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What program to unpack iso. Iso extension - how to open a file


Downloaded a DVD containing a movie, a long-awaited game, or a set of auto-install programs, but don't know how to open it? Probably, a program for working with files of this format is not installed on your computer. This article is intended to help newbies solve the problem. We will figure out what a data type with an ISO extension is, and briefly take a look at popular applications for working with such files.

What's in the iso file?

ISO is a standard format for storing image files. Image file means an exact (cluster-to-cluster) copy of an optical disc stored in digital form. The iso format preserves the exact structure of the optical media file system, all the attributes of files and directories, as well as the boot code, which is very convenient for duplicating auto-start and boot disks. Any content stored on optical and physical media can be used as the content of an iso file.

Disk images are created for many reasons, including:

  • dissemination of data on the web;
  • disk emulation to work with it - this way you can run a game that requires physical media in the drive;
  • storing a copy of important data, for example, a personal photo or video archive, on a computer, etc.

How to open an ISO image file?

There is a lot of software for working with disk images, because they are used by a huge number of users all over the planet. Starting to choose the product that best suits and satisfies all requests, the user is faced with numerous difficulties. Now we will consider not only popular, but also the most functional, as easy to use as possible, programs translated into Russian, including free ones. We will also find out how to open an iso image file in each of them.

7-zip archiver

The free 7z archiver, which is gaining more and more popularity among users, works perfectly on all versions of the Windows family of any bitness.

To open an image using 7-zip, you need to open the context menu of the file. In it, select "7-zip" ® "Open archive" and view its contents.

The program can extract the necessary data from iso files to the specified location and unpack image files. To unpack, call the context menu of the image and click "Unpack" in the "7-zip" submenu. Next, we specify the target directory and confirm the extraction of the contents of the image file.

Ultra ISO

The utility is the best product for creating, processing, converting, extracting and editing image files. If the program is installed in the system and associated with iso format files, then double-clicking the left mouse button will automatically open the image in this application.
When it is not a means to open the iso or its portable edition is used, it is necessary to perform a number of the following actions:

  1. We launch the application.
  2. We call the dialog for opening files - "File" ® "Open".

3.In the dialog box, set the path to the image we need and press the "Enter" button on the keyboard or "OK".

Alcohol 120%

Another program for working with the iso format. It, like UltraISO, has broad capabilities that go beyond familiarizing yourself with the contents of images. Alcohol 120% is distributed on a paid basis, but it has a huge advantage - disk emulation. This means that the utility is able to create a virtual disk and place an image file into it, thus simulating the presence of a physical disk in a real disk drive. This technique is widely used by gamers and system administrators.

Consider the process of opening an iso file using Alcohol 120%

  1. Run the utility and call the file open dialog: "File" ® "Open".

2. In it, select the desired image and click "OK".

3. Our file will appear in the top frame. We call its context menu and select "Mount to device". If there are several drives, you will have to indicate which one to mount.

You can add an image using the drag & drop function: drag the image into the program window, and then onto the virtual drive located at the bottom of the interface.

Daemon tools

One of the best image emulation software available for free. As in the case with Alcohol 120%, the utility mounts an image file on a virtual disk drive, thus simulating the presence of a physical medium in the drive. The program is able to bypass most of the protection methods, and therefore is very popular.

How to work with Daemon Tools

  1. We launch the utility and create a virtual drive. To do this, call the context menu of the "Drive" folder in the left frame of the program and select its type.

2. Call the context menu of the "Images" catalog and click on "Add images ...".

3. In the window that appears, select the desired file.

4.We double-click the left mouse button on the icon of the image.

5.After a couple of seconds of mounting, the autorun menu of the selected disk will appear.

Now you know how to view the contents of an ISO file and can independently choose a program that suits your needs to open image files. In addition to the programs reviewed, powerful tools for viewing the iso, which are worth paying attention to, are the paid Nero and the free ISO Master utility.


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Questions about how to open an unfamiliar file format sooner or later arise from almost any computer user, because the list of applications that are originally included in the Windows library does not suit all of them. It happens that after downloading a program, instead of the usual file with the .exe extension, which is an application, a person receives a disk image. In this case, it is important to know how the ISO can be opened and how to use it.

