Image is everything

Making an ISO file
A computer that’s fitted with a recordable drive will usually have commercial disc-burning software, such as Nero or Roxio, pre-installed. Such programs can usually be used to create ISO files.

In the case of Nero, launch the program and insert the CD or DVD that is to be converted into an ISO file. Now click on the Extras menu and select Save Tracks before selecting ‘ISO image file (*.iso)’ from the dropdown menu labelled ‘Output file format’. Click on the Browse button to choose a folder in which to save the file and then click on Go to begin the process.

While Nero is capable of creating ISO files using this method, it is a little convoluted. A simpler option is Imgburn, which is a free program that can be downloaded from www.imgburn.com. Once downloaded and installed, launch the program and click on the ‘Create image file from disc’ button. Indicate where the file should be saved and then click on the button at the bottom of the screen to start the creation process.

To create a disc from an ISO file, simply choose the ‘Write an image file to disc’ option and put a blank recordable disc in your drive. Choose your image file and click the Write icon at the bottom of the screen.

Mounting an ISO file
While ISO files provide a very useful means of distributing and storing data, most people won’t need this on a daily basis. Arguably the handiest use for ISOs is to serve as virtual discs. Some software titles, notably reference titles, run entirely from CD or DVD and require the relevant disc to be physically in the drive at time of use. Unless your computer is fitted with multiple optical drives, this leads to the hassle of disc swapping and the need to track down the relevant discs whenever they are needed. But with ISO files, you could store a large number of frequently used discs on a hard disk so they are never more than a few mouse clicks away.

To make use of ISO files without burning them to disc you’ll need an ISO-mounting program. As Windows doesn’t support this feature natively (but see the section ‘Microsoft’s hidden gem’ for more on this), we’re going to use Daemon Tools Lite, which is free and easy to use. Download the latest version from www.daemon-tools.cc. Install this program, restarting Windows to complete the process.

The program will relaunch the second stage of the installation process after the reboot, but untick the boxes labelled ‘Daemon Tools sponsor ad module’ and ‘Daemon Tools default Search Provider’ to prevent the installation of unwanted components. At the next screen you’ll probably also want to decline the option to change your web browser’s home page to Daemon Search.

If the files need to be accessible every time Windows is used, right-click on the Daemon Tools icon in the Notification Area, click on Options and ensure both Automount and ‘Autostart tray icon’ are ticked. Daemon Tools can also be used to load ISO files into virtual optical drives. With the option of creating up to four virtual drives, this should reduce the need to physically swap CDs and DVDs.

Swapping virtual discs
Depending on the type and number of disc-dependent programs you use, there may be occasions when even virtual discs need to be swapped. This can be done by selecting the option to unmount the image, which then frees up the drive ready for another image file to be loaded.

While ISOs can be unmounted individually, it’s also possible to unmount all the loaded images at once using a keyboard shortcut. This needs to be manually configured, so right-click on the Daemon Tools Notification Area icon and select Options followed by ‘Hot keys’. Click within the ‘Unmount all’ box and press a key on the keyboard (such as ‘U’ for ‘unmount’). After clicking on OK, pressing Ctrl, Alt and the chosen letter simultaneously will in future automatically unmount all loaded images in one fell swoop.