Yesterday, in part 1 of this series, I explained what an ISO is and how to create one for a CD, DVD or Blu-Ray disc. Today we’ll explore creating an ISO on your hard drive.
The 2nd Method – Creating an ISO From Files on Your Hard Drive
- Download and install an ISO compiler.
The ones discussed in yesterday’s article should work fine.
- Create a new ISO project.
To create a new ISO project click the “Create image file from files/folders” or “Make ISO” button to start the project. After this, choose which files and folders you want to add. Keep in mind to give the project a descriptive name in order to know what the ISO contains.
- Add files and folders to the ISO project.
This process may vary from program to program, but most of the times you can drag-and-drop files and folders into the window.
- Begin creating the ISO.
To begin creating the ISO using the folders and files selected, you need to click the “build” and “copy” button to begin. This process will take some time, depending on the size of the files and the speed of your PC.
- Store or transfer your ISO project.
When the ISO has been created, you can burn it to a disc, mount on a computer or upload it to a cloud service. Bear in mind that if your ISO file is way too big, it may not fit on a disc.
3rd method – Creating an ISO File Using WinRar
- Download WinRar.
Download the program and install it. WinRar is not a free program, but you can use the trial version to create your ISOs.
- Compress all the files you want to archive.
Select all of the files at once by pressing Ctrl+A.
- Add the files to your archive.
Right-click on the selected files and select the option “Add to archive.”
- Save the archive.
After clicking the option “Add to archive”, a new window appears. Name the archive and make sure it is being saved in .iso format.
- Click OK and your ISO file will be created.
This process may take several minutes, but this depends on the number of files you selected.
4th Method – Creating ISO Files From Discs on Windows PC, without programs
Older versions of Windows don’t have a built-in way to create ISO files, but modern versions of Windows, like Windows 8, 8.1, and 10 can create ISO files without using additional programs. ISO mounting is built right into the operating system and all you need to do is use the Ribbon to Mount an ISO image.
If your Windows doesn’t have a built-in method to create an ISO file from your own physical disc, you’ll need to download a program and follow the methods mentioned above.
5th Method – Creating ISO Files From Discs on Mac
For Mac users, Disk Utility can be used to create images of discs. Open it by pressing Command+Space, typing “Disk Utility”, and pressing Enter.
Then, all you have to do is insert a disc, click the File menu and go to New > Disc Image from […]. After that, select the format “DVD/CD master” and disable encryption. You will then get a .cdr file from the disc. This is just as good as an ISO file for Mac users and you can “mount” it from within the Disk Utility application.
~ Ruxundra