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An ISO image is an archive file
Archive file

An archive file is a file that is composed of one or more files along with metadata that can include source volume and medium information, file directory structure, error detection and recovery information, file comments, and usually employs some form of lossless compression....
 (also known as a disk image
Disk image

A disk image is a single file containing the complete contents and structure representing a data storage medium or device, such as a hard drive, CD, or DVD....
) of an optical disc
Optical disc

In computing, sound reproduction, and video, an optical disc is a flat, circular disc wherein Data is stored in the pits in its flat surface ? sequentially on the continuous, spiral track extending from the innermost track to the outermost track, covering the entire disc surface....
 in a format defined by the International Organization for Standardization
International Organization for Standardization

The International Organization for Standardization , widely known as ISO , is an international standard-setting body composed of representatives from various national standards organizations....
 (ISO). This format is supported by many software vendors. ISO image files typically have a file extension of .ISO but Mac OS X
Mac OS X

Mac OS X is a line of computer operating systems developed, marketed, and sold by Apple Inc., and since 2002 has been included with all new Macintosh computer systems....
 ISO images often have the extension .CDR. The name ISO is taken from the ISO 9660
ISO 9660

ISO 9660, also called CDFS by some manufacturers, a standard published by the International Organization for Standardization , defines a file system for CD-ROM media....
 file system
File system

In computing, a file system is a method for store and organize computer files and the data they contain to make it easy to find and access them....
 used with CD-ROM media, but an ISO image can also contain UDF
Universal Disk Format

The Universal Disk Format is a format specification of a file system for storing files on Optical disc. It is an implementation of the ISO/IEC 13346 standard ....
 file system because UDF is backward-compatible with ISO 9660.

ith any other archive, an ISO image includes all the data of files
Computer file

A computer file is a block of arbitrary information, or resource for storing information, which is available to a computer program and is usually based on some kind of durable computer storage....
 contained on the archived CD/DVD.






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An ISO image is an archive file
Archive file

An archive file is a file that is composed of one or more files along with metadata that can include source volume and medium information, file directory structure, error detection and recovery information, file comments, and usually employs some form of lossless compression....
 (also known as a disk image
Disk image

A disk image is a single file containing the complete contents and structure representing a data storage medium or device, such as a hard drive, CD, or DVD....
) of an optical disc
Optical disc

In computing, sound reproduction, and video, an optical disc is a flat, circular disc wherein Data is stored in the pits in its flat surface ? sequentially on the continuous, spiral track extending from the innermost track to the outermost track, covering the entire disc surface....
 in a format defined by the International Organization for Standardization
International Organization for Standardization

The International Organization for Standardization , widely known as ISO , is an international standard-setting body composed of representatives from various national standards organizations....
 (ISO). This format is supported by many software vendors. ISO image files typically have a file extension of .ISO but Mac OS X
Mac OS X

Mac OS X is a line of computer operating systems developed, marketed, and sold by Apple Inc., and since 2002 has been included with all new Macintosh computer systems....
 ISO images often have the extension .CDR. The name ISO is taken from the ISO 9660
ISO 9660

ISO 9660, also called CDFS by some manufacturers, a standard published by the International Organization for Standardization , defines a file system for CD-ROM media....
 file system
File system

In computing, a file system is a method for store and organize computer files and the data they contain to make it easy to find and access them....
 used with CD-ROM media, but an ISO image can also contain UDF
Universal Disk Format

The Universal Disk Format is a format specification of a file system for storing files on Optical disc. It is an implementation of the ISO/IEC 13346 standard ....
 file system because UDF is backward-compatible with ISO 9660.

Format

As with any other archive, an ISO image includes all the data of files
Computer file

A computer file is a block of arbitrary information, or resource for storing information, which is available to a computer program and is usually based on some kind of durable computer storage....
 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
Metadata

Metadata is "data about other data", of any sort in any media. An item of metadata may describe an individual datum, or content item, or a collection of data including multiple content items and hierarchical levels, for example a database schema....
, including boot
Booting

In computing, booting is a Bootstrapping process that starts operating systems when the user turns on a computer system. A boot sequence is the initial set of operations that the computer performs when it is switched on....
 code, structures, and attributes. ISO images do not support multi-track
Track (CD)

On an optical disc, a track or title is a subdivision of its content. Specifically, it is a consecutive set of cylinder-head-sector on the disc containing a block of data....
, thus they cannot be used for audio CDs
Red Book (audio CD standard)

Red Book is the standardization for audio Compact Disc . It is named after one of a set of Rainbow Books that contain the Specification for all CD and CD-ROM formats....
, VCD, and hybrid audio CDs.

These properties make it an attractive alternative to physical media
Data storage device

A data storage device is a device for recording information . Recording can be done using virtually any form of energy, spanning from manual muscle power in handwriting, to acoustic vibrations in phonographic recording, to electromagnetic energy modulating magnetic tape and optical discs....
 for the distribution of software
Computer software

Computer software, or just software is a general term used to describe a collection of computer programs, Algorithm and Software documentation that perform some tasks on a computer system....
 as it is simple to transfer over the Internet or via a LAN
Lan

Lan , in Polish language means "field," and is a unit of land measurement used in Poland. Since the 13th century, its value has varied from one location to another....
 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
7-Zip

7-Zip is an open source file archiver designed originally for Microsoft Windows. 7-Zip operates primarily with the 7z archive format, as well as being able to read and write to several other archive formats....
 file manager.

