A disk image is a special type of archive that contains not only files, but also precise information about their location on the disk. To store CD and DVD images, files with the ISO extension are most often used, since in them the file system also corresponds to the ISO 9660 system used on optical media. To use an image from an ISO file, it is not necessary to transfer information to a disc - you can use the program - an emulator that will make the OS think that this image is a real optical disc.
Necessary
Daemon Tools Lite
Instructions
Step 1
Select one of the programs that simulate CD / DVD drives. You can find a lot of them on the Internet. For example, it can be Alcohol 120%, Ultra ISO, PowerISO and others. Below is the sequence of actions when using the Daemon Tools Lite version - it is free, has a Russian interface and features that are more than enough to run disk images.
Step 2
Download, install and run the program, and then right-click its icon in the notification area of the taskbar (in the "tray"). This will open a context menu in which you need to select the options for mounting the disk image.
Step 3
Go to the "Virtual CD / DVD-ROM" section in the context menu and open its only item ("Setting the number of drives"). Select the line "1 drive" from the list - emulation of one optical disc drive is enough to work with one ISO file. If necessary, this version can simulate up to four drives simultaneously and support the operation of four disk images.
Step 4
Click again the Daemon Tools tray icon with the right button after the panel with the inscription "Updating virtual images" disappears from the screen. In the context menu, open the "Virtual CD / DVD-ROM" section again and hover over the line that appears there, which begins with the words "Drive 0". In the drop-down list of operations, click the "Mount image" item and the program will open a dialog box for searching and opening a file.
Step 5
Find the ISO file you want and click the "Open" button. The program will mount the disk image it contains into its virtual reader and after a few seconds it will be used by the operating system in the same way as a regular disk. In addition to the fact that the OS will find and activate the autorun program on this disk, it will be available in Windows Explorer as one of the external media.
