- The extension (format) is the characters at the end of the file after the last point.
- The computer determines the type of file precisely by the extension.
- By default Windows does not show file name extensions.
- Some characters cannot be used in the file name and extension.
- Not all formats are related to the same program.
- Below are all programs with which you can open the ISO file.
Bandizip is a handy archiver for Windows operating systems. The program supports most of various formats and has a unique algorithm for skipping incompressible files. Bandizip integrates into the explorer context menu, which makes it much easier to manage the program itself, because all the necessary operations, for example, creating archives or unpacking data, can be performed directly from the explorer. In addition, it has an encryption algorithm to protect the file from unwanted opening. In addition, the program has a function to set a password for a file. This password, as you know, cannot be cracked ...
CDBurnerXP is a powerful and versatile CD and DVD burning software, including Blu-Ray and HD-DVD. Writes data from hard disk and from ISO files, burns data CDs and audio CDs. Allows you to create bootable discs, extract audio data and save to hard disk in MP3, OGG, WMA, WAV, and save CD images as ISO files. CDBurnerXP can work with both regular and rewritable discs. You can add files for recording using the program explorer or by dragging them with the mouse from anywhere on the computer into the program's working window. In addition, with the help of the program, you can ...
BurnAware is a simple and at the same time very powerful program for burning and copying any discs - CD, DVD, Blu-Ray and HD-DVD, as well as copying CDs and DVDs. BurnAware allows you to perform all basic recording tasks: working with media: recording Audio CD and DVD-Video, copying and burning images, cloning discs, multisession support. Also has additional tools for making copies of CDs and DVDs with photos, documents, movies, games and music and more. There is a multilingual interface, including Russian and support for Windows 8. BurnAware supports all types of optical media and a wide range of disk recorders ...
UNetbootin is a universal utility that helps in creating a bootable USB flash drive with the Linux operating shell. The program creates a bootable device from an ISO image. The program supports operation via a hard disk or a portable device. With UNetbootin, you can create boot images for Backtrack, NTPasswd, Parted Magic, Smart Boot Manager (SBM), FreeDOS Super Grub Disk. The program supports a large number of Linux distributions. Thanks to the program, the user can boot the system directly from the USB stick to get familiar with it, or install it immediately on the hard drive. In both cases, the ability to work with Windows about ...
WinCDEmu is a simple program to help users create virtual CD and DVD drives. Allows you to quickly launch existing disk images on your computer. WinCDEmu integrates nicely into the operating system's explorer. Manipulations with the launch of a virtual drive can be carried out through the context menu. It is enough to right-click on the desired image and mount or unmount it. Thus, the user will be able to quickly mount the image, avoiding unnecessary manipulations. WinCDEmu, as well as its counterparts, supports the basic formats for virtual images.
ISO Workshop is another program for working with optical disc images. The program has a convenient and simple interface, and also has some features that are rarely found in other similar products. For example, this program can work with images of the cue format, which makes it easy to burn an uncompressed image of an album to disk. This can be useful for creating your own music library, as well as in cases where a full-fledged flac album needs to be played on a stereo or player. In addition, ISO Workshop works with other images as well. The most races ...
Universal Extractor is a handy utility for unpacking various archives, as well as some additional file types. This program is primarily suitable for those users who create archives on a computer, but only download various archives from the Internet, and then unpack them. The Universal Extractor utility copes with this task quite well. It allows you to unpack all known archives, as well as dll, exe, mdi and other file types. In fact, the program can serve, to some extent, a kind of program installer, since it allows you to unpack some of the installers and then run ...
Free Any Burn is a program for burning optical discs that allows you to burn almost all image formats to media, as well as create them yourself. It has a small size, but the set of functions of this program is quite extensive. Free Any Burn, as mentioned above, can read images of any format, and then write them to any optical media. The main thing is to have equipment for recording. At the same time, the program recognizes not only well-known formats, for example, NRG, but also some others, for example, cue. In the latter case, when recording this image, a full-fledged audio CD is obtained, unless, of course, fla ...
DAEMON Tools Lite is, in terms of its functionality, a very reliable software for emulating virtual CD, DVD, Blu-ray drives and for creating various disk images with support for different protection systems. Can create mds, iso, mdx and mdf images of CD, DVD, Blu-ray with the function of protecting and compressing images using a password. This unique program can mount all known images. Can create up to 4 virtual drives in total. This will be an indispensable thing, for example, for netbooks, because they do not have optical drives in their kit. Despite its relatively small size, the program has all ...
