Best programs to open ISO files on Windows and MacOS

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List of the best 15 programs to mount and open ISO images on Windows and MacOS.

Do you want to know the best programs to open ISO files on Windows and MacOS? ISO is the most popular program on the Internet to make identical copies of the contents of a CD, DVD or Blu-ray. It is used to back up optical drives or to spread operating systems.

Programs are usually used to open ISO files on Windows and macOS . These allow you to modify the files stored on the computer. In this guide you will find a list of the 15 best and some issues related to ISO files.

Contents

  • 1What are ISO files and what are they used for?
  • 2The best programs to open ISO files on Windows and MacOS
    • 1Burnaware Free
    • 2Daemon tools
    • 3Dragon Burn
    • 4Furious ISO Mount
    • 5ISODisk
    • 6Microsoft Virtual CD-ROM Control Panel
    • 7Nero Express
    • 8Pismo File Mount
    • 9PowerISO
    • 10Rufus
    • 11Virtual Clone Drive
    • 12WinCDEmu
    • 13WinX DVD Ripper
    • 14WinZip
    • 15YuBurner
  • 3Differences between images and ISO files
  • 4How to work and mount an ISO image
    • 1Steps to mount ISO image in Windows 10
    • 2Steps to mount ISO image on macOS
  • 5Advantages of ISO files
  • 6What do I need to burn an ISO image to USB
  • 7Things Not To Do With An ISO Image
  • 8What is the best tool to use when mounting an ISO file?

What are ISO files and what are they used for?

ISO files, also known as ISO images, is a file format used to save a completely exact copy of an optical drive’s file system. When making a copy of a CD, DVD or Blu-ray with this format, the result obtained will be an identical disc from that optical drive, and when you load it into the computer it is as if you were using the original disc.

Due to its ability to preserve the original format, it makes it very useful for Internet distribution of those files in which it is necessary to avoid data loss or prevent the original structure from being modified when the transfer is made . .

It is the most widely used format for distributing copies of operating systems, such as Windows 10 or GNU/Linux-based operating systems, because downloading it is the same as downloading the original disc. It is also used to make digital backup copies of an original CD, DVD or Blu-ray or other applications.

The extension of these files is .iso, and different types of programs can be obtained to make copies of optical drives in this format, and in this way be able to take a CD or DVD to other types of media such as a USB drive or a disk hard, being sure that the content will remain intact.

 best programs to open ISO files on Windows and MacOS

To allow any ISO file to be created and opened easily and safely, there are applications for both Windows and MacOS computers, which offer you a variety of tools that are necessary to carry out the entire process.

Burnaware Free

It is one of the best software to open ISO files on Windows, and it is one of the most recommended tools to open ISO images in an easier way. In addition, it also allows you to make backup copies on CD and also on DVD and Blu-Ray, and even allows you to create boot disks for the operating system.

The program’s interface is totally intuitive and very accessible to all users, since it is very easy to handle and also provides excellent power in any process that is executed. One of the advantages of this program is that it takes up very little memory space.

  • Descargar Burnaware Free

Daemon tools

This is another one of the best software to open ISO files aimed at MacOS operating system users. It is a program that allows you to mount different types of image and VHD files, and has the necessary tools to be able to play FLAC and APE audio files. It is not a free application and it is priced around 18 euros, but you can do a free trial for 20 days.

Among some of the other features that this program offers, are that it allows you to create and open images of CD, DVD and HDD discs , as well as having functionalities that allow you to unzip files, organize your favorite documents in a smart collection and create directly from the Mac bootable USB drives for Windows, Linux and MacOS operating systems.

  • Download Daemon toolsfor Windows and MacOS

More guides on ISO files and images:

  • How to mount ISO images step by step
  • Mount, unmount and burn ISO images in Windows 10 without programs
  • Best programs to mount ISO images

Dragon Burn

This is another of the alternatives available for Mac. Another of the best programs to open ISO files that has the ability to open virtual disk images such as ISO, CDR, BIN, NCD, DMD, CUE and many other features. It comes to be one of the best solutions to generate your own discs, that is, a CD, DVD or Blu-Ray from the comfort of your computer.

In addition to its main features, it should be noted that it has a wide range of security measures, which prevent you from losing disks due to errors in creating the image. Additionally, it is a very easy to use application, it allows you to format rewritable discs, it has the ability to create different types of content and it supports virtual images.