Typical uses

Some of the common uses include:
  • Distribution of software
  • Mount
    Mount (computing)

    Mounting, in computer science, is the process of making a file system ready for use by the operating system, typically by reading certain index data structures from storage into memory ahead of time....
     "virtual drive
    Virtual drive

    A virtual drive in computing is a drive that to the operating system appears to be an ordinary physical disk drive, with disc reading hardware hardware substitution with disc images, through the use of software sometimes called a disk emulator....
    s" which emulate physical CDs or DVDs, such as virtual computers. Better performance is achieved by running an ISO image, since I/O is many times faster with a hard drive than a CD/DVD drive.
  • To use software titles that are written in such a way that they require a physical disk to be present in order to run. Games are commonly in this category.
  • For backup, such as PSP
    PlayStation Portable

    The PlayStation Portable is a handheld game console manufactured and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. Development of the console was first announced during History of E3#During the Rise of Online Gaming , and it was unveiled on May 11, 2004 at a Sony press conference before E3 2004....
     backups.


See also

Related topics
  • Most optical disc authoring software
    Optical disc authoring software

    Optical disc authoring software is computer software for optical disc authoring including CD-ROMs and DVDs. They are also known by synonyms such as CD burning application or DVD authoring software....
     (CD/DVD burning software) can write ISO files to disc.
  • See a list of ISO image software
    List of ISO image software

    The following is a list of software programs that can read and/or write ISO image files broken down by platform support and capability. Capability is defined as ability to create, mount, burn, and/or extract as follows:...
     for a list of software programs that can read and/or write ISO image files.


Related file formats

  • BIN/CUE
    Disk image

    A disk image is a single file containing the complete contents and structure representing a data storage medium or device, such as a hard drive, CD, or DVD....
  • BWT, BWI, BWS, BWA
    BlindWrite

    Blindwrite, the successor to Blindread, is a computer program that writes to recordable CDs. The Blindread software, which reads CDs and writes CD image files, has been discontinued as a separately released product, but Blindread's code is included in the newer Blindwrite suite of software that also code to control CD writers....
     (Blindwrite)
  • CCD
    .ccd

    A .ccd file is a text file descriptor used by CloneCD to mark the properties of a Disk image. These file need to be combined with an image file to be burned....
     (.ccd)
  • CIF from Adaptec
    Adaptec

    Adaptec is a computer hardware company based in Milpitas, California that primarily produces host adapters for connecting computer storage devices to computers....
     Easy CD Creator
    Easy CD Creator

    Adaptec Easy CD Creator is a CD/DVD authoring program bundled with many early CD writers.It was part of a suite often just known as Adaptec Easy CD Creator, which consisted of:...
     (.cif)
  • CDI from DiscJuggler
    DiscJuggler

    DiscJuggler is a professional CD/DVD recording software program, able to duplicate multiple CDs at once with its ability to simultaneously drive multiple CD recorders, and replicate virtually any existing standard CD....
     (.cdi)
  • Cloop
    Cloop

    The compressed loopback device or cloop is a Loadable kernel module for the Linux kernel. It adds support for transparently decompressed, read-only block devices....
     image format used in Linux Live Filesystems
  • CSO
    .cso

    .CSO is a Data compression method for the ISO image format. It is used to compress dumped PlayStation Portable UMD games, and is an alternative to the .DAX compression method....
     (.cso)
  • DAA
    Direct Access Archive

    Direct Access Archive, or DAA, is a proprietary file format developed by PowerISO for disk image files. The format supports features such as compression, password protection, and splitting to multiple volumes....
     Direct Access Archive (.daa)
  • DK (.dk)
  • DMG Apple Disk image (.dmg)
  • GI
    GI

    GI , Gi or gi may refer to:...
     Global image used in Roxio products (.gi)
  • IMA (.ima)
  • IMG
    IMG (file format)

    The IMG file format is an archive format used for creating a disk image of floppy disks. This allows for digital storage, transmission, and replication of floppy disks....
     (.img)
  • ISC MF Digital's Image Script virtual image file format (.isc)
  • LCD CDSpace format (.lcd)
  • MDF/MDS
    Alcohol 120%

    Alcohol 120% is an Optical disc authoring software and disk image emulator created by Alcohol Soft. Alcohol 120% began as a direct continuation of the optical drive emulation software....
     image format used by Alcohol 120% (.mdf/.mds)
  • NRG
    NRG (file format)

    A .nrg file is a proprietary Compact Disc image file format used by Nero Burning ROM, a utility suite made by Nero AG, to create and burn ISO 9660 CD images....
     image type used in Nero products (.nrg)
  • UDIF Universal Disk Image Format used in Mac OS X (.udif)
  • UIF
    MagicISO

    MagicISO is a CD/DVD image shareware utility that can extract, edit, create, and burn disc image files. It is well known for its support and ability to convert between ISO image and Cue sheet and their proprietary Universal Image Format disc image format as well....
     MagicISO Universal Image Format (.uif)
  • VOB
    VOB

    A VOB file is a Container format contained in DVD-Video media. VOB is based on MPEG-2 program stream format, but with additional limitations and specifications in the private streams....
     DVD Video Object (.vob)
  • WIM Windows Imaging Format (.wim)