WinToUSB is a program that allows you to run the Windows operating system from a removable USB drive. You can burn an OS to a USB flash drive using an ISO image, or from a CD / DVD disc. The program is very easy to use, you just need to select an image, a device and start recording. She herself will format the USB flash drive and write a completely working OS to it. Already supports new Windows. The program also supports WindowsToGo. This is a development that allows you to have a fully functional Windows 8 from a USB drive, which does not happen with Windows 7, since it can sometimes give problems with drivers or system activation if run on different computers ...
HaoZip is a Chinese clone of the popular Winrar archiver, both in terms of functionality and interface in general. The archiver can work with all popular formats, including 7Z, ZIP, TAR, RAR, ISO, UDF, ACE, UUE, CAB, BZIP2, ARJ, JAR, LZH, RPM, Z, LZMA, NSIS, DEB, XAR, CPIO, SPLIT, WIM, IMG and others. In addition, using Haozip, you can mount ISO images and view images through the built-in viewer, which is a very useful feature for archivers. As for the interface, the Chinese developers have done a good job here. They not only copied the design and functionality from the Winrar archiver, but also added ...
Free Disc Burner is a handy application for burning discs. The utility supports most of the known disk formats. Performs simple recording, multisession, and also allows you to delete previously recorded information. Works great with Blu-Ray format. Supports such buffer protection technologies as BurnProof, JustLink. Allows you to determine the write speed of discs. You can specify the file system required for the user. Supports fast erasing of data from a disk, thorough erasing of information. Allows you to create virtual ISO images for a number of well-known formats, including Blu-Ray. Supports ...
A beautiful and simple program for archiving files. Works without any problems with any archive. An excellent replacement for old programs like WinRAR or 7zip. It includes all the functionality of the previous ones and has a new improved algorithm that will allow you to create archives more than 2 times faster. It is also good in that it makes the best use of the capabilities of multi-core processors, optimally tuning compression and performance. It has special functions for splitting large files, which will make it easy to pack an archive of the required size. The archiver is very good for its intuitive, understandable and accessible to every interface ...
WinRAR is a well-known program designed to work with archives. The utility includes a wide range of built-in capabilities. WinRAR compresses data faster than competitors, saving disk space and user time. Supports well-known archive formats and is suitable for compressing multimedia files. Automatic file format recognition, special data compression algorithm and optimal packing method are the advantages of the application. WinRAR can compress executable, multimedia files and libraries of object modules. The application allows you to divide archives into separate volumes and save them on different storage devices.
MakeMKV is a small but powerful application that makes it easy to convert video files from DVD format and other file types to MKV format. The installation procedure is quick and uncomplicated. The interface is quite primitive and is a window that lists the found DVDs. You can use the file browser to select a disc with a different format. You can immediately determine the output directory and convert DVD chapters individually. When familiarizing yourself with the program settings, you can set the number of read attempts, the buffer size, and define another language for the interface. The program allows you to include ...
BootLine is an application that allows you to create multiboot flash drives that can host multiple operating systems along with recovery tools. The program interface is extremely simple, there are no complex settings. To run the program, the user needs to select a USB drive, specify the path to the image and start the process. BootLine allows you to place up to 10 boot files on one USB flash drive at the same time. If the user needs to reinstall or restore the operating system, he can choose one of the operating system types located on the USB-drive.
Alcohol 52% is a free software for emulation and imaging. This program allows you to create several virtual drives, and then write an image to them. In this case, you can either take an image from the Internet or any source, or first create it from a disk. Emulating an image using a virtual drive in some cases allows you to abandon the use of physical media. This is necessary when you take a disc from a friend, or you just do not want to constantly take it from the shelf, but the program requires it. Then you can use the function of creating a virtual drive.
IsoBuster is a program from Smart Projects, which is designed for data recovery. It is useful in that it can be used to open files on CD / DVD-disks if Windows cannot open them. Even when they cannot be read using your operating system, IsoBuster will recover the files. The peculiarity of the program is that it works directly with tracks, disk sessions and sectors. The free version of the program supports almost all CD and DVD formats, but alas, does not support Blu-ray disk and HD DVD. The program also works with virtual drives, images and can convert files. There is also multilingual ...
Universal USB Installer is a program for installing a bootable Linux operating system on removable media. It works very easily, first you need to select the desired distribution from Linux, then the port of the removable media and finally click on “Install”. It is important to note that the distribution must be in ISO format. Allows, if necessary, format the USB flash drive, before installing the operating system. Also Universal USB Installer supports Persistent feature. This is the amount of free memory on a flash drive that the user chooses, which will be allocated for free space on the future operating system, which in its own ...
