Advertisment

Mounting ISO CD Images on Windows

author-image
PCQ Bureau
New Update

You may sometime need to preserve data, audio or video CDs , in the form of ISO images so that you can convert these images to CDs whenever you require. For example, you may want to create ISO images of a CD that contains your sales database and put it up on the intranet. Those authorized to access it can then download it and burn it into CDs for themselves. 

Advertisment

In Linux, once you mount an ISO image on a blank folder, you can view the contents of the image before burning them on to a CD. In Windows, unfortunately, you can only see that an ISO image exists; you cannot see its contents. So, for example, if you have two ISO images on your system, you will not know which image contains what content. 

We will talk about how to mount an ISO CD in Windows such that you can see the contents of the image, using a free tool from Microsoft, called VcdControlTool (you will find it on this month's PCQEssential CD). A lot of other freeware software is also available. 

Mounting ISO images on virtual drives in windows
Advertisment

First, copy the plug-in (which is in the form of an executable zip file) from the PCQuest CD on your desktop. When you double click on it, it will ask you where you want to unzip the file. Give path and click on the Unzip button. Now, you will get two files-VCdRom.sys and VCdControlTool.exe. Copy VCdRom.sys to c:\windows\system23, then go to system drive and open config.sys file in the Notepad and add the entry LASTDRIVE=Z. Now , restart the machine and you will be ready to use the virtual CD that mounts ISO images on Windows. 

To use the virtual CD, go to the folder where you had earlier unzipped the files and double click on 'VcdControlTool'. This will open the VCdControlTool window, where you get the status of the virtual drive. On the right-hand side of the window you will find six buttons: Drive Control, Add Drive, Remove Drive, Mount, Remount and Eject. To add a virtual drive, click on the Add Drive button. It will add an empty drive's letters in the detail display box. 

Direct Hit!
Applies to:

PC users
USP:

Can mount ISOimage on Windows
S/w on CD: Windows virtual CD control
Advertisment

Now you need to associate the ISO CD images with the empty virtual drives. To add the ISO CD image with the virtual drive, select any virtual drive from the detail display box and click on the Mount button. In the dialog box that opens, select the ISO CD image and click on Open button. Now, you will get special mount options, such as Suppress UDF, Suppress Joliet and Persistent Mount. You don't need to select any of these option; just click on OK. This will mount the ISO CD image with selected virtual drive. 

ISO CD IMAGE IN LINUX
To mount an ISO CD image on Linux, use the following command. 
# mount —o loop

/isoimage.iso /blankfolder

To check if the ISO CD image has mounted on the virtual drive or not, go to My Computer and you will get a virtual drive. If the virtual drive opens on double-clicking that means your ISO CD image has successfully mounted on Windows. 

Sanjay Majumder

Advertisment