Earlier versions of Windows only allowed you to burn an ISO file to an optical media (CD or DVD), and there was absolutely no way you could mount the file to access its contents without installing any free or paid third-party tool.
When the apps like UltraISO, PowerISO, or Demon Tools were installed on your PC, they used to create a virtual optical drive where the ISO files could be mounted, and their contents could be accessed without burning the files to the media right away. These tools also allowed you to create your own .ISO files from the folders or existing CDs or DVDs.
However, with Windows 10 you are no longer depended on any third-part tool to access the contents of the ISO files. The operating system has its own virtual drive that automatically appears as soon as you mount an ISO file to it.
Here’s how you can mount and access an ISO file without any third-party tool in Windows 10:
Click This PC from the navigation bar from the left of the window, right-click the virtual drive the ISO file is mounted to in the right pane, and click Eject. This unmounts the ISO file from the virtual drive. Upon this, the virtual drive automatically disappears from the This PC window.
When the apps like UltraISO, PowerISO, or Demon Tools were installed on your PC, they used to create a virtual optical drive where the ISO files could be mounted, and their contents could be accessed without burning the files to the media right away. These tools also allowed you to create your own .ISO files from the folders or existing CDs or DVDs.
However, with Windows 10 you are no longer depended on any third-part tool to access the contents of the ISO files. The operating system has its own virtual drive that automatically appears as soon as you mount an ISO file to it.
Here’s how you can mount and access an ISO file without any third-party tool in Windows 10:
- ■Locate an ISO file
Launch File Explorer from the taskbar, and navigate to the ISO file you want to mount. This lets you access the ISO as any other normal file on your PC. Since no third-party tool to recognize an ISO file type is installed on your PC, the files should have the default ISO icon.
■Open the context menu
Right-click your preferred ISO file. This opens the context menu for the file. From here you can choose to burn the file to a disc, go to its properties, delete the file, copy the file, etc.
■Mount the file
Click Mount from the context menu. This automatically enables the virtual drive in your Windows 10, and mounts the ISO file to it. As the file is mounted, Windows automatically opens the virtual drive and displays the list of objects it contains.
■Unmount ISO
Click This PC from the navigation bar from the left of the window, right-click the virtual drive the ISO file is mounted to in the right pane, and click Eject. This unmounts the ISO file from the virtual drive. Upon this, the virtual drive automatically disappears from the This PC window.
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