How to open CD/DVD/HD DVD/Blu-ray disc ISO binary image .iso files
Have you had trouble opening the iso file on your computer? What are iso files? We explain what they are and recommend software that we know will open them.
What is iso file?
Files with iso extension are generally used for common CD/DVD disk image format. ISOs are used as a standard backup format of physical disks and are widely supported by burning or virtualization software.
CD/DVD/HD DVD/Blu-ray disc ISO binary image description
File extension iso is mainly used for binary images of CD, DVD discs. The generic file format for most optical media, including CD-ROM, DVD-ROM, Blu-ray Disc, HD DVD and UMD.
ISO 9660, a standard published by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), defines a file system for CD-ROM media. It aims at supporting different computer operating systems such as Microsoft Windows, Mac OS, and systems that follow the Unix specification, so that data may be exchanged.
DVDs may also use the ISO 9660 file system. However, the UDF file system is also commonly used on DVDs.
What is ISO image archive file?
An ISO image is an archive file (a.k.a. disk image) of an optical disc using a conventional ISO (International Organization for Standardization) format that is supported by many software vendors.
ISO image is an unattached file format (like RAR and ZIP): it merges a series of files into one single file according to a definite format. ISO image files typically have a file extension of .ISO but Mac OS X (macOS) ISO images often have the extension .CDR.
The name "ISO" is taken from the ISO 9660 file system used with CD-ROM media. ISO 9660 is a standard published by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), defines a file system for CD-ROM media. It aims at supporting different computer operating systems such as Windows, classic Mac OS, and Unix-like systems, so that data may be exchanged.
Mime type used for iso image files:
application/x-iso-image
Suggested software to open iso file
ISOBuster
A highly specialized and easy to use CD, DVD and blu-ray data recovery tool
PowerISO
Application used to manage DAA and other disk images
Daemon Tools
One of the best ISO emulation programs
Apple Disk Utility
A disk mounting utility from Mac
DAEMON Tools for Mac
Solution for mounting CD/DVD/HDD disc images on Mac
There are other ISO filename extensions with the same .iso suffix
iso - CALS ISO 8613 bitmap graphics
Files with iso extension are used by the CALS as a graphics file format.
iso - Cimagraphi CAD data
Files with iso file extension could also be some old CAD files Cimagraphi software. Probably no longer actively used.
iso - ePSXe Sony Playstation game image
Files with iso file extension may be also found as special game disk for ePSXe Sony Playstation emulator. Not standard ISO format.
iso - InstallShield uninstall data
An iso file extension is associated with the InstallShield program. An iso file stores uninstall data.
iso - Sega CD game disk image
An iso file extension is related to the Gens, an emulator of Sega video gaming consoles. An iso file contains game disk image.