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Open a file with the mdf extension. How to open an MDF file. How to open MDF and MDS files with other programs

Today I will tell you and show you what programs you can and should open files with the extension .mdf or .mds. If you encounter a problem and don't know how to open mdf file, this article will be useful to you.

What are files with the mdf extension needed for?

A little theory, files with mdf resolution store images of CD and DVD discs. Why is this necessary? For example, you were given a disc with a movie or game, you want to copy it so that you have a copy. If you didn’t have an empty disc at hand, using special programs, which will be discussed below, you can save the disk image in mdf format, and after purchasing the disc, burn the disc from the mdf file. You will get a completely identical copy.

How to open mds file?

I was sometimes asked how to open an mds file? When you create a disk image, you get two files, mdf, which contains the image itself and mds which stores the header, track information, etc. You need to open a file with the extension .mdf; if you only have an mds file, you won’t be able to do anything.

How to open mdf file?

As I wrote above, special programs are needed to open an mdf file. I have often been asked which program to open an mdf file; as an example, I offer you six programs.

  • Daemon Tools
  • Alcohol 120%
  • Cyberlink PowerDVD
  • IsoBuster
  • Magic ISO
  • Virtual CloneDrive

In this article I will tell you and also suggest downloading, only Daemon Tools, since I only work with him. You don't have to hack it like Alcohol 120%, it works great. So, we read:

Daemon Tools

Let's get to work, first you need to download Daemon Tools from the links below. I provide a link to the developer's website.

After installation in the tray (near the clock), a blue circle with a white lightning will appear - this is Daemon Tools. Right-click on it and select “Virtual drives -> Add virtual SCSI drive”. We wait 2-3 minutes until the virtual drive is created.

If you have any problems, I recommend watching this video. It shows how to work with Daemon Tools.

At this point, all the data that was in the mdf file will open. I hope I was able to help you and answer the question of how to open an mdf file. If you have any questions, ask them in the comments. :)


Files in the .mdf and .mds formats are not very common these days. But if you had to deal with them, then in most cases the question arises: “How to open an mdf file?” This and more will be discussed in this article.

What are .mdf files?

This file type is designed to store CD and DVD images. Today, such a service is not relevant, but if you do not have an empty blank, using certain programs you can save the image of a film. Accordingly, when a free disk appears, the image with .mdf resolution will create an exact copy of the film.

How to run mdf file?

There are quite enough special programs that work with images. In my opinion, the best in this direction are Daemon Tools, Alcohol 120%, Cyberlink PowerDVD, MagicISO and Virtual CloneDrive. I’ll tell you briefly about the installation and operating principle of each of the listed programs.

Opening mdf files using Daemon Tools

You can download the Daemon Tools program on the developer’s website www.daemon-tools.cc/rus/downloads

After downloading, Daemon Tools will appear on your computer as an archive. The installation will begin by removing it. The process is simple and fast. At one of the installation stages, do not forget to check the “Free license” option. The program shortcut is a blue circle with a white lightning bolt in the center. Click on the icon and select “Virtual drives - Add virtual SCSI drive”. After creating it, select “Virtual drives - Drive 0: - Mount image” again. The final step is to select a file in .mdf format.


Opening mdf with Alcohol 120%

When downloading the program, pay attention to the presence of a patch in the archive. Open the archive and click on the shortcut. After the license agreement, a dialog box appears with a list of installation items. Leave the checkboxes in the “Multi-Language Files” and “Dekstop Shortcut” items; uncheck the remaining items. Then select a location to store the program and click “Install”. This completes the installation of the program. Now it's the turn of the patch from the archive. The “PatCh30.exe” file must be copied to the folder with the installed program. In the same folder there should be two more patches with the names “AICmd.exe” and “Alcohol.exe” (if they are named differently, rename them). Finally, we move on to the final stage and install the “PatCh30.exe” file. After the patch installation is complete, the program is ready to work.

