Just in case you didn’t know, an ISO file is an exact image of a CD or DVD that can be burned to a disc. There are also other types of files that contain disc images, such as CUE, NRG, MDS/MDF, CCD, and IMG. Often times, software can be downloaded as an ISO file or another disc image type.

Not only can these image files be burned to a new disc, they can also be opened or “mounted” as a virtual drive. When you mount an ISO or similar file, it can be found as a new drive letter on your computer. This is handy, especially if you want to find out what’s in a disc image before you burn it, or if you don’t have a CD/DVD drive on your computer.

In order to mount a disc image, you’ll normally need to install virtual drive software on your PC. My favorite mounting software is Virtual Clone Drive. Once installed, it’s easy to use. You only need to double click an ISO to mount it as a new drive. Another good one is MagicDisc, which was reviewed here a few years ago.

Here’s one I recently ran into. It’s called WinCDEmu. It’s available as a normal install, and also as a portable program (single EXE file). I have a special love for portable applications and gave WinCDEmu a try.

I downloaded the portable version. It’s a small download, at about 235k. When you first launch it, you’ll be prompted to let it install it’s driver.

Click the Yesbutton to continue. After that, you’ll be able to mount ISO and other disc images by clicking the Mount another imagebutton.

As you can see above, you’ll be able to see the drive letters for your new virtual drives as you add them. That’s as complicated as it gets …

Downloads

Download WinCDEmu from SourceForge (portable and installed versions)

Download WinCDEmu from Download.com (portable)

Download WinCDEmu from Download.com (installed)

Here are some more things that might interest you

• Free ISO Burner & Burn ISO Files to CD/DVD Free tool Using these tools you can easily burn a ISO file to a CD or DVD.
• Create ISO Files from any Folder Want to create your own ISO files? Use this handy tool to create them.
• Find Which Programs Can open Unknown File Types Have you ever come across files that you are not aware of or have never seen before? Use this excellent free utility to find which application can open that file.
• For more information related to ISO, please visit the ISO section on Techie Buzz

Techie Buzz Verdict:

WinCDEmu has several things going for it. It’s free, open-source, small, and has a portable version. As I’ve shown, the portable version is simple to use, and the installed version is even easier, since it allows you to mount images by double clicking on them.

Techie Buzz Rating: 4/5 (Excellent)

ISO2USB is a handy utility for users who want to create bootable USB drives for CentOS or RedHat 5.X. You can create the bootable CentOS or RedHat USB drive by using your install CD or ISO image file.

You can then use the USB stick to perform installations on computers which do not have optical drives. ISO2USB also supports custom installations disks.

The bootable USB drive can perform the full install and does not require network support.

Download ISO2USB

Microsoft Store has released a freeware utility which will allow users to easily create a copy of their downloaded Windows 7 ISO on a USB or DVD. This tool will help you create a bootable copy of the installation, which can then be used to install Windows 7 on your PC or laptop.

Once you download and install the software, run it and select the Windows 7 ISO and click on next. To create bootable Windows 7 USB drive, choose the USB option and select the flash drive from the list and click Begin copying. In order to create a bootable Windows 7 DVD, click on Begin Burning.

Techie Buzz Verdict

This tool from Microsoft will come in pretty handy, if you have decided to download a digital copy of Windows 7, in the form of a ISO or compressed file. Using this tool you can quickly and easily create a bootable USB or DVD drive and install Windows 7 with ease.

Techie Buzz Ratings: 3.5/5 (Good)

Download Windows 7 USB/DVD Download tool

source

Opening zip files usually require downloading the whole archive and then decompressing it using a software. Things get even more inconvenient if there are a couple of corrupted files in the archive or if you only need one file from the archive but have to download the whole thing to get to that file.

ArchView is a Firefox Add-on that allows you to preview zip files online without even downloading them. Supported compressed formats are .rar and .zip. You can even use ArchView to preview .iso files. Once you have installed the add-on, clicking on any zip file would open it just like a windows explorer window and show the the content of the zip file.

