Each of us at least once in the life of a user of disks, because before they were the only devices for quickly and conveniently transferring files, videos, music, photos and much more, but what did optical disks leave behind? Many users have no idea that to this day in our operating systems there are clear signs of disk interference, as well as methods of saving data used specifically for placing on disks. In this article, we will explain in detail and clearly how to open MDF files, where they are used to this day, as well as how to create one yourself and why. This article is recommended for novice users of the Windows operating system.
What was the MDF file created for?
We all know in the face optical disks, these glossy round things, when examined with a microscope in detail, it turns out that they are not so glossy, not so even and even. You can find a bunch of files where the disk is examined under the strongest microscope, and there you can see that there are recesses and protrusions - zeros and ones, which is how the read head of a standard computer drive determines them.
You probably already understood that it is because of this feature that they are called digital rather than analog, like all devices at that time, because a digital signal has only two values: zero and one, recess and convexity, as in our case with a disk.
After their creation, a very logical question arises. How to write files there so that when reading a DVD- or CD-ROM drive it opens a specific executable file automatically, as well as how to compress files to the size of optical media? The answer was provided by many companies, one of which is Alcohol and its no less famous program Alcohol 120%.
This archive format was used for its subsequent recording to an optical storage medium, and the files were compact, took up little space and were always ready to write to disk, which is the most important thing. By the way, the format is still used today, so in this article we will tell you in detail how to open the MDF file. This process is being done quite simply, so there is absolutely nothing to fear.
How to open mdf file in Windows
First you need to determine the program, so the paragraph below will list the most popular programs at the moment that can open the MDF file. Now we will use one of the legendary programs that perhaps every gamer in the CIS knows - Daemon Tools. The peculiarity of this program is that it contains an optical disk image file (whether it is ISO or MDF), then a virtual drive is emulated with special algorithms, and an image is placed in it, which is why you can watch a picture of how Windows offers you to open the contents of the disk .
Instructions on how to open the MDF file in Windows 10 or lower:
- Download a trial or free version of Daemon Tools from the official website.
- Install the application in a place convenient for you, but drive C is better.
- Launch the application and let it install its own drivers. Wait for the program to respond and continue.
- Drag the MDF file into the open window, and then click "Mount disk" in the bottom pane.
- Wait a few seconds, after which there will be a notification in the Explorer or directly on the desktop that a disk is inserted in your computer.
Programs that open MDF files
As already mentioned, this file format appeared even when creating the disks themselves, all because of efficiency considerations and more convenient work with disks, now we need to tell who can open this format. In the paragraph above, we already talked about working with one of the applications, according to the approximate functionality, you are trained and ready for other programs, because they differ not so much.
How to open MDF file yet:
- Ultra ISO.
- WinRar
- Alcohol 120% or 52%.
- PowerDVD.
- MagicISO.
Such programs are guaranteed to open any MDF file without much effort, and can also write it to any type of optical storage medium.
Finally
We hope that after reading this information you understand how to open the MDF file. As already mentioned, gamers are most often interested in such a question, because on the Internet, games are often distributed on ISO or MDF images, but the former is much more common, and the work with them is the same. If you are having difficulty mastering the program, we recommend that you click on the “Help” item, where each button of the application is described in detail by the application developers personally and is true.