I often need to download operating systems and server applications from MSDN or Microsoft Licensing from which the files are invariably CD, or more commonly DVD ISOs.
Also, I am usually installing the files remotely via RDP or on a Virtual Guest. As a result, burning CDs and DVDs is simply impractical, not to mention a horrid waste of time and optical media.
Instead, I utilize a the free Virtual CD-ROM utility from Microsoft that you can download here.
The download is a zip file containing a readme file, an executable (VCDControlTool.exe) and a driver file (VcdRom.sys). Installation is as simple as placing the executable and driver in c:\windows\system32 and running the executable. In fact the readme is only 10 lines so I’ll just list it here:
The main interface is shown above, here is the the driver control:
* Please note, this tool is NOT supported by Microsoft so you are using it at your own risk.
That said, I have found that in addition to it working on XP, it also works on Windows 2003 as well as Vista (you have to initially run the tool as admin in order to start the driver, close it, and open again as your regular account to mount drives).
A couple of gotcha’s I noticed with this tool is that it remembers previously mounted drives across reboots, but won’t let you reuse them. To resolve this, simply go into the driver control and stop/start the driver.
The other issue I have seen is that it will not mount ISO images with long filenames, typically any ISO you download from Microsoft. As a result, you have to rename the ISO to a shorter file name and try mounting it again, this time it should work.
If you have any other problems, again, try stopping and starting the driver and you should be golden.
Good luck, hope you find the VCD Control Tool as useful as I have.
Update 2/8/2010: Well, it seems that Microsoft’s Virtual CD does not work under Windows 2008 and probably does not work on Windows 7. It was a great little utility with a very small footprint. As an alternative on Windows Server 2008, I have been using freeware MagicISO Virtual CD/DVD ROM (MagicDisc) which does install files and has been very robust and full featured.
Update 8/14/2010: I just wanted to confirm that MagicISO works great with Windows 7. In fact, I’ve found it is one of the first utilities I install after an OS upgrade or reinstall with Windows 7.
Paul Beckford is an IT professional based in Denver, Colorado. Over the last dozen years, Paul has worked “hands-on” in an IT Operations role deploying and supporting a multitude of technologies, such as Network Infrastructure, Windows and Linux servers, most Microsoft Back Office & Infrastructure applications, Virtual Computing, Mobile Computing and Information Security.