Program for opening mdf files Cyberlink PowerDVD

Installation of Cyberlink (for example, for Lenovo laptops) also begins with downloading the archive and then unpacking it. In the location where the unpacked file will be saved, find the Custom.ini element and open it. The process of launching the file can be carried out using Total Commander or Notepad. In this file, you need to replace the line CLScan=LEGEND Dragon with CLScan=Lenovo. After editing, be sure to save. Run setup.exe and wait for the installation to complete.

Running mdf file via MagicISO

This tool is quite simple and comfortable to use. In order for the program to be present on your computer, start by downloading the installation file, which can be downloaded here https://www.magiciso.com/download.htm. When it downloads, launch it. The first dialog box after launching the installer will be a “welcome” window, which contains brief information about the program in general terms. It is not necessary to read this information, so feel free to click Next. Then determine where you want to save the program by selecting a folder in the special field. Click Next and the installation process will begin. Once the installation is complete, click Finish. This is how easy and relaxed it is to install MagicISO.

Opening an mdf file with Virtual CloneDrive

This program is less popular and more common among programmers and specialists who directly deal with computer technology. First you need to download the program https://www.slysoft.com/en/virtual-clonedrive.html. Initially, after launching the installer, a dialog box will appear asking you to select the types of files that the program works with. The easiest way is to click on the Full field and then you will be able to test the capabilities of the tool with all file formats that Virtual CloneDrive assumes in use. The installer will then prompt you to begin installing the hardware on your computer. After the process is completed, the program icon can be seen in the lower right corner near the hour indicator.

In general, the operating principle of all of the above works is quite similar, and if you read the detailed instructions on the website, you can use them without any problems. As you can see, there is nothing complicated in handling .mdf extension files. Even though discs are now out of mass consumption, such information will still not be superfluous.

If you have any questions about the topic " How to open mdf file? ", then you can ask them in the comments


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You can now find hundreds of different games online. Some of these games are distributed in images (which you still need to be able to open and install from them :)) .

Image formats can be very different: mdf/mds, iso, nrg, ccd, etc. For many users who encounter such files for the first time, installing games and applications from them is a real problem.

In this short article I will look at a simple and quick way to install applications (including games) from images. And so, go ahead!

1) What is needed to get started..?

1) One of the utilities for working with images. The most popular, and also free, is Daemon Tools. It supports a large number of images (at least all the most popular ones for sure), it is easy to work with and there are practically no errors. In general, you can choose any program from the ones I presented in this article: .

2) Setting up the Daemon Tools utility

After you download any image file, it will not be recognized by the system and will be an ordinary faceless file that Windows has no idea what to do with. See screenshot below.

What is this file? Looks like a game :)

Note! U Daemon Tools There are several different versions (like most other programs): there are paid options, there are free ones. For starters, the free version will be enough for most. Download and run the installation.

By the way, what is undoubtedly pleasing is that the program has support for the Russian language, not only in the installation menu, but also in the program menu!

Note! Some installation steps and descriptions may have changed since this article was published. It is unrealistic to track in real time all the changes in the program that developers make. But the installation principle is the same.

Installing games from images

Method No. 1

After the program is installed, it is recommended to restart your computer. Now if you enter the folder with the downloaded image, you will see that Windows OS recognizes the file and offers to run it. Double-click on the file with the MDS extension (if you don’t see extensions, turn them on) - the program will automatically mount your image!

The file is recognized and can be opened! Medal of Honor - Pacific Assault

In front of you will be several CD drives: one is your real one (if you have one), and the second is a virtual one, which will be used by the Daemon Tools program.

Game cover

In my case, the installer program launched on its own and offered to install the game...

Installing the game

Method No. 2

If automatically Daemon Tools does not want to open the image (or cannot) - then we will do it manually!

To do this, run the program and add a virtual drive (everything is illustrated in the screenshot below):

  1. On the left side of the menu there is a link “Add drive” - click it;
  2. Virtual drive - select DT;
  3. DVD region - you can not change it and leave it as default;
  4. Mount - into the drive, you can set any drive letter (in my case, the letter “F:”);
  5. The last step is to click the "Add Drive" button at the bottom of the window.

