This will show you how to “mount” an ISO file into your computer’s CD drive in order to use it without first burning it to a disc. Both Windows and Mac systems support mounting ISO files.
On Windows
- Open Start
In the bottom-left corner of the screen, click the Windows logo.
2. Open File Explorer
In the lower-left corner of the Start window, click the folder icon.
3. Locate the ISO. Open any further directories in the main window until you find your ISO file. To access your ISO file, first click the folder where it is located (for example, Downloads) on the left side of File Explorer.
4. Choose the ISO. To choose an ISO file, click on it.
5. Click on the Manage tab. This option can be found in the window’s upper-left corner. Below it, a toolbar will show up.
6. Click Mount. It can be found under the toolbar’s “Manage” section. Your ISO file will mount into your computer’s CD drive if you do this.
7. Click This PC. Although you might need to scroll up or down on the left-hand column to see it, this folder is located on the left side of File Explorer.
8. Open your mounted ISO. Double-click the name of your ISO under This PC’s “Devices and drives” section. It’ll look like a CD on a drive. The contents of your ISO will load.
On Mac
- Open Finder. On your Mac, click the blue, ‘face’-shaped app in the dock.
- Find the ISO. Open any further directories in the main window until you reach your ISO file, then click the folder where your ISO is placed (such as Downloads) on the left side of the Finder.
- Double-click the ISO The ISO will now be mounted on your Mac immediately.
- Click the ISO’s name Your ISO’s name should display in the left-hand Finder column beneath the “Devices” heading; click it to launch the ISO.
Double-clicking the ISO icon that appears on your Mac’s desktop after mounting is another option.
On Linux
- If you don’t already have one, launch a terminal window or TTY console. If you’re using Ubuntu, instructions can be found at How to Open a Terminal Window in Ubuntu.
- To serve as a mount point, create a directory. To view the contents of the ISO image, navigate to this directory. The mkdir command in Linux is used to create directories. For instance:
mkdir /home/beingsunnies/iso
will make a directory called iso in the user beingsunnies home directory.
3. Put the appropriate paths and arguments into the mount command.
Enter sudo mount -o ro /path/to/iso/image /home/beingsunnies/iso if your Linux distribution supports the sudo command.
Enter the command su if your Linux distribution does not support the sudo command. A password prompt will appear. After entering it, a root shell will be available to you. Type mount -o ro ‘/path/to/iso/image’ ‘/home/beingsunnies/iso’ after that. ‘
Note: Read-only mounting is the default for ISO images (ro). The write-protection warning is simply removed when the -o ro option is used.