The data of a physical disc are stored in an ISO image, which is a container format (CD, DVD, or Blu-ray). Most software companies use this file format to distribute their programmes and tools without having to ship physical media, which can be expensive and take a lot of time. For example, Microsoft gives testers previews of Windows 10 and many other products in this format.
Even though there are a lot of tools for working with images, Windows 10 lets you mount and mount ISO files without any extra software.
In this Windows 10 guide, we’ll show you how to use File Explorer and PowerShell commands to mount and unmount ISO images.
Table of Contents
How to mount ISO image with File Explorer
Even though there are a lot of tools for working with images, Windows 10 lets you mount and mount ISO files without any extra software.
In this Windows 10 guide, we’ll show you how to use File Explorer and PowerShell commands to mount and unmount ISO images.
Mount image with double-click
To quickly mount an ISO file on Windows 10, use these steps:
- Open File Explorer.
- Browse to the folder with the ISO image.
- Double-click the .iso file file to mount it.
Mount image from context menu
- Open File Explorer.
- Browse to the folder with the ISO image.
- Right-click the .iso file and select the Mount option.
When you’re done with the steps, you can get to the image’s contents by clicking on the virtual drive in the left navigation pane.
Mount image from ribbon menu
Follow these steps to mount an image using the ribbon menu:
- Open File Explorer.
- Browse to the folder with the ISO image.
- Select the .iso file.
- Click the Disk Image Tools tab.
- Click the Mount button.
If you use a third-party programme to open compressed files (like.zip,.tar,.rar, etc.), that programme may also be set as the default programme to open ISO images. If this happens, you won’t see an option to mount images. But you can still mount the ISO by right-clicking, choosing “Open with,” and then “Windows Explorer.”
Unmount image
When you’re done with the image, you can quickly unmount it by right-clicking the virtual drive under “This PC” in File Explorer and choosing “Eject.”
- Open File Explorer.
- Expand This PC from the left navigation pane.
- Right-click the virtual drive and select the Eject option.
How to mount ISO image with PowerShell
You can also use commands in PowerShell to mount and unmount an image.
Mount ISO image command
You can also use commands in PowerShell to mount and unmount an image.
- Open Start.
- Search for PowerShell, right-click the top result, and select the Run as administrator option.
- Type the following command to mount an ISO image and press Enter:
Mount-DiskImage -ImagePath "PATH\TO\ISOFILE"
In the command, make sure to replace the “PATH\TO\ISOFILE” with the actual path of the .iso file.For example, this command mounts an image in the “E:\” virtual drive:Mount-DiskImage -ImagePath "E:\Windows10.iso"
Once you finish the steps, the ISO image will mount, and you will be able to use the newly available drive letter to install the application or extract the image’s contents.
Unmount ISO image command
Follow these steps with PowerShell to get rid of an image:
- Open Start.
- Search for PowerShell, right-click the top result, and select the Run as administrator option.
- Type the following command to mount an ISO image and press Enter:
Dismount-DiskImage -ImagePath "PATH\TO\ISOFILE"
In the command, make sure to replace the “PATH\TO\ISOFILE” with the actual path of the .iso file.For example, this command removes the mount for an image in the “E:\” virtual drive:Dismount-DiskImage -ImagePath "E:\Windows10.iso"
After you finish the steps, the virtual drive will be taken away, and you won’t be able to use the image until you mount it again.
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