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Recording disk images of .iso, .img, .mdf, .nrg and other formats to a disc. Iso, mdf, mds. Disk image

MDF (Media Disc Image File) is a disk image file format. In other words, this is a virtual disk containing some files. Computer games are often stored in this form. It is logical to assume that a virtual drive will help read information from a virtual disk. To carry out this procedure, you can use one of the special programs.

The peculiarity of images with the MDF extension is that they often require an accompanying file in MDS format to run them. The latter weighs much less and contains information about the image itself.

Method 1: Alcohol 120%

Files with the MDF and MDS extensions are most often created using . This means that this program is best suited for opening them. Alcohol 120%, although a paid tool, allows you to solve many problems related to burning discs and creating images. In any case, the trial version is suitable for one-time use.


Method 2: DAEMON Tools Lite

A good alternative to the previous option would be. This program looks nicer and opens MDF faster. True, without a license, all functions of DAEMON Tools will not be available, but this does not apply to the ability to view the image.


The same result will occur if you open the MDF file via "Quick Mount".

Method 3: UltraISO

Perfect for quickly viewing the contents of a disk image. Its advantage is that all files included in MDF will be immediately displayed in the program window. However, for further use they will have to be extracted.

Method 4: PowerISO

The last option for opening MDF is the . It has almost the same principle of operation as UltraISO, only the interface in this case is more friendly.


So, MDF files are disk images. Alcohol 120% and DAEMON Tools Lite are excellent programs for working with this category of files, which immediately allow you to view the contents of the image via autorun. But UltraISO and PowerISO display a list of files in their windows with the subsequent ability to extract.

Today I will tell you and show you with the help of which 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. :)

The question of how to open an mdf file most often arises among those who downloaded the game in a torrent and do not know how to install it and what this file is. Typically, there are two files - one in MDF format, the other in MDS format. In this instruction I will tell you in detail about how and how to open such files in different situations.

What is an mdf file?

First of all, I'll tell you what an mdf file is: files with the .mdf extension are CD and DVD images saved as a single file on your computer. As a rule, for the correct operation of these images, an MDS file containing service information is also saved - however, if this file is not there, it’s okay - we can open the image anyway.

What program can open mdf file

There are many programs that can be downloaded for free that allow you to open mdf files. It is worth noting that “opening” these files does not happen exactly the same way as opening other types of files: when you open a disk image, it is mounted on the system, i.e. It’s as if you have a new drive for reading CDs in your computer or laptop, into which a disc recorded in mdf is inserted.

Daemon Tools Lite

The free Daemon Tools Lite program is one of the most commonly used programs for opening various types of disk images, including those in mdf format. The program can be downloaded for free from the official website of the developer http://www.daemon-tools.cc/rus/products/dtLite

After installing the program, a new CD drive, or, in other words, a virtual disk, will appear in the system. By running Daemon Tools Lite, you can open the mdf file and mount it on the system, and then use the mdf file as a regular disc with a game or program.

Alcohol 120%

Another great program that allows you to open mdf files is Alcohol 120%. The program is paid, but you can download a free version of this program from the manufacturer’s website http://www.alcohol-soft.com/

Alcohol 120% works similarly to the previous described program and allows you to mount mdf images on the system. In addition, using this software you can burn an mdf image to a physical CD. Supports Windows 7 and Windows 8, 32-bit and 64-bit systems.

Ultra ISO

Using UltraISO, you can open disk images in a variety of formats, including mdf, and burn them to disks, change the contents of the images, extract them, or convert disk images of different types into standard ISO images, which, for example, can be mounted in Windows 8 without using any additional software. The program is also paid.

Magic ISO Maker

With this free program you can open an mdf file and convert it to ISO. There is also the ability to write to disk, including creating a boot disk, changing the composition of the disk image and a number of other functions.

Power ISO

PowerISO is one of the most powerful programs for working with disk images, creating a bootable USB flash drive and other purposes. Other features include support for mdf files - you can open them, extract the contents, convert the file to an ISO image or burn it to disk.

How to open MDF on Mac OS X

If you use a MacBook or iMac, then in order to open the mdf file you will have to cheat a little:

  1. Rename the file by changing the extension from mdf to ISO
  2. Mount the ISO image on the system using Disk Utility

Everything should go well and this will allow you to use the mdf image without installing any programs.

How to open an MDF file on Android

It is quite possible that someday you will need to get the contents of an mdf file on an Android tablet or phone. This is not difficult to do - just download the free ISO Extractor program from Google Play https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=se.qzx.isoextractor and get access to all the files stored in the disk image from your Android -devices.

