Yesterday I urgently needed to extract several files from the ISO image, but there was no time to install any programs, so I asked myself the question - how to open an ISO file quickly and without unnecessary movements.

A huge amount of software and operating systems are distributed in the form of ISO images, so you just need to know how to work with this format.

There are several ways to open an iso file, but not everyone knew that it can be opened even by a program that is installed on everyone’s computer. What kind of program is this and what alternative methods are available, read in this article.

What is an ISO image?

So, what is an ISO file and what does it come with? In simple words, an ISO image is an electronic version of an optical disk, which is a file with its own file system and the actual contents of the disk.

Having a disk image, you can connect it in the operating system as a regular optical disk. There are a lot of options for using disk images! Starting from installing games and programs, ending with the work of special programs that work exclusively from an optical disc. Beta versions of operating systems are also posted in image format, for example in an ISO image you can

How to open an ISO file using UltraISO

The first, and once the most convenient way for me to open ISO files, is using the UltraISO program. I won’t give a link to the program; you can buy a paid version on the official website, but in open sources there are versions for which you don’t need to pay;).

To open an ISO file, you need to run the UltraISO program, select “ Open

and specify the path to your ISO image. Then in the program window you will see the contents of the disk image

In order to extract a file from the image, right-click on the desired file and select the menu item “ Extract to...

How to open an ISO file using DAEMON Tools

A very cool program for mounting optical disk images. Not the most convenient way if you just need to extract a file from a disk image, but I’ll still describe it as an option.

For us, the version of the program is quite enough DAEMON Tools Lite. You can download it from the official website absolutely free of charge.

After downloading the program, install it and run it. An image catalog window will open, add your image

Now you only need to select the added image and click the “ Mount“,

after which you will have a drive in your system (in my case, drive D)

Working with a mounted disc is no different from working with regular optical discs inserted into a DVD drive.

How to Open an ISO File with 7-Zip

My favorite and, in principle, the most convenient way to open ISO disk images. I found out about it relatively recently, and was pleasantly surprised. After all, today almost every computer has a 7-Zip archiver installed. It's free and easy to use.

You can download it from the official website using a direct link:

After installation, open 7-Zip File Manager, it is a regular explorer with archiver tools

To open an ISO image, you just need to go to the folder in which it is located and double-click on it. It will open like a normal folder

You can extract a file from an ISO image by selecting it and clicking on the “ Extract“.

Category: Disk images

The ISO format is used to create a disk image (an exact copy of it). There are a lot of programs to open it (even the usual Total Commander is capable of this). But the best of them can not only open this format, but also play it as a full-fledged disc.

No. 1. Daemon Tools

Every gamer knows this name. The program can create virtual drives and mount the necessary images into them. However, this is only one of its capabilities. In fact, the application is capable of a lot.

Video review

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=94r1xMmGFRA Features:
  • Creation of images. The product is capable of creating an image in ISO format from any optical media. Works great with DVD, DVD-DL, Blu-Ray and CD.
  • Bypass protection. Daemon Tools easily bypasses country code-locked game discs and movies. Even the vaunted StarForce or Denuvo protection mechanisms cannot help.
  • Own driver. For normal operation of the program and the ability to bypass protection, you must install the proprietary SPDT driver. Usually it comes included.
  • Omnivorous. Daemon Tools can mount and play more than just the ISO format. The program also supports such popular formats as MDF, MDS, BIN, NRG.
Advantages:
  • the program is easy to use;
  • has a nice interface;
  • there is a special free Lite version;
  • Russian language included;
  • does not particularly load the computer;
  • works even on old machines;
  • integrates into the Windows context menu;
  • easily removed.
It's not for nothing that Daemon Tools is considered the best of its kind. The program has adequate Russian language and a free version. And the Lite version is in no way inferior in functionality to its paid counterpart, which is important.

No. 2. Ultra ISO

This is not just a program for opening ISO files, but an advanced processor with rich functionality. This is the second most popular product, which is actively used by users around the world. UltraISO has a very impressive list of tools. But that is not all.

