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Mounting .ISO files Directly is Awesome Feature in Windows 8 for DreamSpark and MSDN Subscribers

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Randy Guthrie – Microsoft Technical Evangelist
https://blogs.msdn.com/MIS_Laboratory

One of the small but sometimes annoying challenges of software offerings in DreamSpark and MSDN is that the software downloads are largely in .ISO format. This requires going through some extra steps to burn the software to a DVD or USB storage keys. One of the little known but very nice features in Windows 8 is the ability to “mount” .ISO files directly and run the software installation from the location where it was downloaded.

The process is essentially a “one-click” step: right-mouse click on the .ISO file and select “Mount” with a left mouse click. The extracted file list will appear. You then click the “set-up” .EXE file to install the software. Its that simple.

In pictures:

Select the .ISO file
image

Right-mouse click on the file, then Left-click the “Mount” optionimage

The extracted image appear. Double left-click on “set-up.exe” to start the installation.image

Enjoy!

Cheers,

Randy

Comments

  • Anonymous
    August 31, 2012
    After using Linux and Mac for years, which have done this since the beginning, I'm glad to see Microsoft finally getting around to it. I never understood why they didn't have this built in, especially since they started making all the downloads from MSDN in the ISO format.

  • Anonymous
    September 10, 2012
    The comment has been removed

  • Anonymous
    November 06, 2012
    When I first installed Windows 8, I saw this option.  However, no it no longer appears.  Could something have disabled this option?

  • Anonymous
    November 06, 2012
    Cancel my comment.  Somehow ISO became unassociated with being opened by "Windows Explorer."  Probably while I was installing one of the multitude of applications.  I reassociated ISO with Windows Explorer and now they'll successfully mount.

  • Anonymous
    November 16, 2012
    I have done this with my Windows 8 files from one of my computers. Can I now use the DVD disc to put Windows 8 on another computer and just buy a key from the Microsoft store?

  • Anonymous
    November 18, 2012
    This is great and all, but how do I 'umount' the iso?  My CD drive is stuck as a result of mounting some software in Windows 8..I clicked on 'eject' but I receive a generic error message.  I can't find any help on this out there!  

  • Anonymous
    November 19, 2012
    Would be great - except I get no mount option :-(

  • Anonymous
    November 21, 2012
    @Jewel: On my computer I right-mouse click and then click eject and it unmounts the drive and the "DVD" drive in Windows Explorer goes away. If your computer doesn't work that way I am stumped!

  • Anonymous
    November 21, 2012
    @Jonathan: I am using the Enterprise edition of Windows 8. I assume you are using the "pro edition"? It should work there as well. Sometimes if the .ISO file is corrupted the mount option won't work. Can you try downloading a different file?

  • Anonymous
    November 27, 2012
    If you don't see the option, you need to first open the ISO with Windows Explorer.  After you open it once then the "Mount" option shows up...

  • Anonymous
    December 08, 2012
    Please help a poor PC dummy.  just got windows 8 and don't know where the .iso files are located.  I even did a search from windows explorer. Help please.

  • Anonymous
    December 08, 2012
    The comment has been removed

  • Anonymous
    December 27, 2012
    what do i do if i don't have an option to mount when i right click? i am also quite computer illiterate. and so far not a fan of windows 8.

  • Anonymous
    December 27, 2012
    If you are running Windows 8 on an ARM processor device such as the Microsoft Surface or ASUS Win RT computer, then the option for mounting an .iso file is not supported because the only way to get apps on a Windows 8 RT device is through the store. The .iso mounting option is only available on the Windows 8 Professional and Enterprise editions. As for your not being a fan. That is understandable. Windows 8 does a lot of things differently than Windows 7 and there isn't an intuitive path from 7 to 8. You have to be told how the new things work. I suggest checking out this link that contains a comprehensive guide to how to do things on Windows 8: windows.microsoft.com/.../beyond-basics

  • Anonymous
    January 28, 2013
    does this work on all versions of Win8?

  • Anonymous
    February 01, 2013
    I have the standard Window 8 64-bit.  I was able to mount and unmount the first ISO image I tried, but now a few days later I tried a different ISO to install software I just purchased.  I could mount the ISO image, but now I cannot unmount it even after a reboot.  Eject is greyed out, even though nothing should be using the drive (and even if it is, I should be in charge of the drive, not some software).   It would be nice if it would tell me why Eject is greyed out, instead of just getting in my way.

  • Anonymous
    February 01, 2013
    Oh good grief.  Something called "Cyberlink" was getting in the way.   I'm not sure it's crapware on my new PC, but I'm thinking probably it is.

  • Anonymous
    February 04, 2013
    Hi need a little help regarding iso/udf files and Windows 8. Under Windows 7 I used MagicDisc to mount iso files. DVD iso could then be played directly in WMP.  However in Windows 8 when I mount the image using MagicDisc or Windows 8 directly the audio and video TS files are displayed but Windows 8 will not play then.  Any Thoughts?

  • Anonymous
    February 23, 2013
    For those of you who see no mount option, please see Wayne's comment above: Right click > "Choose default program ..." Choose "Windows Explorer" Then, Right Click again and you will see the Mount Option.

