How to Mount ISO Images In Windows

Mounting ISO images in your OS is a great way for you to view and run the content of the disk image without having to burn it into a CD/DVD. While Mac and Linux come with native support to mount ISO images in the system, Windows, regardless which version you are using, doesn’t come with this feature. In this article, we will show you how to mount ISO files in your Windows at a price of free.

Virtual CloneDrive

Virtual CloneDrive is a third party software that works and behaves just like a physical CD/DVD drive, except that it exists virtually. Once you have installed VCD, it will mount itself as an empty CD ROM drive in your Windows Explorer. You can then use it to mount your ISO images (just like the action of putting CD into your CD-ROM).

1. Download and install Virtual Clone Drive. (If you are using Windows 2000 or XP, you must be an administrator to install it, else it won’t work). You will be prompted to restart your computer.

2. Open up your Windows Explorer. You should now see a new BD-ROM drive.

3. Right click on the BD-ROM and select Virtual CloneDrive->Mount

4. Navigate to the directory where you store your ISO file and select it.

5. Virtual CloneDrive will magically mount the ISO as a CD in the system. You will be able to run the application or view the content directly from the ISO file.

Virtual CloneDrive works across most version of Windows, including Windows 7 RC1.

Alternative method

If you are not the administrator of your Windows XP machine or you can’t get Virtual CloneDrive to work, the alternative software that you can use is Virtual CD-ROM Control Panel.

1. Download Microsoft Virtual CD-ROM Control Panel package.

2. Double click the .exe file to extract the package. When prompted, remember to select Desktop as the directory to unzip the folder to.

3. You should now have three files on your desktop: VcdControlTool.exe, VCdRom.sys and a readme.txt file.

4. Copy the VCdRom.sys to your C:\WINDOWS\system32\drivers folder.

5. Double click the VCdControlTool.exe to run it.

6. Click “Driver Control”

7. Click on the Install Driver and point the directory to the VcdRom.sys file in C:\WINDOWS\system32\drivers folder.

8. Click on Start follow by OK.

9. Back to the main window, click “Add Drive“. You should see a new drive mounted on your system.

10. Click on Mount and navigate to the directory where you save the ISO file. Select the ISO file. It will prompt you for special mount option. Ignore that and click OK.

11. You can now access your ISO file within your Windows Explorer. When you are done, unmount, stop, and remove the driver from the Virtual CD-Rom Control Panel.

What other ways do you use to mount ISO files in Windows?