Introduction

For an introductory explanation of ISO images, instructions for creating and also burning them see IsoImage.

Mounting ISO Files

For instructions on how to mount an ISO, see MountIso.

Manipulating Other Formats

There are many other formats of archives that have been created over the years for numerous reasons. To mount them, it is usually necessary to convert them to ISO and then use your preferred means. Unless otherwise specified, these programs are available in the Universe repository and can be installed by numerous means. For convenience apturl links have been made, click the package names and they will install as long as the protocol is supported. None of these programs are installed by default.

The following exclusively deals with the command line.

CloneCD/IMG Images

This category covers images created primarily by CloneCD. There are usually several files: a IMG (.img) archive of the dics content, the SUB (.sub) file containing subchannel data and the CCD (.ccd) text descriptor a file used only by CloneCD for storing information about an image. The IMG file is the primary container of data, and as such the only one required for conversion with ccd2iso and mounting.

• To Convert

   ccd2iso /path/to/example.img /path/to/example.iso

• To Mount

  sudo mkdir /media/example 

  sudo mount -o loop /path/to/example.iso /media/example 

CUE/BIN Images

CUE/BIN (.cue/.bin) files must be converted to be of use. This can be done using the program bchunk. To use the program, it is necessary to note the path of both the bin and cue files, then the output file.

• To Convert

  bchunk /path/to/example.bin /path/to/example.cue /path/to/example.iso 

MDF Images

MDF (.mdf) files are primarily created by Alcohol 120%. These can either be converted to ISO using mdf2iso or mounted directly.

• To Convert

  mdf2iso /path/to/example.mdf /path/to/example.iso 

• To Mount

  sudo mkdir /media/example 

  sudo mount -o loop=/dev/loop0 /path/to/example.iso /media/example 

NRG Images

Nero image (.nrg) files can either be converted to ISO using nrg2iso or can be mounted directly.

• To Convert

  nrg2iso /path/to/example.nrg /path/to/example.iso 

• To Mount

  sudo mkdir /media/example 

  sudo mount -o loop,offset=307200 /path/to/example.nrg /media/example 

DMG Images

DMG (.dmg) images are primarily used by Apple, conversion of these files will allow data to be accessed. It will not allow the running of OSX programs on Linux without considerable effort not outlined in this guide. The following process will first convert to IMG and then to ISO, you may however stop at the first step if you wish and mount or burn.

Installation

For instructions on installation, see DMG2IMG.

To Convert to IMG

The following command will convert the example file from DMG to IMG.

dmg2img /path/to/example.dmg /path/to/example.img 

Do NOT follow the instructions for mounting the file at the end of the conversion. It is not advisable to mount to the /mnt directory.

To Mount

As always a directory will be created in /media, the next step will ensure hfsplus support is available, lastly the IMG file mounted to the directory.

sudo mkdir /media/example 

sudo modprobe hfsplus

sudo mount -t hfsplus -o loop example.img /media/example

At this point, the image is available for browsing under the /media/example directory. These files can now be transferred to hard drive or elsewhere for storage. If you want an ISO file, continue to the next section.

Creating the ISO

The IMG file we now have is still an hfsplus archive, which cannot simply be converted into an ISO. As such, we will have to use an intermediary step to convert the data from its stored format to an ISO. Since we've already mounted it to a directory, the easiest way is simply to create a new ISO with any disc authoring program you are familiar with. Brasero, GnomeBaker and K3b are just a few options for this.

Simply open your software of choice and start a new data disc. Then add the files from the mounted archive to this new data disc project. Once satisfied, select Burn and instead of recording a CD or DVD, choose to make an ISO file.

For most users, Brasero will be available, for those inexperienced in it's use the following is a guide.

If you're using GNOME then you can run Brasero from Applications -> Sound & Video -> Brasero. Start a new data disc by selecting Data Project from the main Brasero window, or through the menu Project -> New Project. Ensure the side panel is enabled from View -> Enable Side Panel. From the side panel, navigate to the directory where the IMG was mounted, usually the name of the IMG will be listed in the Places pane. In our example, the location in Places would be called example located in the /media/example directory. Simply drag all the files and folders you want to the project.

Once ready, push Burn... and ensure you select to create Image File: at the new window so it creates an ISO. If you wish to change the default name or the location it is created, select Properties. Once satisfied, push Burn and the ISO will be created. Leave Increase compatibility with Windows systems checked unless you know better.

Disc Image Integration for Nautilus

Archive Mounter

By default in GNOME, Nautilus has support for mounting ISOs by simply right clicking on the file and selecting Open with Archive Mounter. This option still appears limited, mainly designed for archives and ISOs. This feature is still under development, thus the following guide will be preserved.

See Also

• AcetoneISO is a feature rich program which let you mount and burn ISO, BIN, NRG, MDF, and IMG files through a graphical user interface. It's available through Ubuntu's universe repository.

• Furius Iso Mount, available from the Ubuntu Software Center, enables you to mount ISO, BIN, NRG, MDF, and IMG files through a graphical user interface

• cdemu is a kernel module for mounting Cue/Bin files directly. To install it you would have to setup linux headers, compile the module and modprobe it in. This is out of the scope of this page. There is a script under development in the Ubuntu forums for automating the building of cdemu Located Here (Use this at your own risk.)

• "Mount and Unmount ISO images without burning them" has a nice step-by-step explanation (with screen shots) showing how to mount and unmount ISO images.

• clonezilla is an open source disk backup & restore distro