The International Organization for Standardization defines an ISO image as an archive file, or disc image.  It’s a format supported by most software vendors.The International Organization for Standardization defines an ISO image as an archive file, or disc image.  It’s a format supported by most software vendors.


What is ISO?
In layman’s terms, an ISO is a true digital copy of an original – and can be used to archive any CD or DVD.  Basically it is really a format – and you can save any CD or DVD in this format for a true “duplicate” copy.
But first, an ISO file is really only an image – and it must be burned onto a CD – otherwise it is useless.
For example, many times you might download software and get an ISO image or CD image file format.  That’s great, but in order to use the software, you will need to burn it onto a CD.
So, first you download and then you burn and then you “use”.  Simple, right?  Not so fast.  If you have Windows 7 you will need to add one more step to the process and that’s because the utility offered free with the system does not work in Windows 7 or Vista for that matter.
What components do I need?
So, if you want to archive a large file, for example, you will need to first download another utility that will handle the task.
Virtual Clone Drive is available from www.SlySoft.com and will let you mount any ISO, or a whole range of other file types.  Also PowerISO is another program that’s free.  Another popular utility that is just now compatible with Windows 7 is Daemon Tools.  There are other programs, and the process is pretty much the same.  Just go to one of their website and download the ISO mounting program.
So, first things first are to get that software on your system.  You can trial some programs for up to 21 days but then you will need to purchase it.  (Or use one of the free programs).
Once you have it in place, re-start your computer upon the completion of the download.
Obviously you want to have a disc in your burner.  And if you don’t have a CD or DVD burner, well you are not going to be able to do this – and you are also really behind the times.  But seriously, if you don’t have a burner, and still want to make use of the files, you can do this with the help of a program called MagicDisc.  This is freeware that creates a virtual disc on your computer.  You can mount your ISO files to this, and create up to 15 CD or DVD drives.  It’s pretty simple to use too.  Find it at MagicISOMaker.com
Once you have your program downloaded, the disc burner set up, and the selected file ready to go, you should now be able to mount an ISO image by double-clicking on the file.
And now you will have an exact image of the file you wanted burned conveniently to disc!