Using .iso files

[markpritch]

Hi guys
Alongside my burned DVD I have produced a couple of .iso files but I can't seem to open them.
I am using Nero, can you tell me how to create another dvd from these .iso files.
When I double click on them nothing happens and if I drag them onto a DVD burning page Nero does not sem to recognise them.
Cheers
Mark

[Accolades]

An ISO image is an archive file (also known as a disk image) of an optical disc in a format defined by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). This format is supported by many software vendors. ISO image files typically have a file extension of .ISO but Mac OS X ISO images often have the extension .CDR. The name ISO is taken from the ISO 9660 file system used with CD-ROM media, but an ISO image can also contain UDF file system because UDF is backward-compatible with ISO 9660.

As with any other archive, an ISO image includes all the data of files contained on the archived CD/DVD. They are stored in an uncompressed format. In addition to data of the files it also contains all the file system metadata, including boot code, structures, and attributes. ISO images do not support multi-track, thus they cannot be used for audio CDs, VCD, and hybrid audio CDs.
These properties make it an attractive alternative to physical media for the distribution of software as it is simple to transfer over the Internet or via a LAN connection.
ISO image is an unattached file format (like RAR and ZIP): it merges a series of files into one single file according to a definite format. The most important feature of an ISO image is that it can be burned to a DVD, VCD, or CD by using an ISO image burner, like ISO Maker. It can also be opened using archivers as 7-zip file manager.

[Black Lab]

I Googled "Nero ISO" and found How To Burn An ISO Image Using Nero.

[2Dogs]

Hi Mark

Another thing you can do with ISO files is "mount" them in a "virtual drive". That sounds a bit like jargon, of course, but it's quite straightforward and useful.

If you have a program such as CloneCD or Magic Iso, you can have it make one or more virtual drives on your pc. In My Computer or Explorer, these drives are assigned a drive letter and look like any other drive - but you can right-click on them and select "mount image file" and point to any ISO file you may have. (as well as any other image file types)

I like to output all my video projects to ISO files, since I prefer to burn them to disc using Nero CD-DVD Speed, part of the Nero toolkit or available as a free download from the Nero site.

Many people use the freeware Imgburn to burn ISO files to disc. It's an excellent program, and tiny too, only a meg or two, and has the great feature of allowing you to change the disc label when burning the file to disc. If you were making a set of discs of a school function for distribution to proud parents, for example, you could label each one individually - though I normally use the feature to change the label to something meaningful from the default time/date stamp a lot of programs use.

Using a virtual drive, I can mount the ISO file and then play it with a software DVD player like WinDVD etc to check before burning - so having an ISO file can be more convenient than having DVD folders, since everything is in one tidy "wrapper".

[markpritch]

Thanks Jeff, I will give that a go but I guess my (fairly) old oem version does not include that facility.

I did, however, take Accolades advice and downloaded Create-Burn ISO 2.0 from nbxsoft.com and it worked a treat.

Thanks to you both for your help and very speedy responses.
Cheers
Mark

[markpritch]

Hi Two Dogs (Just one more than Black Lab!!)
That's a great idea, I'll have a look into it and play around. Meantime I'll check Nero for the free download.
Ecellent, many thanks
Mark

++

[markpritch]

Hi again " Dogs
I've been onto the Nero site and downloaded Discspeed 4 (The new name) but cannot see how it burns an iso file to disc. Have I got the right piece of kit? It looks like the picture in this link but a more recent version.

http://www.cdspeed2000.com/

I can't see how I oad the image in order to create the dvd.

Can you throw any light on this for me?
Cheers
Mark

[2Dogs]

Hi Mark,

my dogs are a bit smaller than Jeff's!

Since CD DVD Speed is a utility for checking out lots of things on discs, it may not be immediately obvious how to burn an image file.

You need to go into the "Create Disc" tab, and then check the "Burn Image" checkbox at the upper right, then click "Start". (make sure you've selected the right drive in the scroll box at top centre if you have more than one optical drive)

To the right of the "Burn Image" checkbox, you can also select the burning speed. Many people go for one step down from the rated speed of the disc - e.g 12 x for a 16x disc, 4x for an 8x disc. I burn Taiyo Yuden premium grade 8x DVD+R discs at 8x and get great results.

