Using ISO Image Files

An ISO image file is a duplicate copy of a complete CD or DVD disc saved in an industry standard format. Storing frequently used CD/DVD discs as ISO image files on your hard disk is an effective way to keep your most important software organized and easily accessible.

I create ISO files of every computer CD and DVD that comes across my desk. Driver discs and software discs alike are stored on my desktop PC’s large hard disk. Whenever I need to reinstall software, or simply reinstall a driver, it is easier for me to find the correct ISO file than it would be to find a physical disc.

ISO Recorder is a free add-on to Windows XP and Windows Vista. It will allow you to create ISO image files from CDs you already have. It will also write an ISO file to a blank CDR. Note that ISO Recorder is not designed to make image files of protected disks, like games or movies, which incorporate copy protection techniques. There are utilities that offer that capability for a fee such as CloneCD.

ISO files are even more useful when combined with an ISO mounting utility like Virtual CloneDrive. Virtual CloneDrive allows you to mount an ISO image file as if it were inserted into a virtual DVD drive. Virtual CloneDrive can mount ISO image files of either CD or DVD discs.

The combination of ISO Recorder and Virtual CloneDrive is very useful and best of all — free!

CD-ROM

This entry was posted on July 31, 2007 at 1:17 am and is filed under Backups, ISO, Review, Software. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

3 Responses to “Using ISO Image Files”

  1. Danny Says:
    August 23, 2007 at 3:08 pm

    Be helpfull to know how to start the ISO recorder app after you install it. That comes in handy! There is no exe in the folder on the c: drive.

  2. Brendan Moon Says:
    August 24, 2007 at 12:58 am

    Danny,

    ISO Recorder adds some commands to the normal Explorer interface. So to write an ISO image to a blank CD, simply right-click the ISO file. Or to read a CD into an ISO file, right-click the CD Drive.

    - Brendan

  3. Mike Rotch Says:
    August 28, 2007 at 10:25 pm

    Dvd decrypter is a much more effective program to use

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