Peazip is a versatile and powerful graphical archiver. An excellent replacement for the paid analogue - Winrar. PeaZip supports data encryption, creating multivolume archives, working with multiple archives at the same time, exporting a job as a command line, setting filters on the contents of an archive. In addition, the archiver supports all known and even unknown archive formats including 7Z, 7Z-sfx, BZ2 / TBZ2, GZ / TGZ, PAQ / LPAQ, TAR, UPX, ZIP and others. PeaZip's interface is very primitive and at the same time full of useful features. You can use the assistant to integrate into Windows Explorer or return it back, install ...
Astroburn Lite is a small freeware program for creating and burning discs. Astroburn Lite is a stripped-down version of its paid counterpart, and therefore not all functions are available in it. Nevertheless, the program supports writing to any kind of media, and also works with most drives. The program allows you to add files to the project with just a couple of mouse clicks. The only thing that she does not know how to create folders, so before recording it is better to do it yourself. In addition, Astroburn Lite works great with almost all image formats. It is possible to record even audio albums recorded without ...
Linux Live USB Creator is a special program for Windows that allows you to create a Linux bootable disk on removable media. This is a great tool that will allow you to always have an operating system with you on a USB flash drive. The program is very easy to use, you just need to select the volume of the removable media, choose where to install Linux from, for example, from a disk, from an image, or download from the Internet. LLUC is easy to use, so every user can handle it, while the distributions do not lose any qualities. The Persistence function also works, which, unlike Live CD, makes it possible to save data on a flash drive, when ...
When developing the FreeArc archiver, the author decided to create a program that compresses files at maximum speed. This required the best qualities of the LZMA, PPMD and GRZipLib compression libraries. During the packaging process, the archiver generates files by type and compresses them using the most suitable algorithm. When working, the archiver uses more than ten different algorithms and filters. If we compare this with common archivers, then 7-zip has only three algorithms, while RAR uses only seven algorithms. The archiver is easily adaptable for installation on various systems. It is designed on an open platform giving in ...
TUGZip is a convenient archiver with a clear user interface and a number of additional features. TUGZip allows you to work with almost all popular archives. However, the possibilities of the TUGZip program are not limited to this. The TUGZip utility allows you to work with optical disc images such as img, nrg, iso, etc. Also, the TUGZip program can be integrated into the context menu. But if most archivers only add a submenu to it, then the TUGZip program boasts the ability to use various scripts to automate the process of creating archives, or to decompose them ...
7-Zip is a well-known open source archiver. This feature allows you to make changes to the structure of the program by adding certain functions to it. The program has a clear and simple interface and has unique algorithms to speed up data archiving and unpacking. Also, this program can perform standard operations with the archive, for example, you can set a password for a file, or set the compression ratio of the archive. Also, if necessary, you can create a self-extracting archive with the necessary parameters, which are set in special comments to the archive.
DVDFab Virtual Drive is a free software for creating DVD, CD and BD drives. DVDFab Virtual Drive was written by a Chinese company. When writing it, the emphasis was on the speed of work, simplicity of the interface and support for popular image formats. DVDFab Virtual Drive integrates into the system tray, from where it is then very easy to call. In addition, an additional panel and icons are embedded in the Windows Explorer. This program is compatible with all operating systems starting from Windows XP. The program allows you to create up to 18 virtual drives, each of which ...
Dolphin is an emulator that allows you to run games released on GameCube and WII consoles. This application features support for third-party textures, as well as the presence of a number of other features. So, for example, the program supports an Xbox 360 controller with feedback, i.e. with vibration. It is also open source, making it easy to make the changes you need to the application. If, of course, you have enough knowledge and skills for this. Another feature of the program is the ability to save games anywhere and the presence of a virtual memory card manager. All this allows you to completely emulate the console. Also Dolphin ...
IZArc is a convenient program for working with archives, featuring a clear and simple interface, as well as a number of additional features. The IZArc program supports a huge number of formats, including the most popular rar and zip. The unique algorithms used in the program make it possible to increase the speed of working with archives. However, the main feature of the IZArc program is that it can easily convert archives from one format to another. This is especially necessary if you need to transfer some files to another user who does not have a corresponding archiver. In addition, the IZArc program allows viewing ...
So we have a problem: there is a file, but no idea how to use it. The situation is common, especially when it comes to ISO.
This is most often encountered by active downloaders. Do you like downloading games from the World Wide Web? Well, in what form do they appear on your computer? Yes, "searching for a match on the Internet" ... Sounds familiar.