What is an ISO file

An ISO file (ISO, less often ISO) is a virtual image of a physical medium - an optical disc, usually in CD or DVD format, containing a copy of all its data. This data can be anything: music, videos, movies, copies of real discs used to easily install applications, and so on. This type of files began to spread quite a long time ago, when there was practically no fast Internet, and the search for the necessary applications was mainly carried out through the exchange of disks, then ISO files helped to bypass the protection of many programs that require physical media in the drive to work with them.

Now virtual disk images are used to distribute large-weight programs (mostly video games) or their packages. In addition to being used for storing data, the ISO image allows you to accurately reproduce the original physical disk. To do this, you need to write the information contained in it to an empty "disc".

Programs that open the ISO extension are divided into two types: archivers that can read the contents of a virtual disk, and creators of virtual drives that simulate the presence of a floppy drive and connect images to it. The first ones are suitable if you just need to access the ISO file or copy its contents to your computer. In structure, it is a regular archive with compressed information, therefore the files contained in it can be opened, edited and copied using programs such as 7Zip or WinRar.

The second type of programs is used for more convenient and extended work with virtual drives and includes applications like Daemon Tools. They can install programs from virtual disks and simulate the presence of media in the drive. It is they who are always recommended to use, if there is such an opportunity, because there is a whole list of free and convenient virtual drive emulators even for inexperienced users.

How to open a file with an archiver

By default, most archivers do not associate an ISO disk image format with themselves, but you can still open it with their help. To do this, you need to change the program settings. For example, in the WinRar application, this is done according to the following algorithm:

  1. Open the archiver, go to the "parameters" menu and go to the "settings" tab.
  2. On this tab, go to the "integration" item and in the "Associate WinRar c:" tab, mark the item opposite the ISO format, then confirm and save the changes.
  3. Click on the required ISO file with the right mouse button, find the WinRar program icon in the menu that appears and select the "Extract files ..." function.
  4. The image will automatically open in the program, after which all that remains is to specify the desired item on the disk and wait for the extraction to complete. The information from the virtual disk will be installed to the specified location.

With the help of the 7-Zip program, you can also open an ISO file. To do this, just go into the program, click "open" and double-click on the desired image with the left button. In addition, you can right-click on the file itself, select the "open with" function and find the required archiver in the menu that appears.

The disadvantages of these programs include the fact that they can be used to manipulate the files on the image only within the computer. Archivers cannot, for example, copy the Windows installer to a USB flash drive - this will require the help of more advanced utilities.

Image mount programs

The most popular type of programs that can open the ISO format on a computer are virtual drive emulators. They include many useful functions for working with disk images, such as mounting and unmounting them, as well as work with several digital media at once. The most famous utility of this type is Daemon Tools, but there are others such as WinISO, ISOBuster, UltraISO, Roxio Easy Media Studio, Alcohol 120%, Gilles Vollant WinImage and others.

Daemon tools lite

The most famous specialized program used to read ISO is Daemon Tools. It can be downloaded online from the official website. There is a free version of the utility called DT Lite, which includes everything you need to work with ready-made images, as well as a paid one used for more advanced tasks, such as creating new virtual disks and burning them to physical media.

After downloading and installing, the utility automatically creates a virtual drive on which you can immediately mount disk images. Once mounted, the user can access the ISO files through the My Computer folder as if they were on physical media inserted into the drive. The "artificial" drive, when opened, provides access to all files on the copy of the disc.

The program interface is very simple and friendly even for beginners, but still some of them may need detailed instructions on how to open an ISO image with the Daemon Tools utility:

  1. Install the program, run it, click on the "add image" button located at the bottom of the interface. Then find and select the required ISO file in the window that appears - it will be added to the program directory.
  2. Click on the file with the right mouse button, then select the "mount" option from the pop-up menu and the desired drive, if there is more than one. Wait for the process to complete. This usually takes a few seconds.
  3. Go to the directory of the virtual disk by clicking on the drive icon in the application or through the menu of the "My Computer" folder. It will contain all the zipped ISO files.