Then click "Start" and it will spawn a folders dialogue box from which you point to the ISO file.

Don't touch it after that until it's done. When burning discs, I also make sure that no other programs are running or trying to cut in. I usually disable Windows Automatic Updates whilst burning, and disconnect from the net.

[markpritch]

Thanks mate
I'm getting cloer but not quite there yet as I don't have any optical drives.
Is this something I can create with Nero 6 ?
The only drives that appear in the scroll box, top centre, are my DVD re-Write and my CD Drives.
I have the iso files within the same folder as the mpg file I had originally created and these are sitting on an externa; had drive. These are both a fraction under 4gbs.
Many thanks
Mark
++

[2Dogs]

Hi Mark,

I followed your link. It's slightly confusing, since you need to click on the download link for Nero DiscSpeed 4.11.2.0, which will lead you to a page with several downloads. In the top group of three, you need to select the middle one for NeroCDSpeed_47716.zip

http://www.cdspeed2000.com/files/NeroCDSpeed_47716.zip

And that's the program. You don't install it on your pc, you simply extract the .exe file from the zip archive and put it into a suitable folder. If you already have Nero, it would be in the Program Files/Ahead/Nero Toolkit folder.

If you don't have Nero installed, I would create a folder for it - and then create a program shortcut so that you can click on an icon on your desktop or in your quicklaunch bar or start menu to run it. Otherwise, you have to double-click on the .exe file in whatever folder it resides in, which is not too convenient!

[markpritch]

Thanks 2 dogs.
I've downloaded cdspeed 2000 and have to say that it looks alomost identical to the DiscSpeed 4 which I downloaded previously.

I have the same problem with it inasmuch as I cannot see my iso files (they are not on an optical drive) and the only drives the top middle scroll box point me to are my DVD re-write abd DVD play drives?

Can I only use this programme if I am using optical drives?

Sorry to be a pain but I've never done this before.
Thanks
Mark

[2Dogs]

Hi Mark,

no worries, the only daft question is the one not asked!

I trust you have an ISO file on your pc somewhere, in a folder.

When you open CD-DVD Speed, it should by default be in the "Benchmark" tab.

The next tab along to the right should be the "Create Disc" tab, which you should click on.

Make sure that you select your DVD burner in the scroll box in the top centre of the window if you have more than one drive.

Make sure also that you have a blank writable or re-writable disc in the burner to burn the ISO file onto.

To the right of the blue area in the middle of the window, you should see a checkbox with "Burn Image" next to it. Mouse over it and click it to check it.

Then go up to the top right corner of the window and click on the "Start" button.

(if this is greyed out, either you don't have the right optical drive selected, or it doesn't have a suitable blank disc in it)

Having clicked on the "Start" button, a new window will pop up, giving a Windows Explorer type view of your computer folders. You need to navigate to the folder containing your ISO file and then click on the ISO file.

That should start the burn process, and as it proceeds, you will see a line forming in the blue area of the CD-DVD Speed window indicating the burn speed of the disc and some other information.

If I was Steve Jones, I'd be able to post links to a tutorial for this or link to a sequence of images, but not many people put as much effort into things as Steve!

hope that helps, but don't hesitate to post back if you're still having problems - and indeed post back if you get it to work! Good luck!

[Trevor Andrew]

Hi Mark

What version of Nero do you have?
You seem to indicate 6

For Nero 7.
If you right click the Iso file, then select ¡¥open with¡¦¡XI chose Nero Essentials this opened the correct window in order to burn the Iso to disc.

For Nero 6 I chose Nero Burning Rom, again opening the correct window.

[markpritch]

Thanks Trevor
Yes I do have Nero 6 and will give it a try.

And to 2 Dogs, yes that worked. Thank you for the very clear step by step instructions, wonderful.
The only thing that I had not done earlier was to have put a blank disk in.
I didn't think to do that prior to finding the file so it was a bit of a chicken/egg situation.
I much appreciate your patience and to all the guys that have helped me today.
Cheers
Mark

[tommytucker]

ISO file. I also use Smartclose, followed by KillProcess to disable anything that might disrupt the burn.