Following on from my post about how to mount an ISO image under Linux, this article will focus on doing the same thing from within Windows.
From Mount an ISO Image Under Linux:
“You may have many ISO images lying around of various CDs or DVDs. ISO images are an exact copy of an optical disk, and are increasingly popular – with high speed internet being available to many, people are taking advantage of this and instead of spending money on discs and shipping costs, simply making them available online for download.
The advantage of ISO images are that you can either choose to burn your own disc from the image, or, if you prefer, simply mount the image and use it as normal – again, saving a disc!”
So, how can you do this in Windows? By using an application called Virtual CloneDrive from SlySoft.
Virtual CloneDrive is a free piece of software, that creates a virtual CD/DVD drive, which is accessible from (My) Computer. You will also have the application (which is presented as a system tray icon on the task bar by default) where you can select which image you want mounting to that virtual drive.
Virtual CloneDrive works on Windows 98, 98SE, ME, 2000, XP, XP x64, Vista, and Vista x64, so you’re pretty much covered!
For more information and to download the application, visit the SlySoft site: http://www.slysoft.com/en/virtual-clonedrive.html
[Update: I’ve tested this tool on Windows 7, and it works fine!]