And no program wants to take your very massive file seriously. Perhaps an omnivorous notebook, but it will not help us.
Downloaded archives with a dubious offer to send an SMS message. It’s unpleasant. Time passes, our file is spread out on the open spaces of the hard disk and occupies a considerable directory ... This is where the global problem arises: how to unpack the ISO file.
A bit of theory: ISO
Let's see what is an iso image, and do we really need to unpack it?
ISO is a disk image file. A disk image is a copy of it, but in addition to the data it contains, the image file contains additional information. Disk size, such as file system, various hidden information required for a laser drive.
These files are absolutely ready for writing to disk, blank. There is also a second use to emulate a virtual floppy drive.
How to unpack an iso image
ISO is an archive. By and large, yes, albeit without the main attribute of archives - the compression ratio. How do we open the archives? That's right, archivers.
Let's use the free 7-zip archiver. Downloading it will not be difficult. Install.
I would like to draw your attention to the fact that we have two methods for unpacking an ISO image. The first is if you need to see the entire contents of the image. The second is if you are interested in a specific file within an image.
Method one
- Right click on our ISO file. In the menu, select "7-zip - unpack"
- In the dialog box that opens, there is a field at the top of it. We indicate the path where we want to unpack the image.
Method two
- Launch 7-zip.
- Service -> Settings -> System.
- Put a tick in front of "ISO", save the settings.
- Find our image, double click.
- Select the file we need, click "Extract".
- We perform step 2 from method 1.
Emulation
Daemon Tools, Alcohol 120%, UltraIso are ideal for emulating virtual drives. Despite the different functionality, programs have the same principle: they create a virtual device, "slip" it into the system (it, in turn, swallows it with a crunch) and use it to launch virtual disks.
And you need to unpack the ISO or just run - it's up to you.
Every user may at some point face the problem of files with the iso extension. It is not always possible to understand the first time how to open a disk image, how to use it. For this, special programs have been created that allow you to unpack or view such files.
What is ISO (ISO) file
By default, Windows does not indicate how to open the iso extension, and the user needs to choose the utility himself. In this format, disk images are saved, which can then be burned or used on a computer. To put it differently, this is an archive that completely collects all data from the media and is a complete copy of it. You can create it from any CD or DVD media. As a rule, this is how game discs or operating systems are saved.
The iso format is often used to create a copy of Windows, which can later be written to a disk, USB flash drive and used for installation on another computer. Many people have a question, how can you open an iso image. For example, this can be done with the tools built into the operating system or using ordinary archivers.
How to open a disk image
A person may need to open an image in order to extract one particular file or to use the entire content in its entirety. There are two ways for these purposes:
- use archiving programs WInRar or 7Zip;
- through special utilities with virtual drives.
Opening files with archivers
The easiest way to open a disk image is to use archivers. They are very easy to download and install and are free to use. It is better to download from the official sites so as not to add viruses along with the installer. The most popular and reliable options for opening archives are WinRar and 7Zip. All modern versions support Russian, so it will be easy to navigate the interface.
Both of these utilities provide the same functionality, which is the ability to open an iso, extract the necessary files from it. During the installation of the archiver, you must check the box "Integration with the operating system shell". After that, you can simply right-click on the file. In the menu, select the appropriate item, where the name of the utility for archives is indicated. An additional list will prompt you to choose from several different actions:
- open;
- extract (you can select any folder);
- extract to current folder.
It should be borne in mind that this method provides the ability to work with an image in read-only format; you will not be able to write files to a disk or flash drive through the archiver. This makes it possible to work with the content only on the computer itself. For example, if you need to reinstall the operating system, you will not be able to write a USB flash drive with OS files.
Using special programs
A broader functionality for working with iso is offered by a program for reading disk images. As a rule, to fully use them, you need to buy a license, but to work at home, the trial version will be quite enough. At the moment, the most popular are two utilities:
Daemon Tools disk image mounting software
One of the options than to open the iso is the Deamon Tool. For use on a free basis, you can download the Lite version, it is freely available on the official website of the developers. The essence of the utility is that it creates several virtual drives on your PC, into which you can mount iso. Install the program: an icon should appear in the tray, which will help you quickly disconnect, connect disk images.
Automatically after installation, one virtual drive will appear, which can be used immediately. For this:
- Left-click on the utility icon.
- Hover over the name of the drive. We click on it.
- An explorer window will appear, through which you should specify the path to the folder with iso. Choose it.
- Go through the explorer to the drive created by the program and perform the necessary actions with the content.