  • Anonymous
    March 02, 2013
    The comment has been removed

  • Anonymous
    March 27, 2013
    After founding lot of software doent work....this short trick to mount iso. file work.......... Kept it up

  • Anonymous
    May 10, 2013
    Just because a file is an archive of many other files it does not mean that it is compressed. ISOs are just following a standard that defines how directories and files are laid out on disk. There is no compression involved at all. Which is why ISO are often shipped in archives, unless their creators took great care to compress their content, which is the case with all common Linux distributions and Windows installation disks.

  • Anonymous
    June 01, 2013
    Thank you very much you saved me from a lot of trouble

  • Anonymous
    August 09, 2013
    The comment has been removed

  • Anonymous
    August 09, 2013
    Is it just me or does this feature only work with NTFS formatted ISO ? Just tried to mount Office 2013 iso directly downloaded form VL and it will not work (presumably formatted as FAT32...). I understand that MS is a big company and that left hand doesn't know what right, middle and back hand is doing but this is SOOO frustrating :(

  • Anonymous
    August 19, 2013
    Can I mount an ISO, modify a file in it or copy a file to it and dismount?  Or is the ISO mounted read only?  If I can't what tool would you use to. Open an ISO, modify and close?

  • Anonymous
    October 07, 2013
    Do we need any particular software for mounting or opening an ISO file?

  • Anonymous
    October 08, 2013
    This is a feature in Windows 8/8.1. You don't need any additional software.  When a file is mounted, it is essentially in a read-only state as if it were a DVD.  This is a good link for good explanation on what an .iso "archive" or "image" file is and how to make (or modify) one: www.ehow.com/how_5101218_make-iso-image.html

  • Anonymous
    October 13, 2013
    Yes it will work for all versions of Win 8

  • Anonymous
    October 25, 2013
    The comment has been removed

  • Anonymous
    October 30, 2013
    when i clik on mount. It say the the dis is corrupted. wat should i do

  • Anonymous
    November 19, 2013
    ITS GREAT OPTION, IN WONDOWS 8.1 THANKS FOR HELP TO FIND OUT THIS OPTION.

  • Anonymous
    November 24, 2013
    When I first tried to mount the ISO file I got the mount option but also an error message saying "couldn't mount file" "sorry there was a problem mounting this file". Now when I try to mount the mount option isn't available and if I chose Explorer I get the same error message. I am running the latest version of Win8 on a Surface Pro.

  • Anonymous
    November 24, 2013
    Hi. In spite of the error message the ISO file was, in fact, mounted as a virtual DVD drive. I didn't see the drive as it appeared at the very bottom of my file tree. Sorry for any inconvenience.

  • Anonymous
    February 18, 2014
    For people who can't see the "Mount" option when they right click an .ISO file. Right click and select "Open With" then choose "Windows Explorer". ....Should solve your problem.

  • Anonymous
    February 26, 2014
    It is no longer required to rename the file to ".iso" before attempting to mount. Right click the img file, if mount is not displayed as an option by default, it is possible the file type was reassociated some other time. In this case, select Open with Windows Explorer. The file will mount to a virtual drive. Click to open if necessary, and select the appropriate setup executable.

  • Anonymous
    March 06, 2014
    The comment has been removed

  • Anonymous
    March 29, 2014
    The comment has been removed

  • Anonymous
    April 04, 2014
    it doesn't work..  how can i fix this?

  • Anonymous
    May 07, 2014
    The comment has been removed

  • Anonymous
    June 04, 2014
    Very useful thank you!!! If you don't see the option to "mount" just right click and select open with :  windows explorer

  • Anonymous
    September 30, 2014
    You can mount iso's in Win 7 if you want, virtual sheep or clone drive or whatever it's called is the best one, you'd find it on Cnet I reckon.

  • Anonymous
    October 28, 2014
    Hi, I am having issues with this. I downloaded the ISO of Office2013. I right click and mount. I run setup and then I get an error that some of the .mst or .msi files cannot be found. When I point to the correct directory the install still fails. Help Please!  Thanks, Chuck

  • Anonymous
    December 31, 2014
    The comment has been removed

  • Anonymous
    January 06, 2015
    Eric, your tips to use windows explorer is great.It works like a charm!.

  • Anonymous
    January 18, 2015
    This is an awesome feature! But I'm wondering how many ISO's can I mount?

  • Anonymous
    March 09, 2015
    The comment has been removed

  • Anonymous
    March 26, 2015
    if i click on mount ERROR Sorry, there was a problem mounting the file

  • Anonymous
    April 05, 2015
    How can I disable this? I need to burn the Win 7 ISO file to a DVD/USB, win 8 keep auto mounting this without letting me see the .iso!

  • Anonymous
    May 28, 2015
    Yay!

  • Anonymous
    July 04, 2015
    it is saying that 'COULDN'T MOUNT THE  FILE '..........what is that..can i get any solution for that

  • Anonymous
    July 31, 2015
    Thanks for the article. This has been a rather annoying "feature" in Windows. Nice to MS finally getting this right.

  • Anonymous
    December 28, 2015
    I have the option to mount, but after clicking on mount, I get a message: "Sorry, there was a problem mounting the file."  I have no idea why. Can someone help please? :)