With Daemon Tools, you can open two or more archives at the same time. To do this, you need to click on the "Add virtual DT drive" or "Add virtual SCSI drive" button. There is not much difference between the two, except for the response to some copy protection systems. A separate disk image can be mounted on each of the virtual drives.

Ultra ISO

Another good utility for emulating media is a small program called Ultra ISO. It is worth noting that it works not only with ISO, but also with other image file formats, e.g. bin, .mdl, .cue, .mdf, .isz (its special format) and others - there are 30 extensions in total. To open an ISO image with it, you need to do the following:

  1. Download, install and run the program.
  2. Select the "file" tab, in which click on the "open" option that appears, then find the desired ISO image and double-click on it.
  3. The files from the disc will appear on the right side of the Ultra ISO window, from where they can be expanded or extracted to the desired directory on your computer.

The main advantage of the utility is the ability to immediately extract all files from the image or start burning it to a disc. To do this, you just need to select the "burn files to CD" option in the top menu of the application.

Alcohol 120%

Another application that allows you to open the ISO extension is Alcohol 120%, which has also gained some popularity among users. Unlike DT and UltraISO, it is paid (except for the trial version), and it is also more difficult to use, but in return it has some functions that are not available to other utilities. In order to use it to open an image, you need:

  1. Download and run the Alcohol 120% installation application. During it, the program will prompt the user to create a new virtual drive - you need to agree to this.
  2. After the installation is complete, restart the system. At the end of the OS restart, a new one created by the utility will be added to the physical drives on the device.
  3. Find the ISO file in the directory on your computer, right-click on it and select the "mount" option from the pop-up menu.
  4. In the window that opens after this, point to the desired file - Alcohol 120% will autorun, in which it will be possible to view, extract or edit the contents of the image.

Using programs for viewing ISO files is a simple task that even a novice computer user can handle. There are many utilities for this, each with its own characteristics, pros and cons. The choice of the appropriate one must be based on the purpose and the frequency of its application by the individual.

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 an opportunity 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:

  • Deamon Tools;
  • Ultra ISO.

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:

  1. Left-click on the utility icon.
  2. Hover over the name of the drive. We click on it.
  3. An explorer window will appear, through which you should specify the path to the folder with iso. Choose it.
  4. 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:

  1. Run the UltraISO installation, agree with all points. You do not need to install or remove any additional checkmarks.
  2. 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.
  3. 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:

  1. in the top menu, click on the "Actions" tab;
  2. select the "Extract ..." item;
  3. specify where to unpack.
Here is another program to open ISO files.

Video: how to open an iso file format

After downloading games or software from the Internet, you noticed the iso files. In the material, we will consider what an image is, how to open an iso file on Windows 7, 8, 10 using regular means, and third-party programs.

What is an iso image and how to run it

An iso image is a single file that is a virtual copy of a CD / DVD or BD. These files are identified in the OS by the ".iso" extension. A lot of software is distributed in the form of an image, and mostly these are large software products. Such applications can be OS, games and other installers.

These images are used as replacements for physical disk drives. In addition to folders and files, images contain additional boot information if a program was used to create it that supports saving such information. To run the iso file on a computer, standard OS tools or third-party programs are used. In turn, applications can be divided into special and archivers.

Special software designed to work with the image includes:

  • WinCDEmu;
  • Pismo File Mount Audit Package;
  • DAEMON Tools;
  • IsoBuster;
  • ImgBurn;
  • Ultraiso;
  • Alcohol 120;
  • other.

The iso file is like an archive. Its contents can be opened by such archivers:

  • 7-Zip;
  • PeaZip;
  • Winrar;
  • WinZip;
  • Other.

Of course, the list can still be continued, but the listed programs are quite enough. There are plenty to choose from. Maybe what software is already familiar to you. Below we will take a closer look, for example, on opening an iso file with special applications and archivers.

Opening an image file using standard Windows tools

In Windows 8, 10, a built-in tool for working with iso was developed. If you are a Windows 7 user, then this method will not work, here you need to install a third-party program. You can open an iso file on Windows 10, 8 in one of the ways that seems more convenient for you:


After you connect the image, a new virtual disk will appear in the explorer. You can open it and perform the intended actions. Do not forget, then close the image file, right-click on the virtual disk and select "extract".

