Top 10 CD/DVD Images Utils to Make ISO Files
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ImDisk Toolkit
Mount various image files of hard drive, CD-rom or floppy, and also create one or several RamDisks with numerous parameters at hand.
ImDisk Toolkit comes packing a graphical user interface (GUI) for the ImDisk Virtual Disk Driver in order to provide all users with a more facile method to take advantage of the whole set of features this great application has to offer.
Perform complex operations even with little prior experience
With ImDisk Toolkit, you can now perform operations that normally require a higher level of know-how when it comes to console commands. This particular piece of software bundles the ImDisk Virtual Disk Driver alongside the DiscUtils library used to expand the array of image file formats as well as GUIs for every possible component.
Once deployed, ImDisk Toolkit adds three tools to your arsenal including the ImDisk Virtual Disk Driver, the Mount Image File, and the RamDisk Configuration utilities. You can use all of them at the same time or just the one to help you accomplish your task quickly and easily.
Work with a wide range of formats
Moreover, this specific toolkit allows you to work with a plethora of formats out-of-the-box. You can also try to operate with file systems other than the popular FAT and NTFS formats, but that usually requires that you properly install additional system drivers.
Amongst the wide selection of supported image file formats, ImDisk Toolkit has no problem dealing with VirtualBox specific static, dynamic as well as multipart VHD, VDI and VMDK files, standard disc image files such as ISO, NRG or BIN or raw formats.
Intuitive GUI that makes the source application a lot more accessible
Based on the ImDisk Virtual Disk Driver, the ImDisk Toolkit is a truly great implementation of the source application, a joy to behold by both beginners and more advanced users that want to make use of it whenever in need of a virtual disk.
The fact that ImDisk Toolkit makes the best of what ImDisk Virtual Disk Driver does best should already be enough to draw high praises for numerous community groups. With ImDisk Toolkit, the ImDisk Virtual Disk Driver does not only receive a face, but a soul.
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PowerISO
Create virtual disc images under various popular formats like ISO, BIN, and CUE, create bootable disks, and mount them in one or more virtual drives.
Sure enough it’s a good idea to make extra copies of important stuff, with the possibility to save entire discs as virtual images. One of the most powerful software developed for CD/DVD burning purposes is PowerISO. It's simple to use, fast, reliable, and most people who have used it can't say otherwise.
Enabls you to easily set file association
PowerISO lets you manipulate CD and DVD image files, by creating, adjusting, converting, and mounting their content. The application can also work with ISO and BIN files.
During the installation process, you may choose file associations (PowerISO supports most of them), and the number of virtual drives to be mounted. Not to worry though, these settings can be adjusted afterwards.
The interface is very friendly and extremely easy to use, even though you lack experience in working with this type of software. The File menu allows you to create a new CD/DVD, Floppy Disc Image / Hard Disk image, as well as UDF or Video CDs Image.
Create multiple virtual drives to mount images
The Tools section offers possibilities to copy CDs, DVDs or BD discs, USB drive images, bootable USB drives, audio CDs, erase rewritable discs, or mount images.
PowerISO is also able to burn Blu-ray discs and convert popular image types to ISO and BIN format. Furthermore, the ISO functionality is just amazing: you get to add, delete or rename files inside the image or add boot information.
Also, PowerISO supports drag and drop and can create up to 23 virtual drives. The processing speed is amazing and resource consumption is pretty acceptable.
A straightforward tool for burning virtual copies of all your important data
All in all, PowerISO impressed us through its simplicity, as opposed to the complicated tasks it manages to complete. It can process a wide range of CD/DVDs type with exemplary output quality, helps create backups of important data on discs, and even mount them in one or more virtual drives.
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Download Hubs
PowerISO is part of these download collections: Create ISO, Open NRG, CD Burner, Open ISO
WinBin2Iso
Effortlessly convert BIN images to ISO format using this lightweight and portable application capable of processing files over 2GB.
WinBin2Iso is a very simple software solution designed to help you convert BIN files into ISO.
Especially designed with this goal in mind, WinBin2Iso is a very easy to use application, so beginners and more advanced users should be able to figure out which feature is which even without a help manual.
In fact, WinBin2Iso boasts nothing more than a single main window where the user is prompted to choose the source file and the target, so the whole setting up process takes just a few seconds.
There are no configuration screens, which is actually a disadvantage because users may need compression options or other customizations that could offer more control over the resulting ISO file.
WinBin2Iso is also able to work with files larger than 2 GB, so the application should have absolutely no problem when it comes to converting DVD images.
The conversion process per se goes blazing fast and it usually takes just a few minutes to get the job done, with a minimum footprint on computer resources.
