Mount and unmount ISO files

By Ed Bott

CDs and DVDs were once the de facto standard for exchanging oversize collections of files, complete with a folder hierarchy. On modern PCs, optical drives are increasingly rare, and the collections of files that used to reside on DVDs are now typically exchanged using ISO files. One of the best examples is the collection of Windows setup files, which used to ship on DVDs and are now freely available as ISO files.

(The ISO name is a relic of the distant pre-Windows past, by the way. Originally, it referred to the ISO 9660 file system devised for data CDs. Today, an ISO file is more likely to use the UDF file system.)

After downloading an ISO file, you need mount it, a process that assigns a virtual drive letter so you can treat it as if it were a DVD. Mounting an ISO file on a device running Windows 7 requires third-party software (you have lots of free and paid options). On Windows 8.x and Windows 10, this capability is built into the operating system. Just double-click to open the file and browse its contents in File Explorer.

Once you've successfully mounted an ISO drive you can use it just as if it were a CD or DVD. That includes running setup programs (even Windows itself) without having to extract files or create external media.

To unmount an ISO file, find the virtual drive in File Explorer, right-click, and choose Eject.

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