You’ve probably been dealing with an ISO image file before. It is therefore, you know how useful they can be. Today, I want to introduce you to a program, really small, but with great potential. With this portable software, you can convert entire Windows folders into ISO image files that can be mounted and read on any operating system. Yes, you got it right. It is not a question of creating images of operating systems to be burned or started with sometimes complex procedures on external media such as, for example, a USB stick. This time it is a matter of converting any of your folders, saved on your PC, into an ISO image file to be mounted and consulted as needed.
This software opens up new avenues in handling ISO image files. So if you have a folder with data and you want to convert it into a file to mount anywhere you want and on any computer then you can take advantage of this amazing software. The software in question is “Folder2ISO”, freely downloadable from this link. But let’s see, practically, how to convert a Windows folder into an ISO image file with Folder2ISO.
1. Download and run Folder2ISO
Once you have downloaded Folder2ISO from this link, you can start it immediately as, being portable, it does not require an installation procedure to be started on your computer. So, the only thing to do is to run the “Folder2ISO.exe” file. the interface that the software presents is really simple. The figure shows a screenshot of the user interface.ISO image file creation to convert a Windows folder
2. Create an ISO image file with Folder2ISO
Well, forget all the software you’ve used to create ISO images so far. I don’t think you’ve ever used anything simpler than Folder2ISO. Anyway, let’s immediately try to create an ISO by converting one of my folders, “ISO test”, present on the desktop of my PC.
Now, I run Folder2ISO and click on the “Select Folder” button. I go to the path of the “ISO test” folder and select it as the source folder to convert.
Next, I click on the “Select Output” button. And I select the folder where I want to store my ISO file, the result of the processing carried out by Folder2ISO. For convenience I indicate the “Desktop” folder as the output of my ISO file. Oh, I forgot, I also specify the name, which must have my ISO image file, and the label to be assigned to our ISO unit after the assembly operation.
Ok, you are ready to start the process of creating your first ISO file with Folder2ISO. At this point, click on the “Generate ISO” button. The ISO file will be generated in times that highly depend on the size of your folder to convert.
Read more: “Cloning a hard disk quickly and easily“
3. How to mount an ISO image file
Now that your ISO file has been generated, all you have to do is mount it to see if everything works fine. Then, click with the right mouse button on the ISO file just created by Folder2ISO and then select the item “Mount”.
After mounting the ISO file, you will see a new drive, in the explorer, with the label corresponding to the label assigned when creating the ISO file.
From now on, your ISO file has been mounted and then available as if it were a new CDROM drive in the Windows Explorer. From here, you can access all the files stored on the drive, which corresponds, in effect, to an image in your folder.
4. Conclusions
Creating an ISO image file is a practice that always scares a user, especially a novice. But, once you understand the usefulness and get the appropriate software, it becomes child’s play. In this video tutorial, which I recommend you to follow, you can see Folder2ISO in action and appreciate its extraordinary features.