Unfortunately, there are things to be improved and the lack of certain features may force some of the users to keep looking for a dedicated tool to convert BIN files into the ISO format. You can't even minimize the main window, so you just have to keep it on top of the screen while the app performs the conversion.
Simply put, WinBin2Iso is a useful solution if you're looking for a quick way to turn your BIN files into ISOs. Otherwise, you may have to look somewhere else, especially if you wish to juggle with more configuration options or a more appealing interface.
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DVD Drive Repair
Restore your DVD drive icon if it is missing for various reasons, and secure your PC by disabling the Autorun function, with this straightforward utility.
DVD Drive Repair is a useful application that allows you to restore the icon for a CD-ROM or DVD drive that is not recognized by the operating system. You can use this tool on a computer that encountered a hardware problem or a virus attack that prevent it from using the disc drive.
Make sure the driver firmware is up to date
When your DVD drive is not recognized by Windows even if it is functional, you might think about reinstalling the operating system or restoring it to a previously functional version. This tool intends to help you avoid taking radical measures that are time consuming.
You only need to run the program, click on the “Repair” button and reboot the computer in order to fix the problem. It is recommended that you update the device firmware to the latest version before attempting to repair the drive.
Option to reset Autorun settings to prevent possible infections
The program can also reset the Autorun settings to default and protect your system from Autorun viruses by disabling this feature for the removable drives. It does not remove the virus threat but it can help prevent them from infecting the computer by simply plugging in an infected USB storage device.
The interface is very simple and allows you to perform all actions with just a few clicks. You do not have to edit registry keys or go through other complicated settings in order to fix the CD-ROM problem.
To conclude
On an ending note, we recommend that you use DVD Drive Repair as an alternative to buying a new DVD drive or reinstalling the operating system. It is free and it takes less time to give it a try. The overall operation is quite intuitive and doesn’t pose any problems from start to end.
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UUbyte ISO Editor
Create and edit ISO files with this program, which allows you to burn content on CDs, DVDs and USBs, or even extract the content you need from disc images.
Even though CDs and DVDs aren’t as widely used today, ISO files are still useful if you want to have virtual copies of your data, or prepare it before burning.
There are both free and paid applications that can help you do this, and UUByte ISO Editor is one of the latter.
Intuitive disc image management
To be fair, UUByte ISO Editor has a no-nonsense user interface and is extremely to use. If you choose this tool, then you won’t have to navigate any submenus, as all its functions are clearly displayed in the home window.
The program can burn ISO files on CDs and DVDs and also on USB drives (no Blu-ray, unfortunately). Secondly, it can extract or edit any content from an ISO. Finally, it can create ISO files, either from a CD or DVD or from files on your hard drive. The last option can be particularly useful if you want to use UUByte ISO Editor as a backup tool.
A basic disc image editor that may not be worth its price
Windows 10 users can already open and extract content directly from the image files. They can’t also edit that content while it’s still in the disc image, and that’s probably the only reason why someone would want to use a professional disc image editor nowadays.
Even so, UUByte ISO Editor has one major drawback: as its name suggests, the program can only edit ISO files. This means that people who may need to edit slightly less popular image file formats (like BIN or MDS) probably won’t find this app very useful.
While we appreciate the very user-friendly interface, we can’t get over the fact that UUByte ISO Editor is limited to just doing what many other apps can do for free.
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Ignition
Make the most out of the space provided by your DVDs and other types of disks with the help of this lightweight application that optimizes the burning process.
Ignition is a freeware Windows tool designed to optimize any new burning project and save space on each blank disc.
The application claims it has the power to help you place more data on an empty disc, providing a very simple interface to help it serve its purpose.
And the well-organized and clean look clearly lends it a hand in this regard, allowing users to easily choose the type of disc they wish to create and the files to be processed.
Ignition supports the most popular disc formats out there, including 650 MB or 700 MB CDs, DVDs and Dual Layer discs, while also providing dedicated tools to create ISO images with the selected content. Still, it’s important to note that this particular feature requires CopyToDVD, so you may consider install this application as well.
The program can only work with data and audio discs, but everything remains very basic. The same thing can be seen in the settings menu as well, where users have no other option than to choose the language they wish to use.
Ignition is a stable and reliable tool, regardless of the operating system you use and without asking for administrator privileges on Windows 7 workstations.
All in all, Ignition is an interesting piece of software, but it’s pretty clear that there are still things to be improved in the future. A revised interface, configuration options and, last but not least, a comprehensive help file to aid users throughout the whole process, that’s what it needs to become a more appealing product.
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ExplorerFab
A virtual DVD and Blu-ray emulator that allows you to work with up to 18 drives at the same time and mount them directly from the system tray.
