Disks are used very rarely to save information. USB-drives are much more convenient and practical, and contain more information. However, in some cases it is better to create a full copy of the disk than just copy the data from there. And first of all, this applies to games, music, licensed programs and other multimedia content. In this case, you will definitely need a program for mounting a disk image.
Piracy
You should immediately warn that the illegal creation and distribution of copies of a product (even for domestic use) falls under the concept of piracy. And for this, rather large fines are provided. It is clear that if you do not go to the market and sell copies of licensed discs, no one will find you, and you won’t look for them. But just be sure when this pops up, there will be another reason to arrest you.
Daemontools
One of the most common and effective utilities. This disk image mount program is well suited for emulating games. Its main advantage is that it allows you to bypass the copy protection of many companies, for example, SafeDisk and StarForce. There are five versions of the utility:
- Lite Ideal for mounting a disk image. A free program that you can use at home. It allows you to fully realize the full potential of reading images, and also emulates up to four virtual drives. This is quite enough for everyday tasks.
- Pro Standart. An extended version with great functionality, but paid. Has 20 days trial period. Allows you to create up to 16 virtual "Roma", as well as edit existing ones, while receiving more information.
- Pro advanced. The software helps to convert images from one type to another, and also adds 4 IDE drives.
- Net. Connects disk management over the network.
- Ultra Gives the user the ability to create virtual hard drives.
In general, this is one of the most popular programs for mounting images, simply because it supports most of the well-known formats - Iso, MDF / MDS, NRG, CCD, CUE and others.
Alcohol 120%
This paid program for mounting a disk image does not stand out with special properties. She was very popular at the dawn of cyber piracy. Allows you to create full copies of unprotected disks and mount them in 31 virtual drives. However, the utility is very contradictory:
- On the one hand, it is paid. And the price of 78 euros (now $ 55 per share) is too high for a program with such low functionality.
- On the other hand, downloading the hacked version is not difficult. And the intuitive interface fully pays for the poor functionality. So if you are going to download games from torrent trackers, this will be a good choice. With the exception of when the releasers themselves indicate the preferred program for emulation.
There is also a free version of the program, which few have heard of due to the availability of the hacked “120%”. With “Alcohol 52%” you will not be able to record disk images on physical media. But it can easily be used as a program for mounting them.
Poweriso
And finally, the most highly specialized program for mounting an ISO image of a disk image. Its functionality allows you to fully control the contents of the image file, as well as encrypt it and resize it. Unfortunately, the utility supports only four file formats: ISO, BIN, NRG and CDI. A good plus is the ability to create images in the following format - .daa.
It has a high level of file compression, but is too rare and other emulators cannot recognize it. For those who do not like to buy programs, a free trial version is provided. But it has some limitations - you can create files no larger than 300 MB in size. But at the same time, almost all other functions remained unchanged.