  • Download Dragon Burn

Furious ISO Mount

This is one of the applications that offers the user the most advantages, as well as different functionalities, based mainly on creating ISO, BIN, MDF, IMG and NRG image files automatically. It also has the ability to create a mount point within your home directory and create log files of all the commands that are required to manually mount and unmount images.

Among its main features are that it can automatically unmount image files, it makes it easy to delete the mount directory and thus restore the home directory to its original state. It has the function of recording files in ISO and IMG format on an optical disc. The downside is that it’s only available for MacOS and Linux operating systems, but it’s free and easy to use.

  • Download Furious ISOfor Linux

ISODisk

This is another tool aimed at Windows users, either version XP or later, and who also have 64 MB of memory and at least 10 MB of free space on the computer’s hard drive. This allows it to be downloaded and installed without any problem, and to be able to use it to mount ISO files. Allows you to create a large number of virtual drives to mount ISOs. Additionally, the program can generate ISO images from a real CD or DVD and is one of the easiest programs to use.

  • Download ISODisk

Microsoft Virtual CD-ROM Control Panel

A tool offered by Microsoft Windows and that was developed by the company itself with the aim of simplifying those processes in which the user needs to open image files of an ISO disk as a virtual CD-ROM drive.

It is considered a good option for users of any of the versions of Windows who need to read disk images, in order to be able to recover backup files from the images that have been selected or to be able to install a certain program on the computer. It is a free tool.

  • Download Microsoft Virtual CD-ROM Control Panelfor Windows

Nero Express

This program is available for Microsoft Windows and GNU/Linux, and is completely free. It has the ability to burn optical discs in a simple way, so you can save an ISO image file to a CD or DVD without any difficulty.

If you want to create an ISO image with Nero Express, you just have to click on the Nero Express program icon when the computer starts, and once inside the program, click on Image / project / copy, and then click on Disc image or project saved. When you verify that everything is correct within the final recording configuration window, you just have to press the Record button and that’s it.

  • Download Nero Express

Pismo File Mount

This is another best free ISO file opener that has a reader for CD and DVD image files, both of which can be saved instead as a read-only folder to allow access to the content. It has a compact file set reader and offers the possibility to run the applications that are contained in them.

It is only compatible with Windows operating system. Some of its features include: it has a ZIP reader, it has options to create private folders that can be used to store confidential data, it also has complete integration with the system explorer, as well as full support of the Windows file system. Additionally, the interface allows for scripting and automation.

  • Download Pismo File Mount

PowerISO

This is one of the best-known programs to handle ISO files, as it offers a large number of features, and especially because it is very compatible with Windows, MacOS, and Linux. It is one of the most recommended tools for processing CD, DVD, BD image files. It is also used to perform other operations with CDs or DVDs.

PowerISO offers different options for you to open, extract, create, burn, edit, compress, split, convert between ISO/BIN and other formats, and encrypt a wide variety of ISO files, as well as mount them with internal virtual drive. The program allows making bootable ISO files, as well as creating bootable CD and DVD discs. It is totally free and you can get it in different languages.

  • Download PowerISOfor Windows.

Rufus

This application makes it easier to create different types of boot devices from external drives such as SD cards and USB pen drives. It also allows you to open and mount ISO images on a USB or a bootable CD in order to be able to carry out tests.

It is another of the best programs to open ISO files for free, which is constantly updated in order to offer the best service and provide greater versatility, such as the ease of formatting a unit and installing Linux disk images, Windows and FreeDOS. However, it is a slow program when it comes to processing the tasks to be executed.

  • Download Rufus

Virtual Clone Drive

It is a free application that, despite being virtual, works exactly the same as a physical CD, DVD or Blu-Ray drive and that offers support for all the most popular image formats used by users, such as ISO, IMG, BIN , DVD, CCD and UDF. It can also emulate CD, DVD, and Blu-Ray drives.

It is noteworthy that the ISO image files can be inserted from a network drive by simply clicking on the virtual drive from the hard drive. This program allows images to be mounted as if it were a local disk, and one of its advantages is that it offers support for working with up to 15 units at the same time, it allows it to be integrated into Windows Explorer and automatically mounts the last image created.

  • Descarga Virtual Clone Drive

WinCDEmu

This Windows app can run on both 32-bit and 64-bit versions, and even older operating systems like XP up to W10. It works as a CD, DVD and BD emulator, and allows you to open disc images quickly and safely, just by clicking on them in the browser.