Good day.

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 started 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.

iso, mdf, mds– what nonsense? That's what someone who doesn't know will probably say. iso, mdf, mds- these are formats disk image. Disk image- this is, in fact, a copy of the disk, or rather not even that, it is a mirror image of the disk, which completely repeats the structure of the disk and its content. And this “reflection” of the image has an extension iso or mdf or mds(there are a few more, but these are the main ones). Disk images are used for backup or simply copying the entire disk, that is, as already mentioned, its structure and data.

Disk image- a very convenient thing. Have you tried copying movies from a DVD? If you tried it, you probably noticed that there are simply no usual films in avi format on the disk, there are some video_ts, audio_ts on the disk. And if you just copy them, then you will have a simple . Of course, with a little savvy, you can start movies, but this is inconvenient. Not convinced? Then another example. Have you encountered such a thing that games refuse to work without a disc? We've probably encountered them. And yes, yes, creating an image solves this problem! And believe me, after you start using images, you will not regret it at all! Well, if I have convinced you of the advisability of using images, then let's move on to learning how to use them.

And we will act according to the following plan:

Program installation

To work with images you need a special program. In general, there are several of them, both free (Daemon Tools Lite) and paid (Alcohol 120, Ultra ISO). We will, of course, use a free program, that is Daemon Tools Lite. At all Daemon Tools this is also a paid program, but its lightweight version (note the word Lite in the name) is free, and its functionality is quite sufficient for the average user.

So let's get started. First, download the program from an external site.

Let's start installation:

We are welcomed! Say hello and click next.

We accept the license agreement.

Here we kill the jackdaws opposite Set Yandex.Bar, Make Yandex the home page, Set Yandex as the default search. You can leave the remaining checkboxes.

Selecting the location where to install Daemon Tools

After successful installation, you will see a window like this. We kill the checkbox about collecting statistics and agree to restart the computer.

After we rebooted, the following window will appear in front of us:

It is also possible that messages will appear that new equipment has been found, etc. Don't be alarmed, everything is going according to plan.

So, after everything is installed in the tray (it’s near the clock), the program icon will appear. Right-click on it and select Settings...

General settings. I would advise you to definitely check the Automatic mounting option. This means that even if the program is turned off, and even if the computer is rebooted, the image still remains mounted, which means you can use it. Place the remaining points at your discretion.

I think you’ll figure it out on your own with Hot Keys (for example, I don’t use them at all), go to Integration. Here we need to select with which the program will be associated. That is, when you launch files with this extension, Daemon Tools will automatically launch. I'm choosing the first four; I simply haven't seen the rest.

The remaining settings items can be left untouched. Oh yes, go to My Computer, another one has appeared there, but it is not real, but virtual, and the images will be mounted on it.

Creating an image

We have sorted out the settings, now according to plan we move on to Creating an image. To do this, right-click on the tray icon - Create image. The following window will appear:

Here we select the drive into which the disk from which we want to make an image is inserted. Oh yes, you need to insert the disk from which you want to create an image into the drive. I inserted the software disc. Did you insert it? Click update.

Output image file. Here you choose where to save the created image, as well as what name and extension to give it. I choose extension iso, since it is the most common. All. Click Start.

The process of creating an image can take a long time, it took me 15 minutes, so you can go have some tea in the meantime.

Working with images

So, after we have created the image, the question arises, what to do with it now? It’s simple, you need to mount it on a virtual drive. This way, we can work with the image as with a regular disk. Hmm, I don’t think I fully explained it, but that’s okay, now you’ll see for yourself.

Right-click on the icon Daemon Tools in the tray, then select the item Virtual drives, then select the drive (initially there will be only one, I have it named Drive 0 and assigned the letter K), then select the item Mount image, and find our image (which we created, or which you have you already exist, for example, you downloaded an image of a game from the Internet), click Open. Now we go to My Computer (remember, I talked about another drive?), and we notice that a disk seems to be inserted into the virtual drive.

We double-click on it and it will start like a regular disk (it may have started right away for you after you clicked open, I just have disk auto-loading disabled).

In order to sort of “remove” a disk from a virtual drive, do the following: Right-click on the icon - Virtual drives - Drive 0 - Unmount image.

Well, that seems to be all, but there are times when we need to mount several images at the same time, for this we need to create another virtual drive. To do this, right-click on the tray icon – Virtual drives – Add virtual SCSI drive. After this, another drive will appear in the Virtual drives tab, which is ready for images to be mounted on it. In total, the program (free) allows you to create 4 (four) virtual drives.

P.S. If you have any questions, leave them in the comments.

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