It is a very useful tool to preview the contents of the zip file and save yourself from the hassle of downloading it every time. It supports HTTP, FTP and other file protocols.

There are lots and lots of blogs and forums who talk about leaked copies of Windows 7, however we advise you to beware of those downloads, since many of those installation could be spiced up with a variety of worms, viruses and spywares, that may compromise your privacy and security.

However if you have downloaded a copy of Windows 7, before you go ahead and install it, a small tool called Windows 7 ISO verifier can save you a lot of trouble.

Once you have downloaded a copy of Windows 7, before you install it, just use this tool to verify the downloaded file, if the file is valid you should see a message saying so.

However if you see a different message it would certainly mean that the installation is gamed to install spywares, malwares, viruses or Trojans, just delete it and wait for Microsoft to release a official version. Thanks Nirmal.

Download Windows ISO Verifier

ISO files are CD/DVD image files which can be easily burned to blank media, however you will require a ISO Burning software to write the content to a CD/DVD.

Free ISO Burner is a freeware that will allow you to burn ISO images to a CD/DVD. Free ISO Burner can directly burn your ISO and CD/DVD image file to CD-R,CD-RW, DVD-R,DVD-RW,DVD+R and DVD+RW, no need mount virtual drives which emulate physical CDs or DVDs.

Free ISO Burning Software Features

• Burn any ISO image file to CD-R,CD-RW, DVD-R,DVD-RW,DVD+R and DVD+RW.
• Does not require any additional software to mount the ISO files.
• Simple to use, select ISO file, select media to burn to and write the files.

Download Free ISO Burner

We have talked about how to open ISO files and also a easy way to mount a ISO file as a virtual CD / DVD drive, but what if you simply burn a ISO file to a CD / DVD? Would you go and buy a costly software like Nero, which has become more of a entertainment package and less of a CD / DVD burning software or would you just wait for some free software to come by and help you burn your ISO file to a CD / DVD?

If you are waiting for the latter to happen you shall have to not wait any longer. Active@ ISO Burner is a free software that allows you burn those ISO files to a CD or DVD.

The software works more like the regular CD / DVD burning softwares except that it specializes in helping you burn ISO files to a CD / DVD.

Active@ ISO Burner is a freeware application that will allow you to burn an ISO image file to CD-R, DVD-R, DVD+R, CD-RW, DVD-RW, DL DVD+RW, HD DVD and Blu-ray Disc.

How can you burn a ISO file to a CD / DVD?

• Download the ISO CD image to a folder on your computer.
• Insert a blank CD in your CD-RW drive.
• Run Active@ ISO Burner.
• Type the path to ISO image file or click Browse button to locate it via standard File Open dialog.
• Click the [BURN ISO!] button to start the process of writing ISO image to CD.

That’s it, it couldn’t get any simpler than that.

What other options does Active@ ISO Burner provide you with?

Active@ ISO Burner also provides you with options such as

• Finalize Media – after burning is complete performs media finalizing (takes some time)
• Perform BURN-Proof - sets the status of BURN-Proof (Buffer Under RuN error Proof) flag which helps in protection from BURN error
• Perform OPC - sets the status of flag for performing OPC, before burning.
• Default rewritable media erase – if media type is re-writable (CD-RW, DVD-RW, etc.) checking this option will automatically erase media every time before burning starts. If turned off – dialog pops up asking to confirm erase action. Erasing takes some time
• Default Max write speed – if turned on – burner has been set up to use maximum writing speed. If turned off – one step below maximum
• Cache Buffer Size – size of the cache buffer in megabytes. Gives a basic level of Buffer Under RuN Error Protection using software buffers. The data, to be burnt, is kept in the system RAM, before it is burnt to the disc.

Summarizing

If you are looking for a easy way to burn all those ISO files you have collected over a period of Active@ ISO Burner is definitely good piece of software you should try out.

And since its absolutely free you do not have to worry about spending more than you have to.

Which softwares do you use to burn ISO files, do let me know through your comments.

Download: Active@ ISO Burner