It is an open source program, which you can download for free and that offers you support for an unlimited number of virtual drives. It allows you to save images as ISO, CUE, NRG, MDS/MDF, CCD, IMG and also offers a portable version and excellent DVD-VIDEO and BD-VIDEO image and data support. The program is available in more than 20 languages.

  • Descargar WinCDEmu

WinX DVD Ripper

Here you have another of the best programs to open ISO files that offers high quality to copy or convert the information of the ISO images of a DVD in the most popular video formats used on Macs, because it is only compatible with this operating system.

With this application you can also make backup copies of DVDs, which are completely identical and also maintain the quality of the original. In addition, it also allows you to make copies to a USB memory, with great clarity, efficiency and in a direct way.

  • Descargar WinX DVD Ripper

WinZip

It is available for both Windows and Mac, and it allows you to open an ISO file extension and even extract the contents of such a file very easily. It is another option that can be found for free.

To open ISO files with WinZip, you have to save the selected file on the desktop and when you start the program, you have to open that compressed file from the File menu. After doing this, choose the files and folders and then click Unzip, so you can locate the extracted files in the destination folder.

  • Descargar WinZip

YuBurner

Another solution developed to be used in MacOS and that stands out for having a very easy-to-use interface, which makes it suitable for any type of user, even if they have no experience using these applications. It is also a free program that has specific options for opening and burning CDs and ISO disc images.

The program was designed to allow the recording of ISO files in a very simple way, since it is only enough to drag and drop the files, and then select the recording format that is required. This format can be ISO 9660, Apple ISO (ISO/HFS+) among others. One of its features is that it offers the option of adding comments to the copy that is made.

  • Descargar YuBurner

Differences between images and ISO files

It is necessary to take into account that ISO images are not in themselves a file format, but rather a protocol with which they are encapsulated, known as ISO 9660 or the UDF, (Universal Disk Format). The most popular are ISO images, which have an .iso file extension, but there are many more on the market, with a large number of developers dedicated to creating this type of application in order to read and create ISO images.

The best known and accepted extensions are ISO CUE, BIN and ISO images, but many others can be found, including NRG, the Nero Burning Rom format, CIF, the Adaptec Easy CD Creator format, CCD the Clone format. CD, MDF, Alcohol 120% program format, UIF, MagicISO format, DAA, ImgBurn format, PowerISO format, IMG, and lesser known ones such as CSO format, Daxter Creator format, BWI, which is the BlindWrite program format, the ISZ extension, the UltraISO program format, and P2I, which is the Power2Go format, among many more.

Each of these formats has its own advantages and disadvantages, which will depend on the features that their developers have included in each of the respective applications designed so that these proprietary ISO images can be read and written.

How to work and mount an ISO image

Before an ISO image can be used it must first be created, which can be done very easily, with any program that supports this function, such as one of the ones mentioned above. When you have the image of the hard drive, CD, DVD or BR ready, you can start working with the file:

  • The first step is to keep in mind that an ISO image can be stored and run or mounted by some third-party software,such as Virtual Clone Drive, Daemon Tools or even the tool that is already built into the most modern versions of Windows. .
  • It can also be recorded on an optical discor on a pen drive using one of the various applications that exist on the market to carry out this type of task: Nero, CDBurner XP, Free DVD ISO Burner, among others.

In the case of mounting an image using any of the tools mentioned, you can have the software available on the computer without having to resort to optical media, that is, instead of inserting the media (a CD) in the reader, you access directly to the image that is stored on the computer.

This process of saving applications in an ISO image is very common in games that are very large, and they are executed in the same way as if they had been executed from the reader, but with the advantage that it will be done much faster, because the program does not have to wait for the rotation times that the reader performs, just as other factors that slow down the reading of data are avoided.

In the event that you only want to make an exact copy of the contents that are stored on the optical disc, in order to have a backup copy of them, you only have to re-record the ISO image obtained directly on another optical medium and even on a memory stick or USB flash drive.