DVDFab Virtual Drive is a multilingual emulation application that can create virtual drives on your computer, enabling you to load a CD or a DVD for instant access, without having to use your physical disc drive.
The application supports the most popular formats, such as DVD, CCD (CloneCD), UDF, NRG (Nero), BIN, IMG and ISO images. Furthermore, it can open or even create MINI ISO files, which is a file format specific to DVDFab Blu-ray Copy.
DVDFab Virtual Drive runs in the system tray, so a standard interface is not available. Left-clicking on the tray icon displays the mounted images, while right-clicking opens a more elaborate menu, where you can set the number of drives, view recently used images, unmount drives and access the application settings.
Up to 18 virtual drives can be emulated with this software. You can mount, unmount or browse the contents of every drive separately. Also, there is an option to unmount all the devices at once, so you don't have to do this manually.
Easy access to features is one of the advantages that this application brings you. It integrates into the Windows Explorer shell, thus enabling you to emulate a CD or a DVD using the context menu. Furthermore, you can use custom shortcut keys for some commands, such as mounting the first device, deactivating all the drives or showing the settings dialog.
Although it does not offer many options for customizing emulation settings, this software is a handy solution for those who want to play Blu-ray ISO image files and Blu-ray folder backups on their PC. Furthermore, it provides support for up to 18 virtual drives, which should be more than enough for any user.
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SARDU
Multiboot ISO and USB creation tool that features various rescue CDs, Linux distributions, recovery utilities, and antivirus support.
Shardana Antivirus Rescue Disk Utility (SARDU) is a useful application designed to help you create an emergency rescue CD or USB drive. These drives can be used to check and to repair your system in case of a failure.
Most computer users have dealt with a situation when the computer simply cannot start the operating system. Although every one of us hopes to avoid this type of event, it is better to be prepared by having a recovery disk at hand.
This program intends to help you create a recovery disk with the tools required to diagnose and to repair the issues that prevents your computer from starting properly. The disk can be customized by creating multiple boot options and by adding the utilities that you need for your system configuration.
You might need to include an antivirus, a partition manager and a network diagnosis tool. The program allows you to fetch the bootable images from the internet and to include them on your disk. The recovery tool can be customized by adding any bootable image from an ISO file.
The boot menu can be personalized with folders, files and other items that are useful for the diagnostics. Unfortunately, you cannot preview the menu which means that you have to keep track of the inserted items.
The recovery disk can be saved as an ISO file for burning it to a DVD or by creating a bootable disk from a removable USB device. The app automatically detects the connected USB device and turns it into a bootable recovery toolbox.
The interface of the application is easy to use and allows you to download or manually add the images that you want to use. The included download manager can handle multiple processes at once. It requires insignificant resources while downloading the images or creating the bootable ISO.
Although it prompts you to install other components such as toolbars, SARDU is a practical tool for all the users that want to create a bootable recovery disk with minimum effort. It includes features for both novice and experienced users, as well as a documentation for the most important operations.
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Download Hubs
SARDU is part of these download collections: Create Bootable USB, Rescue Disks
UltraISO Premium Edition
With this application, all users can conquer the ISO file format for use with various projects, from simple audio CDs to console-specific media.
The need for ISO files, at this point, is at an all-time high, especially since CDs and DVDs are not that relevant anymore. Thus, an app that can take care of ISO files has become an important addition to most software lists out there. UltraISO Premium Edition is one possible solution out of a sea of similar programs. Create, edit, mount or unpack ISO files, dealing with this particular format as you need or see fit.
The menu is quite outdated
Now, since we're talking about a tool, we wouldn't have expected a flashy interface. Still, Ultra ISO Premium Edition seems to be quite outdated in design. The icons look XP-style old. Still, the features and menus are where you'd expected them to be which is a plus. After all, you're going to use the app to solve some ISO-related issues. Create bootable media for your PC or be more specific in your actions if you need to create media for Xbox or PS2 consoles, for example.
Other useful features
Apart from the usual palette of options, UltraISO Premium Edition can help users create Audio CD Images for use with car stereos if need be. It can also extract boot sectors from your HDD drive. It can act as a backup if it later becomes corrupt. The same can be done with boot files for CD/DVDs. Creating a multi-boot CD/DVD is also an option. If you're uncertain of the contents of a specific CD/DVD or ISO image, the app can help you verify checksums. It also works with the ISZ format if you need it.
UltraISO Premium Edition might not give the impression of a really premium app, but as far as it acts, it could easily be cataloged as such. Thus, if you need to work with ISO files, this choice is as good as most other known programs. Depending on what you're looking for, some of the extra features might or might not be of importance to you.
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Download Hubs
UltraISO Premium Edition is part of these download collections: Create ISO, Open NRG, Open ISO, View ISO
