How to extract (or access) the contents of an .iso file in Windows

If you’ve downloaded an .iso (or .bin, .img, .cif, .nrg, .img etc) and don’t want to burn it to get to its contents, you can download and install MagicDisc, a freeware app that lets you “mount” the image file as if it was a CD/DVD drive. This tutorial will guide you through doing just that.

1. First, make sure to download MagicDisc and install it. The installation is very straight forward - you’ll mostly click ‘next’ a bunch of times. At the end of the installation, you’ll probably be notified that new hardware was found and installed.



2. Also, there will be a new icon in your System Tray. Right-click that icon and select Virtual CD/DVD-ROM, then click X: No Media (where X is the next available drive letter on your system - in the screenshot below, the drive is E:)



3. Click Mount …



4. And then navigate to the image file (iso, uif, bin, img etc), select it and click the Open button.


click to enlarge

5. If you have Windows set to notify you each time a CD/DVD is inserted into a drive, you’ll get a pop-up message asking you what you want to do with the “disc”.



6. Otherwise you can use Windows Explorer to navigate to your new drive, and view its contents. The files on your new virtual disc can be copied over to your hard drive, executed or viewed - the same as any other CD/DVD.



7. To unmount an image file, repeat steps 2 and 3 above, but select Unmount instead of Mount.