Mounting an ISO image in Windows Vista

Jun 5 2006 8:13 AM

I've been running Vista for a few builds now, most recently getting updated to Beta 2. It's fairly common for me to need to mount ISO images of CD's/DVD's. My favorite, Daemon Tools hasn't worked in recent builds so I was forced to look elsewhere. It turns out that elby Virtual CloneDrive is free, and works great in Vista. It's possible that Daemon Tools now works in Beta 2, but their last release that promised Vista support never installed properly so I felt a bit let down. If you need to mount an ISO in Vista, give it a try!

Update (10-22-2008): It's amazing to me that this still seems to be my most popular entry! For anyone stumbling on it after 2006, Daemon Tools works just fine in Vista and is back to being my ISO mounter of choice!

33 Comments

alex said on Oct 2 2006 at 4:53 PM

try Ultra ISO works fine on rc-1 64
alex said on Oct 2 2006 at 4:54 PM

here is the link http://www.ezbsystems.com/ultraiso/download.htm
Arian said on Oct 2 2006 at 5:53 PM

Thanks for the link! I didn't mention it, but I was looking specifically for free software. I was also looking for the ability to mount the disc. I've used Ultra ISO for opening and creating images, but I didn't know it was able to mount them.
Anonymous said on Oct 4 2006 at 2:23 AM

just wanted to say thanks for finding this, I thought I was gonna have to go back to XP again
Teutonik said on Oct 4 2006 at 8:35 AM

I used CloneDrive (mentioned above) on Vista Beta 2, and it works. Now I'm up to RC1 (build 5728) and it stopped working. Anyone got something to work for mounting ISOs with this build?
Teutonik said on Sep 1 2006 at 1:46 PM

Super!! That really worked. Thanks a bunch!
TC said on Dec 1 2006 at 4:39 AM

I have downloaded and used this on the Live Release version of Vista and it is great. Thanks!!
Aki said on Jun 28 2006 at 1:06 PM

sorry but vista 64bit is incompatible with alot of hardware even if you have the 64bit version i suggest downloading and installing the 32bit, p.s. this is what i did
larry said on Jul 1 2006 at 6:21 PM

THANKS!!! I have had SO much trouble with daemon tools and isobuster..
larry said on Jul 1 2006 at 6:32 PM

btw- if you install daemon tools, it WILL deactivate your windows registration until you uninstall it again. I couldn't get any version to work AT ALL. hopefully- they will release a beta-fix for vista testers!
Shock said on Jul 11 2006 at 10:53 AM

THANKS A LOT! I Tenia mucho Tiempo con este problema estube a punto de borrar el vista beta!
shaquan said on Jul 14 2006 at 8:05 AM

thanks alot it finally works. i was a lil sad to figure out that daemon doesn't work with vista but thanks to great people like yourself we finally found a solution to all of our problems....keep up the good work bro.
Ben said on Jun 21 2006 at 1:33 AM

Tried it on the x64bit version. I does not work. Help! Does somebody know about a program that does work on the x64bit version?
Some Guy said on Jun 13 2006 at 11:11 AM

Thanks that really helped
Mike said on Jun 16 2006 at 10:59 AM

I have been looking for something like this for 2 days... Alcohol doesn't work.. Daemon Tools doesn't work.. this does!!! Vista Beta 2 (5384.4) Thanks!!!
Jed said on Jun 17 2006 at 2:04 PM

Works perfect. Thanks !
Jamison said on Jun 18 2006 at 4:32 AM

Is this only for the 32-bit version of Vista?
Arian said on Jun 18 2006 at 10:34 AM

I don't use the 64-bit version, so I'm afraid I can't answer that. You may want to check the Elby site.
Duncan McAlynn [MVP] said on Dec 17 2006 at 9:45 PM

I've tried using Virtual CloneDrive on Windows Vista 64-bit GOLD and the setup fails on the Operating System check. The quest continues...
Duncan McAlynn [MVP] said on Dec 17 2006 at 9:49 PM