Video review

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZX3UQrJObeY Features:
  • Creation of images. The program does an excellent job of copying any disc. Images are saved in ISO format and are amazingly accurate.
  • Built-in error correction algorithm. If a copy cannot be made due to a reading error, then the application will do everything possible to somehow bypass the error and not violate the integrity of the image.
  • Creating Bootable USBs. Many people use UltraISO to create bootable flash drives with a particular operating system.
  • Review. The program boasts a built-in explorer that is capable of showing the entire contents of the ISO image.
Advantages:
  • Easy installation process
  • Integration into the Windows context menu
  • Multitasking
  • Russian language “out of the box”
  • Adequate work with Windows 10
  • Low load on processor and RAM
  • Advanced error workaround algorithm
  • Intuitive interface
  • Simple removal process.
UltraISO is a good application for opening image files. But the program is paid and does not have a free version. And an unregistered product is very limited in functionality.

No. 3. Alcohol 120%

Another product that is capable of emulating drives to launch disk images. It has its own format (MDF, MDS) and boasts high performance. However, it takes up quite a lot of hard drive space.

Video review

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZcSkMZaSijY Features:
  • Creation of images. Easily copes with copying any discs. But it saves it in its own format, which is not particularly popular.
  • Launching images. Capable of creating a virtual drive and running an image of any format in it. Even the notorious ISO.
  • Bypass protection. Like Daemon Tools, it can bypass security mechanisms, but it doesn’t cope with all of them.
  • Work in the background. Constantly running in the background. At this time, the tray icon is visible. This type of work loads the computer.
Advantages:
  • intuitive interface;
  • Russian language included;
  • reproduction of images of any format;
  • knows how to bypass some protection;
  • works great with Windows 10;
  • there is a special free version (Alcohol 50%);
  • simple installation and removal process;
  • modern design.
This program is pretty good. But only for running ISO files. It is not recommended to use it to create images. And the free version lacks this function. And the license is expensive.

ISO format files can be opened with special programs. There are 2 types of ISO formats, each of which is opened by different programs. To open the desired type of format, study the file descriptions and download one of the suggested programs.

How to open an ISO file

ISO is a format used as a virtual image of an optical disc. The extension belongs to the category of disk images and can be opened on Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux platforms.
The ISO format is very popular because:

  1. allows you to easily and conveniently create an exact copy of any CD, DVD5, DVD9, BD, including boot;
  2. allows you to store any content: movies, games, audio files, software, operating systems;
  3. allows you to conveniently transfer data to external and internal media, upload files to the Internet or download them.
  4. copying and mounting occurs as quickly as possible;
  5. the content remains intact even when stored in an ISO file for a long time.

Programs for opening iso files

A number of operating systems allow you to mount an ISO disk and work with it as with a regular disk without installing additional programs. Such systems include MacOS, Linux, Windows 8.
You can also view and extract the contents of the ISO image using an archiver or software that creates a virtual CD-ROM drive.

  1. Windows (all versions):
    • IsoBuster
    • Magic ISO
    • Daemon Tools
    • Alcohol 120%
    • Ultra ISO
    • Poweriso
    • WinISO
    • ImgBurn
    • Nero 2014
    • ImDisk Virtual Disk Driver
    • Microsoft Windows Disc Image Burner
    • WinZip
  2. Linux:
    • Brasero
    • Poweriso
    • ISO Master
    • Canonical Furius ISO Mount
  3. Mac OS X:
    • Poweriso
    • Apple Disk Utility
    • Parallels Desktop 7 for Mac
    • VMware Fusion
    • Roxio Toast 11

The programs have advanced capabilities: recording, extraction, conversion, encryption, mounting, etc.

