Information Addicts

Have you ever come across an ISO image file?
If you are fairly new to computers you may not have come across one of these files before. In this article you will learn how ISO image files are a great way to store data.

If you already know about, and have used ISO image files, then I will show you a couple of great tools you may not know about.

ISO image files explained.
ISO is short for International Organization of Standardization, which basically is a set of standards set by various organizations.

What does this all mean?
An ISO image file, is an exact copy of everything that is on an CD or DVD (all the data files and folders, including movies). This image file has a .ISO file extension.

What are the benefits of using ISO image files?

• CDs/DVDs can get easily scratched, therefore ISO files are a great way to back up and store all your optical data on to your hard drive. If you ever lose the original CD/DVD then you can burn a new one using the ISO file.
• For some games you need the CD to run them, if you have an ISO image file you can use that (when mount, see below for more info), which means no more fumbling about for CDs, and they are quicker to load.
• Distribute CD-ROMs over the internet using the ISO file, this is a great way to send Operating System files over the internet, this is how Linux distributes its OS.

How do I create an ISO file?
To create an ISO image file you need the right software, below are a few programs that can do this. Some of them cost, and some are free.

IsoBuster is a very comprehensive tool and maybe an overkill for some users, but worth a look. IsoBuster costs around $29.95 (around £15).

ImgBurn is a free program.

Folder2Iso is also free, easy to use, and allows you to create an ISO image file from any folders on your hard drive.

Magic ISO Maker is a very powerful and simple application to use and costs $29.95 (around £15), well worth the money. http://www.magiciso.com/

What if I need to write an ISO image file to a CD or DVD to use it?
This excellent article from Petri will show you how to do this with various software.

I wrote earlier that one of the benefits of ISO files is that you can use them to run games, rather than the CD, as it is much faster (up to 200% ), and you don’t need to keep loading the discs.
To do this you need to mount the ISO file as a virtual CD-ROM, which means you will click on the virtual CD-ROM to play the game.
Don’t worry, it is a very simple to do with the help of either, Daemon or Alcohol software, just downlaoad the application and follow the step by step process. Virtual CD-ROMs can also be used for any CDs or DVDs, not just games.

Happy ISOing, I know there isn’t such a word, but I have made it up :-).

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, March 12th, 2008 at 1:00 pm and is filed under PC Tips. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.