD/DVD media.
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 to store backup exact copies of disks on media. Essentially, this file is simply an archive container in which it is collected file system ISO standard 9660, 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 do not 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 the free 7-zip archiver. 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 right-click on the file. 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 first need to 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. She took on the appearance 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 special program, which creates a virtual disk drive on your computer and mounts the iso file, allowing you to use it like 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 free 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”
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 in those days when it was possible to find programs on the Internet 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 without a disc inserted into a CD or DVD drive, did not work, 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 of this format allows you to create an exact digital copy of the original by recording data onto a blank CD-RW or DVD-RW.
Most often, ISO files are used to distribute large assemblies of programs, or for versions of large paid products such as Windows, 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 a large number of 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 to edit or work with individual files within an 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 select the “Options” tab in the top menu and “Settings” in it.
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 Daemon Tools Lite because it is officially free (no need to pay, search pirated versions and various cracks), and, most importantly, I got 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).
To run the ISO file Daemon program Tools you need to select it with the mouse and drag it onto 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 many more functions that are no longer related to opening ISO images, and with their creation and burning 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.
PowerISO is a universal tool for working with CD, DVD and Blu-ray disc images, which allows you to do the following: open, extract to a folder, burn to disk, create, edit, compress, encrypt, split, convert to other formats, and mount on a virtual drive. The program can work with almost all CD, DVD and Blu-ray disc images - ISO, BIN, NRG, CDI, DAA and so on.
PowerISO allows you to decompress disk images with just one click. The application is also designed for professional recording optical disks, you can use it to create data discs, audio discs, and even DVDs with movies. Audio CDs can be created from a variety of audio file formats, with on-the-fly conversion. The program also allows you to create images from any disk. In addition, it can be used to create bootable disks and even bootable flash drives, allowing you to create an installation disk operating system in a matter of minutes.
PowerISO supports integration with Windows Explorers by adding your actions to the context menu and drag and drop technology.
Key Features and Functions
- support for most CD/DVD-ROM disc image formats (ISO, BIN, NRG, CDI, DAA and others);
- opening and unpacking ISO files;
- creating ISO files from files on your hard drive or CD/DVD-ROM;
- editing existing ISO files directly;
- converting ISO/BIN image files and other formats. PowerISO will be able to convert most formats to a regular ISO file;
- Creation Bootable ISOs files, the ability to take boot information from existing boot ISO files;
- file optimization to save disk space;
- CD/DVD emulation to open and use ISO contents as if the disc was inserted into the drive;
- the ease of use of the program will help you quickly understand functionality and subtleties.
