71

Does Windows 7 have native support for mounting CD/DVD ISO images? If not, what is the best tool to use for that under Windows 7 64-bit? I am looking for a solution to allow installing MSDN downloads without burning them to CD/DVD.

khosrow
  • 4,183
Jim McKeeth
  • 1,916

11 Answers11

55

My preference is Slysoft Virtual Clone Drive. It's great because:

  • you can mount/dismount by right-clicking on the drive
  • the drive remembers what has been mounted before
  • you can mount an iso by right-clicking the ISO itself.

No issues with device driver signing, etc. I dumped Daemon Tools a while ago. Using it on Win7 7100 64 bit with no problem. Feels quite fast.

p.campbell
  • 4,447
27

If you like free open source software, try http://wincdemu.sysprogs.org/ I use it both on Windows XP and Windows 7. Works great and there is no risk of spyware etc.

Edit: There is a portable version as well.

Yariv
  • 271
11

By far the best free ISO mounting tool out there is Pismo file mount.

Some highlights:

  • Works great on Windows Vista/7 x64 (not natively x64 but completely compatible)
  • Drives only exist when an ISO is mounted and are removed when there is no ISO mounted
  • Small memory footprint
  • Has simple minimalist right click shell integration
  • Unattended installation
  • No Branding or silly logos to speak of (very clean professional feeling program)
  • Fully featured command line control that is automatically working right after unattended install
  • Plus all the normal features you would expect from an ISO mounting tool
  • Free for corporate use

Some things you will want to pay attention to though is that by default it will not mount the ISO to a drive letter but instead mount it to a UNC path which can cause some software installers to fail when installing from the mounted path. Just make sure you specify that you want Pismo to mount to a drive letter when you are doing the mount and it will work fine.

Here is the unattended install of SQL to demonstrate my real world use of Pismo.

SET MSDNIsoPath=\\itapp\ISO Library\MSDN
SET ScriptPath=%~dp0
SET ScriptPath=%ScriptPath:~0,-1%
SET MountPath=m:
SET pfmMount=pfm mount -m %MountPath%
SET pfmUnMount=pfm unmount

echo -Installing Pismo File Mount
"%ResourcePath%\pfmap-051.exe" /q

echo.
echo Install and configure Microsoft SQL Server 2005 
echo -Installing Standard Edition
%pfmMount% "%MSDNIsoPath%\en_sql_2005_std_x86_dvd.iso"
%MountPath%\Servers\setup.exe /settings "%ScriptPath%\Configuration\Microsoft SQL Server 2005.ini" /qb /norestart
%pfmUnMount%
Chris Magnuson
  • 3,891
7

MagicDisk works with Vista. They have a download for Windows 7 as well, but I haven't tried it.

dmo
  • 2,100
7

I have used Virtual Clone drives for a very long time but one application that made me change is: Pismo File Mount Audit Package. Quoting from their website

Pismo File Mount Audit Package is a Windows application that allows users to mount the contents of ZIP, ISO, Compact ISO, Compact File Set and Private Folder files to the file system as virtual folders.

Basically - this application can convert your ISO files as Folders and/or a virtual CD or DVD Rom. Solves multiple purposes and it is Windows 7 Compatible.

Phantom Yoda
  • 191
5

I'm totally happy with Daemon Tools Lite.

Simple, easy, lightweight, totally compatible with Windows 7 (x64 ed. too).

Massimo
  • 72,827
3

Seriously, I've tried every ISO mounting software out there. I liked UltraISO for a long while but recently just read the post left by another gentleman above for the software Pismo File Mount Audit Package.

Love it, not going to drop UltraISO completely but I like the interface much better and its also free...

One difference which is not really a problem at all but Pismo File Mount Audit Package uses network drive symbolic link mount points instead of assigning a free drive letter. I load several (15) sample CDs from an external HD and I have no problems whatsoever. I would recommend it.

2

Since nobody mentioned it... Winrar, will let you open a .iso file, and let you extract it, or run the setup from there. I don't recommend this for large installers though, as it will need to extract to a temporary folder. It comes in handy sometimes though if you don't really need to mount the image.

lysdexic
  • 366
0

I recommend to those who have had problems with the daemon tools, using virtual clone driver first because it is free, second because it can mount up to 15 units unlike daemon free which is very limited, it does not require a restart to install , is light ram to use, easy to use. See here the different free tools to Mount ISO image in Windows 7 - http://www.techarena.in/guide/27150-how-mount-iso-image-windows-7-using-free-tools.htm.

0

I've been using H&H Virtual CD for years, it's not free but I have found it's worth the small investment as it will even support virtual BluRay drives

0

i had a problem with Daemon tools when i first started using the Win7BETA, but since the RC i haven't had any problems with Daemon Tools Lite. It's free, easy to use, and allows you to have numerous virtual disks. Windows 7 also has a nice built in burn ISO feature to burn to a disk, just right click on the iso file.

user44650
  • 137