If necessary, you can right-click on the program icon and open the settings and control panel. A more "friendly" and visual version of the interface of the utility can be seen if you run it in full screen mode from the desktop (or from the folder where you installed it). Additional hints will pop up in the menu when you hover over the controls.
Open ISO file with UltraISO
Another option than you can open iso is the UltraISO disk image program. The full version must be purchased, but for home use, you should always choose to launch the trial version after installation. To install, you need to go to the official page of the utility and download it, where you can also select the required interface language before downloading. Further, the algorithm is as follows:
- Run the UltraISO installation, agree with all points. You do not need to install or remove any additional checkmarks.
- After installation, you can click on any iso file and select a utility from the list. After that, such an extension will open automatically through it.
- By double-clicking, a window will appear in front of you, where all the contents of the image will be shown.
The main plus of UltraISO is that you can immediately unpack all data or start the process of writing to disk. To do this, in the top menu, select the icon with a burning disc ("Burn CD image"). If you want to install the game, then first mount the iso into a virtual drive or unpack it to any folder on your computer. For this:
- in the top menu, click on the "Actions" tab;
- select the "Extract ..." item;
- specify where to unpack.
Here is another program to open ISO files.
Video: how to open an iso file format
While surfing the Internet, you probably came across curious files that did not know how to open and what to do with them. These are files that end with (extension) ISO. It is simply an exact replica of a real disk. To start using it, you just need to create this image using a special program.
In this article, we'll go over the easiest way to open or extract content from the most popular disk image format - ISO.
Usually games are saved in this format. A disc or several discs with a game are alternately inserted into the drive, copied and packed according to the principle of an archive in ISO format. Now let's take a look at the simplest way to extract data from an ISO disk image.
To start download to your computer the necessary program for work with these file types. Open your internet browser and enter the link to the site in the address bar http://www.daemon-tools.cc. After that select "Downloads" from the top menu.
After the page is fully loaded, find on it a program called "DAEMON Tools Lite"... Below, after the description of the program, left-click on green button with the words "Download".
After that, a page will automatically open in your Internet browser, where you can find a link to download the Daemon Tools Lite program itself. On this page you will see a table in English with the number of downloads, the file name, the date the program was posted on the site, the list of supported operating systems and the MD5 key, with which you can check the integrity of the program file if necessary. After the table on the right, you will find a link to download the program with the inscription “Download».
Select the directory where you would like to save the setup file and click the Download button.
After the download process is complete, open the folder in which you saved the installation file and double-click on it with the left mouse button.
You will be presented with the setup dialog box.
Press "Next", after that click the "Agree" button in order to confirm your agreement with the terms of use of this software, select "Free license" provided that you will use this program for non-commercial purposes, and again Press "Next". After that, you will see a window with the choice of the initial parameters of the Daemon Tools Lite program. If you do not want to install Yandex.Bar for yourself and make Yandex the default site in your browser, then uncheck the "Install Yandex.Bar", "Make Yandex home page" and "Set Yandex as default search" checkboxes.
It is better to leave the rest of the settings as suggested by the installer. Press "Next". Select the installation path for the program and click Install button. After completing the installation process and creating virtual drives to emulate disk images click the "Finish" button, leaving while ticking “RunDaemonToolsLite"And" Submit anonymous usage statistics. "
After installation, you will need to open the programDaemonTools,
which shortcut you can find on your desktop. Your computer should have detected a new connected CD-Rom that is virtual to run ISO images. It is in this directory that all the information that is stored in the disk image after you mount it will be displayed. After launching, a small icon in the form of a small blue lightning bolt in a white circle will appear in the tray in the lower right corner of the screen.
In order to start a virtual disk image in ISO format, you must click on this icon with the right mouse button, hover over the item "Virtual drives", then move the cursor to the drive that the program created on your system, then select the item "Mount image…".
After that, a dialog box will appear in front of you, in which you will have to select the ISO file, the contents of which you want to view. In our example, this is an image of a disc with the Rules of the Road. Select the file and click the "Open" button.
After the inscription "Mount disk ..." disappears from the screen you will be able to view the contents of yourISOthe image in that drive on the system that the program assigned. In our example, this is drive F: \
In order to unmount the disk image, that is, remove the contents from the virtual drive, you must click on the program iconDaemonToolsright click, in the context menu select the item "Virtual drives", Further hover the cursor over the drive which the program created on the system, and select "Check Out". This operation is the same as pressing the eject button on a real laser disc reader.
That's all. Good luck.
By the way, here's how it is created in!
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