Files with the MDF and MDS extension may well mislead any PC user. We don't have to deal with these couples every day, but in some cases there may be an urgent need to view their contents. Then the question arises of how to open the MDF and MDS file.

What are these “animals”?

A file with the MDF extension stores an image of a CD or DVD disc. That is, in fact, it is a virtual disk, and in order to read information from it, a virtual disk drive is needed. It can be done using special programs, which we will talk about in this article. In turn, MDS complements its brother by including disk information that is necessary to run it.

How to open a disk image?

In rare cases, MDS may be absent, but MDF should always be present. So, to work with them you need to have one of the special utilities. The highest quality in their segment are:

  • Daemon Tools;
  • Alcohol 120%;
  • UltraISO.

Now let’s briefly look at the features of working with each of them.

Using Daemon Tools

This program is absolutely free, but it does its job perfectly. Through Daemon Tools you can quickly and without problems open the files we need. It has a simple interface, so understanding its operation will not be difficult. After a standard installation, the utility icon will appear on the taskbar. Right-click on it and under “Virtual drives” add “SCSI drive”.

Now, in the same “Virtual drives” item, a new drive has appeared, in the drop-down menu of which you should click “Mount image” and select the required file.

Installation may take time depending on size. After which the disc starts up as if it were inserted into the drive of your computer. If autorun does not work, then the disk can be found in the list of devices with removable media.

Don't know which program to open DWG files? Our simple instructions will teach you -

By the way, a convenient Daemon Tools gadget has been provided for Windows 7 owners. Right-click on the desktop, select "Gadgets", then install the one shown in the image. Thus, you can drag MDF and MDS directly into the workspace of the gadget, where the virtual drive is located.

We use UltraISO

Those who often work with disk images prefer UltraISO. The installation of this program is standard and does not have any complications. The only trouble is that it is paid, but for isolated cases we have a trial period available.

Actually, this is what the UltraISO workspace looks like, but don’t be alarmed - in our case, you just need to drag and drop the MDF file into a special field. After this, double-click on the icon in the utility window. A prompt will appear indicating that your changes will be lost – click “Yes”.

Now, instead of the MDF file, we have all its contents in front of us. In our case, this is an image in JPG format. To extract it, simply drag it to another window. This is perhaps the fastest way to open MDF using UltraISO.

Alcohol 120%

Alcohol 120% is also not free, but the trial version is quite enough for our needs. After installing and running the program, wait until it creates a new drive. Then, by analogy with UltraISO, drag the desired file into the Alcohol 120% work area.

Right-click on the icon and select “Mount to device.” After a couple of moments, the autorun window should appear and you will be able to get the necessary data on the disk.

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Conclusion

After reading our article, you know which utility to use to open MDF and MDS. We looked at the top three of them. Each of them is convenient and functional in terms of working with virtual drives.

An MDF file (Media Disc Image File) is a data image of a CD or DVD disc, which is saved to the hard drive of a user’s computer by a special program such as Alcohol 120, DAEMON Tools, and so on. .mdf files have similar characteristics to an ISO disk image.

The features of this format include saving the disc image as MDF files, while most of the additional information, such as titles, track names and other data will be placed in the corresponding MDS file. Among most users, the understanding of what an MDF file is comes down to the ability to conveniently launch the desired program, movie or game without using original CD/DVD discs. To maximize the benefits that the MDF extension can provide, it is recommended that you use software utilities like Alcohol 120 or CyberLink PowerDVD. For example, the DAEMON Tools program, being an emulator of CD and DVD images, makes it possible not only to open an MDF file that is already on the owner’s computer, but also to mount a disk image.

The MDF format, containing films or various applications with games, is well suited for copying licensed discs. The MDF format is capable of preserving the original structure of the original media, which means that by creating a virtual disk, the user receives a full duplicate of the original version with all the required databases, bypassing the standard copy protection tools from the developer.
It is worth noting that MDF and MDS files will serve as images of any CD, as well as DVD discs.