How to Create an ISO File from a Disc

By / Computer Backups, Windows 10, Windows 11 / 3 minutes of reading

Creating ISO files from your CDs or DVDs is a great way to preserve and use the data on those discs.

An ISO file is a single, uncompressed file that is an exact digital copy of an entire disc, including its file system and boot information. This makes it a perfect archival format. A Beginner’s Guide to File Formats and File Extensions

Physical discs can get scratched, warped, or degraded over time, making the data unreadable. By creating an ISO, you have a digital backup that won’t deteriorate. This is especially useful for older software, games, or family videos.

Table Of Contents
  1. How to Create an ISO from a CD or DVD
  2. How to Mount an ISO File in Windows
  3. Summary

How to Create an ISO from a CD or DVD

Windows doesn’t support the creation of ISO image files, so you’ll need to use a third party program. For this guide I’ll be using ImgBurn which is free, lightweight and easy to use.

You can download ImgBurn from here https://www.imgburn.com/index.php?act=download

Load a CD or DVD into your optical drive. Ignore any Autoplay popups.

Launch ImgBurn and click Create Image File From Disc.

Create an ISO image file from a Cd or DVD indicated.
Creating an ISO image of an optical disc.

You’ll hear your optical drive spin up and after a few seconds the CD or DVD disc details will appear in the Source section of ImgBurn.

The Destination section is where the resulting iSO file will be saved to on your computer.

By default the ISO file will be saved to your Documents folder, but you can change that if you wish by clicking the Browse icon (folder icon) and selecting a different location.

Source and destination of ISO image file
Source disc detected and destination set.

Create the ISO

With the source disc (CD/DVD) and destination folder both set, click the Read button to start creating your ISO file.

Create ISO image from CD/DVD disc.
Click the Read button.

As the ISO file is created, ImgBurn will display a progress indicator. How long it’ll take will depend entirely on the disc you’re copying.

When the ISO file has been created, you’ll get a notification message. Click the OK button and then close ImgBurn.

That’s it, you’ve copied your CD or DVD as an ISO file to your computer. Navigate to wherever you saved the file and verify that it does exist. You never know, it’s worth checking.

ImgBurn is reading the source disc.
The ISO file is being created.
ISO created successfully. OK button indicated.
Click OK and close ImgBurn.

How to Mount an ISO File in Windows

Although Windows doesn’t create ISO files, it will mount them as virtual drives (virtual CDs or DVDs).

To mount an ISO navigate to your file and then right click on it to open the options menu.

In Windows 10, left Mount.

And in Windows 11, hover your mouse pointer over Open With and then click Windows Explorer.

Mounting an ISO image in Windows 10.
Mounting an ISO image in Windows 10.
Mounting an ISO image file in Windows 11.
Mounting an ISO file in Windows 11.

And if you click on This PC, you’ll see the mounted ISO file appear as a virtual CD/DVD drive.

A virtual CD/DVD drive in File Explorer.
The mounted ISO file will appear as a virtual CD/DVD drive in File Explorer.

Summary

Creating ISO files from your optical discs is a great backup solution. CDs and DVDs aren’t as robust as was once thought, they can get damaged.

You can also load them onto USB drives for use on computers that don’t have an optical drives installed.

And finally, if you’re trying to install an older version of Windows as a virtual computer using either VMware or VirtualBox, then you’ll need an ISO image rather than the original disc.

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You can find this and other related step by step guides in – At Home PC Tech Guides

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