We run iso through special programs

We will consider the process of opening an iso file on Windows 7 (also suitable for 8, 10) using the example of convenient, simple and free versions of the WinCDEmu and Daemon tools lite programs. For WinCDEmu, follow these steps:


You've probably heard of the Daemon tools. To open an iso file through Daemon tools, do the following:


Open the image file with archiving programs

The user always has to deal with archives. Archivers also know how to open iso. Let's consider this process in more detail, using the example of PeaZip and WinRar archiving programs. Do the following with the PeaZip archiver:

Download the installation files for the program from here. During installation, set the Russian language.

We also recommend that during the installation process, check the iso box to associate this type with PeaZip.

To open an iso file on Windows via PeaZip, double-click on the image and process it. We also recommend extracting the contents of the image by clicking on the "extract" button, specifying the path and clicking on OK.

Of course, the WinRar archiver is worth a look. Follow these steps:

Download the Russian version from this site. Further in the installation process, in the program settings, check the iso box to associate files of this type with WinRar.

Double click on the image to open it. For convenient work with the image, we recommend extracting it by clicking the “extract” button and specifying the required path for unpacking the archive in iso format.

In these ways, you can open an iso file on Windows 7, 8, 10. If you are the owner of the seven, then you cannot do without installing third-party software. Users of the eight, tens can launch images by their own means, but installing additional utilities (for example, WinCDEmu) can add to the ease of use. During the operation of the PC, you will have to deal with archives, so the installation of the archiver cannot be avoided, which will additionally help to open iso images on the PC. Make your choice based on your preferences.

Sometimes there is a need to extract files from an ISO image. It is not very convenient to do this using standard operating system tools - it is more expedient to use third-party products. Therefore, in this article we will tell you in detail what software to use to open the ISO image and give the correct sequence of actions shown in the screenshots. But first, let's explain why ISO images are needed. These files store a wide variety of content, so every computer user should know how to properly handle them. Indeed, in certain cases, it is required to open a similar image and perform the necessary manipulations with its contents. For example, install the program or just familiarize yourself with the list of files inside.

What is an ISO image?

Let's figure out together what an ISO image is.

You may run into this way when downloading software from the Internet. Also ISO is used to distribute movies by torrents in high quality.

Having a disk image, the user is able to connect it like a regular optical drive. As mentioned, ISO is often used to distribute software and computer games. Also, this format has an additional purpose - to duplicate valuable data from ordinary disks. After all, the latter are not very reliable and can fail due to minor mechanical damage.

How to open an ISO file with UltraISO

The most convenient way to open ISO is to use. If you wish, you can purchase the licensed version on the official website by entering the corresponding request into the search engine. And also download it in open sources, where you do not need to pay. After installing UltraISO, follow the instructions below.

To open an ISO file, you need to launch UltraISO and select the "Open" item located on the toolbar with the cursor.


Then you need to specify the path to the disk image. After doing this, you will see a tree view of the information stored in the ISO file.


To extract a specific file from the image, you must hover over it, right-click and select Extract To ....


After that, you need to specify the path to save the extracted file and wait a little while the program performs the desired action.

How to open ISO file with DAEMON Tools

This is a very advanced program for mounting ISO images, but it is not very convenient to extract files through it. Although this method is still worthy of consideration. You may not have any other software on your computer, except DAEMON Tools, and you will need to extract information from the optical disk image immediately. It is enough to complete the task.

DAEMON Tools must be launched and in the window that opens, find the icon with the "disk" icon. Click on it with the cursor.


Then you need to specify the path to the optical disk image and add it to the directory.


The program will automatically add the new drive to the My Computer folder. You can work with it as with a conventional optical drive.

How to open an ISO file with 7-Zip

A fairly simple way to extract data from an ISO image is to use the 7-Zip program. It is a very common archiver that is installed on almost every personal computer. However, not many users know that 7-Zip is capable of handling optical disc images. Therefore, we will tell you how to use it to unpack the ISO container.

To do this, you need to run. An explorer with additional tools will appear on the screen.


To open an optical disc image, locate it on your computer and double-click it. ISO will open like a regular folder.


To extract a file from the ISO, hover over it and right-click. Then select "Extract" from the menu that opens.

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