Steps to mount ISO image in Windows 10

The Windows 10 operating system is the first Microsoft operating system that is capable of offering native support for ISO files, this means that Windows handles the entire procedure on its own. When you select the file that you are going to mount, you must click on the ISO file so that it is mounted automatically. Then you must perform these steps:

  • Select mount:Right-clicking will open a context menu that displays various options. You must click on the Mount option from the context menu so that Windows 10 can do it automatically.
  • Press Dvd Drive:When the ISO file is mounted, you should open the toolbar, and then in the left column you can see a new optical drive that is inside the This computer menu. Whether it’s a CD or DVD will depend on the file, and when you click on it you’ll be able to see inside it, just as if you were looking inside the original drive.
  • Play with option:If the ISO file is from a music CD or a video DVD, when you right-click on it, you will see an option in the context menu to play it by selecting the program that you have installed on your computer.

Steps to mount ISO image on macOS

Unsurprisingly, Apple also offers native support for ISO files in macOS, which means you’ll be able to use it on any iMac or Macbook as well. Just double-click on the file as you do with any external drive, and in this way macOS will proceed to mount it automatically.

In case you don’t want to do it automatically, you can also right click on the file. By doing so you will see a context menu, where you must click on the option When you do this, a submenu will appear, where you will have to choose the DiskImageMounter option, which is the system utility that will allow you to mount the files in ISO format.

After a few seconds of loading, macOS will create a new optical drive, and clicking on it will give you the option to open. In the event that it is a video or audio CD or DVD, you must drag it into the native playback application so that you can use it.

Advantages of ISO files

The main advantages of ISO files are:

  • Increases speed:The main advantage of using an ISO image to make an installation is that the reading speed is increased. The ISO image has the ability to read at speeds up to 10 times faster than modern physical CD-ROM drives.
  • No Physical Damage:An ISO image cannot be broken, scratched, or damaged. Compact discs do get damaged, but ISO images don’t go out of use as often as a CD does.
  • Attach file:It is much easier to be able to put or load an ISO image on a server or virtual machine, than using physical media. Access to a physical server is generally limited by distance, security control or company policy.

What do I need to burn an ISO image to USB

To store or burn an ISO image on a pen drive or USB stick, do it the same as with any other file: drag it to the unit and leave it there. But if what you want is to record an ISO image of an operating system on a flash drive so that it can boot from the drive, the steps change completely. To be able to record an ISO image on a pen drive or USB memory card, the following steps must be followed:

  • The first thing you are going to need is a flash drive or memory card with at least 8 GB capacity, although this will depend on the size of the ISO image you want to record.
  • In this case, you must take into account if you are going to use the image to run the operating system on the flash drive, which is a method known as OS Live, so you will need the storage unit to have enough space to be able to work.
  • But if you are going to use the ISO image on the pendrive only to install the operating system or some memory testing application, such as TestMem86+, it is enough that the storage unit has the necessary space for it to work correctly.
  • Finally, you will need the ISO image that you want to burn to the flash drive. You can get this directly from its official sites or at any of the recognized download pages for free or paid applications that exist on the Internet.

Things not to do with an ISO image

When you are going to make an ISO image file there are some things you should not do:

  • The first thing is not to unzip the ISOinto a directory on the hard drive.
  • You should not burn this directory as if it were a data disc.
  • ISOs that are downloaded and verified, when the media is changed to another physical medium, can cause distortion in the links and thus lose their functionality.
  • Keep in mind that the ISO is a file that is similar to a compressed, but it is not the same,but an exact copy of it and its relationships within a given file system found on the CD.
  • If the files are transferred to another file system, such as the hard disk, NTFS or FAT format, it is possible that the relationships between the files will change to be able to adapt to the system of the new disk and therefore it will no longer work. be executable. An ISO file can only be copied to the hard drive as an ISO,without unpacking or trying to change its properties.
  • Whenever possible, it is recommended not to download ISOswith download managers. If you have a manager that opens when you start a download, it’s a good idea to disable it before you start. This is because the managers split the file into several parts, which are then joined when the download is finished, but the program can tell if the parts take up entire files or just a part of them, which can cause small parts to be lost. of information, thus leaving the ISO almost useless.

What is the best tool to use when mounting an ISO file?

Although new versions of Windows already come natively with a feature to mount ISO files, the PowerISO program is hands down one of the best third-party software options out there to mount ISO files. They offer additional features and tools and are very easy to use, even for inexperienced users.

The best programs to open ISO files facilitate handling and operation, in a simple way, guaranteeing the integrity of the data. The new versions of these operating systems already integrate their tools natively to carry out this operation.

 

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