Conversion

If necessary, files with the ISO extension can be converted to other formats. This can only be done with the help of special programs. The most popular conversion software includes:

  • UltraISO:
    IMG ISO, ISZ, BIN/CUE, NRG, MDF/MDS, IMG/CCD/SUB, B5T, C2D, CCD
  • Aimersoft Video Converter Ultimate:
    AVI
  • Xilisoft DVD to AVI Converter:
    AVI
  • AnyToISO:
    BIN, MDF, UIF, B5I, IMG, DEB, DMG CD/DVD-ROM, etc.
  • AVS Document Converter:
    PDF, DOC, DOCX, RTF, TXT, JPEG, TIFF, EPUB, etc.
  • IsoBuster:
    BIN, C2D, CCD, IMG
  • Power ISO:
    BIN, C2D, IMG

Computer-aided design drawing created by Arbortext IsoDraw, a program used for creating 2D technical illustrations. Often used to store drawings for parts catalogs, user manuals and assembly instructions. Can be used to align imported 3D drawings into 2D format for printing and publishing purposes.

Arbortext IsoDraw illustrations can also be stored in the compressed .ISOZ format to reduce file size and distribute them via email.

Download the program for ISO format

A standard CD or DVD disc image format based on the ISO-9660 standard. Contains a complete copy of the data from the original disk. Includes data stored on disk as well as file system information such as directory structure, file attributes, and bootstrap code. Often used to create copies of CDs and DVDs.

ISO files (read as ISO) are used to create copies or backups of CDs and DVDs as they copy every bit of data from the discs. This is different from copying all the files on a disk because the disk title information is lost during the copying process. The ISO file can be used to restore the original version of the disc.

Windows 7 includes a utility called Windows Disc Image Burner that burns ISO images to CDs and DVDs. This utility is located in the \Windows\System32\ directory and is called isoburn.exe.

Note: Some ISO files can be loaded onto Sony PSP using the Fast Loader utility.

MIME type: application/x-iso9660-image

DAEMON Tools is the best program for creating virtual disks and mounting them (emulating), which significantly reduces disk space and allows you to create backup copies of all necessary files. The main difference between this program and many other similar ones is that the developers of the utility put the interests of their users much higher than everything else. This is evidenced by the constantly updating versions of the program, which is becoming more and more convenient to use and universal in application. The main advantages of the utility include:
- the ability to create images (CD/DVD/Blu-ray) as a file and mount them.
- the ability to replace physical wear of all types of disks.
- a convenient and clear interface will make absolutely no one use the program for all categories of users.
- allows you to use all possible image formats.
- provides the ability to copy boot disks, and also makes it possible to protect saved files with a password, which will ensure complete security for file storage.
In order to be able to use the program, you need to take the following steps.
First you need to download and install the program on your personal computer:

After this, select the desired program components to use and determine the program installation folder. Installation will take just minutes.

After installation, you need to launch the program and select the image creation tab, after which a window will open in which you need to select the disk drive parameters, writing speed, and location of the new disk image. Select the file for the image and its format. It is advisable to specify the maximum reading speed and, if necessary, you can specify a protection password.

When you have finished selecting the parameters, you need to click on the start button and the image will be created automatically in the previously specified folder.
A fairly convenient interface and ease of use are the main advantages of this program, which is designed to greatly secure and expand the range of capabilities of your disk images to 4 different units, which will replace the need to save disks and fear their failure.


Windows 10 does not provide convenient options for working with ISO images. If you need similar functionality, then you need to download PowerISO for Windows 10. This is a free program that will allow you to work with various disk image formats, including the most popular format - ISO.

Download PowerISO to work with ISO disk images

PowerISO is one of the few utilities that works with almost all image extensions. And although the developers themselves position their brainchild as a tool for working with ISO images, we would position the solution more broadly. The utility does a little more, and here are just some of its functions:
  • Creating and unpacking ISO images;
  • Converting image extensions;
  • Encryption and modification of images;
To work with the PowerISO program, you don't even need a physical DVD drive or CD drive. Just install this software and you will be able to work with images the same way as if you had a drive. This is very convenient, because in Windows 10 32/64 bit is very popular on tablets that do not have disk drives.

The utility is so powerful that even on a weak laptop you can open the image and work with files without having to unzip the file. Among the supported formats, in addition to the ISO format, there are also DAA, NCD, C2D, PDI and more than 10 others, a detailed list can be found in the program instructions, which are built into the program itself. The instructions, like the program itself, are in Russian. To burn the finished image to disk, you can use it, it will cope with the recording much faster. PowerISO is designed to work with images on your device using fast unpacking and emulation.