Overview
Disc image handling is one of those areas where the built in tools cover about half the job. Windows will mount an ISO and burn one, and beyond that it stops. This handles the rest: opening images in the less common formats, editing the contents of an image in place, converting between formats, splitting large images and compressing them.
The formats it reads go well past ISO. Disc images produced by every burning suite of the last twenty years open here, and any of them can be converted to a standard ISO for use elsewhere. Audio disc images extract to the common audio formats with track information intact, and multi-session and hybrid images are handled without complaint.
The virtual drive is the feature that stays useful daily. Up to twenty three virtual drives can be created, they persist across restarts, and an image mounted to one behaves exactly like a physical disc for any application that expects one. Alongside that is bootable USB creation, which writes a bootable image to a drive with the boot configuration set up correctly for both firmware types.
What it does well
Edit images in place
Add, remove and rename files inside an existing image without extracting and rebuilding it from scratch.
Wide format support
Reads the image formats produced by the common burning suites and converts any of them to a standard ISO.
Virtual drives
Up to twenty three drives that persist across restarts, so a mounted image behaves like physical media.
Bootable USB creation
Writes a bootable image to a USB drive with the boot configuration correct for UEFI and legacy firmware.
Compression and splitting
Compress an image to a smaller archive format, or split a large one into pieces sized for the target media.
Changes in this build
- Faster image creation from large folder trees.
- Bootable USB writing updated for current firmware behaviour.
- Added support for more recent image formats from other suites.
- Virtual drive module reworked so drives survive a driver update.
- Reduced memory use when editing very large images.
What is in the package
- PowerISO installer, 32-bit and 64-bit
- Virtual drive module
- Bootable USB creation tool
- Command line interface for scripting
- Multilingual interface files, 29 languages
System requirements
| Processor | Any x86 or x64 processor |
| Memory | 1 GB minimum |
| Graphics | Not applicable |
| Storage | 80 MB free plus working space for images |
| Display | 1024 x 768 minimum |
| System | Windows XP through Windows 11 |
Installation
- Extract the archive and run the installer as an administrator.
- Allow the virtual drive module to install, it needs a driver.
- Choose which image formats it should associate with.
- Set the number of virtual drives in preferences.
- Restart once if the virtual drives do not appear immediately.
Before you start
The virtual drive module needs a restart on some machines before the drives appear.
Writing a bootable USB erases the target drive completely.
Editing an image writes a new copy, keep enough free space for both.
Questions about this title
Can it edit an ISO without rebuilding it?
Yes, files can be added, removed and renamed inside an existing image.
Does it make bootable USB drives?
Yes, with the boot configuration handled for both UEFI and legacy firmware.
How many virtual drives can it create?
Up to twenty three, and they persist across restarts.
Does it handle audio disc images?
Yes, tracks extract to the common audio formats with the track information kept.
About this listing
This entry was checked on a clean install of Windows XP / 7 / 8 / 10 / 11 (32 and 64-bit) before it was published, and it is rechecked whenever the package is rebuilt. The figures on this page come from the site index rather than from the publisher, so the download count is what people here have actually pulled.
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