HOLY GRAIL FOUND!!! http://www.ezbsystems.com/ultraiso/download.htm Works flawlessly with Windows Vista (GOLD) 64-bit versions. Just download and run the setup. Nothing to it! FINALLY, ISO-image support for Vista... by the way, why is ZIP supported natively by the operating system but not ISO images???
Arian said on Dec 18 2006 at 9:04 AM

Someone needs to write a good ISO shell plugin for Windows. As for mounting an image, as far as I know, Daemon Tools works with Vista RTM (maybe even RC2). It's not as much of an issue now I think. I think that UltraISO costs money, so Daemon Tools is a good free option.
? said on Dec 25 2006 at 5:31 AM

does it work with mds-mdf files on vista 32 bit too?
Arian said on Dec 25 2006 at 2:57 PM

I think that you're referring to database files. MDF is used by SQL Server. Not sure about MDS. As I understand it, there are still incompatibilities with SQL Server 2005. They should be fixed soon (according to official statements).
Piffer said on Feb 2 2007 at 12:02 AM

eh MDF/MDS are possibly related to SQL files, but they are also image files, like bin/cue. And I need to find an app for Vista to mount these as well, as I've got tons of them... :-( -P
Arian said on Feb 2 2007 at 10:17 AM

Ah. It looks like Daemon Tools supports at least MDS. I haven't tried it in awhile (my Vista machine is non-functional at the moment). If Virtual CloneDrive won't support MDS, see if Daemon Tools will work
Norman said on Feb 9 2007 at 7:09 AM

needed iso mount for vista
James said on Feb 16 2007 at 12:24 PM

This doesn't work on Vista RTM
Joe diddy said on Feb 16 2007 at 10:39 PM

Does this kill your universe? like a friggin nucular bomb?
jed wilson said on Feb 17 2007 at 12:17 AM

This killed my 32 bit vista business.... blue screen of death .
Claudio Fagundes said on Mar 3 2007 at 4:33 PM

It doesn't work on Vista Ultimate 64 bits
Burn ISO file said on Mar 4 2007 at 12:28 PM

You can use magiciso to burn vista iso to dvd. http://www.magiciso.com/
VSerror said on Mar 5 2007 at 11:30 AM

Microsoft has an unsupported virtual CD-ROM program. Why buy alcohol or Daemon Tools? Alcohol and Daemon Tools are excellent software packages that allow users to mount ISO files as virtual CD-ROMs. Yes, there is a way to use that ISO without burning it to a disk. Although I love these tools, Microsoft has a free, 60kb program that does the same thing! Of course, it is not supported... and it's not as friendly as the software listed above; however, it works and it's free. Here's the download link: http://download.microsoft.com/download/ ... nel_21.exe Here's the readme: Quote: Readme for Virtual CD-ROM Control Panel v2.0.1.1 THIS TOOL IS UNSUPPORTED BY MICROSOFT PRODUCT SUPPORT SERVICES Quote: System Requirements =================== - Windows XP Home or Windows XP Professional Installation instructions ========================= 1. Copy VCdRom.sys to your %systemroot%\system32\drivers folder. 2. Execute VCdControlTool.exe 3. Click "Driver control" 4. If the "Install Driver" button is available, click it. Navigate to the %systemroot%\system32\drivers folder, select VCdRom.sys, and click Open. 5. Click "Start" 6. Click OK 7. Click "Add Drive" to add a drive to the drive list. Ensure that the drive added is not a local drive. If it is, continue to click "Add Drive" until an unused drive letter is available. 8. Select an unused drive letter from the drive list and click "Mount". 9. Navigate to the image file, select it, and click "OK". UNC naming conventions should not be used, however mapped network drives should be OK. You may now use the drive letter as if it were a local CD-ROM device. When you are finished you may unmount, stop, and remove the driver from memory using the driver control.
Arian said on Mar 5 2007 at 11:59 AM

Daemon Tools doesn't cost anything... I'm not sure if Microsoft's CD mount tool works in Vista yet. I think that it didn't work back when I wrote this post. It is handy in XP, but Daemon Tools supports many formats, remembers devices when you reboot, and lets you change device ID's and other parameters. Use what works best for you!