Are you struggling to open an ISO file on your Windows 11 system? Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered! In this comprehensive guide, we will walk you through the various methods you can use to open ISO files in Windows 11.

Option 1: View Contents

Windows 10 already has a pre-installed tool for working with ISO images, so opening and mounting a file of this type is easy. If you just need to view the contents, then after a standard launch, a new virtual image will be created automatically, which will then need to be manually extracted, but we will talk about this below.

To view and edit the contents, you can use not “Explorer” , but archiving programs, for example, the popular products WinRAR or 7-ZIP.

Download WinRAR from the official website

1. 1. If necessary, install the archiver on your computer, then navigate to the ISO file, right-click on it, point to “WinRAR” and select “Open in WinRAR” .

1. 1. The archiver window will open, where a list of the file contents will be displayed.

1. 1. If necessary, the data can be extracted individually or all at once, viewed or modified, and the image will not be mounted in the system. To extract files to a separate folder, right-click on one or more selected items, then select “Extract to the specified folder” and specify the path to save outside the archive and ISO image.

With other similar programs designed to work with archives, you need to act in approximately the same way.

Option 2: Mounting the image using built-in tools

An ISO file is essentially a disk image that duplicates the contents of an original optical media, such as a DVD or Blu-Ray disc. Simply put, it is an archive that stores all the data from the source, including metadata, file structure, and system. As mentioned, Windows 11 already has a built-in tool that allows you to quickly mount an image, connecting it as a virtual drive to use the content.

To work with ISO files, either the system’s graphical interface, namely “Explorer” , or commands executed in the “Windows PowerShell” console are used . It is worth discussing all system methods in more detail, because they can be used in different circumstances.

Method 1: “Explorer”

First, let’s look at how to use the easiest way to open ISO files – Explorer tools :

1. 1. Find the ISO file using the standard file manager and simply double-click on it with the left mouse button. You can also use the context menu by right-clicking on the item and selecting “Connect” .

1. 1. In both cases, a system window with a security warning may appear. Click “Open” to confirm the action. After a while, the image will be mounted, and the “Autorun” window will appear at the bottom of the notification panel , which indicates that the virtual drive has been created successfully.

 

1. 1. Go back to the Explorer , or rather to its main window, where there is a section called Devices and Drives . You will see that a new drive has appeared – this is the mounted ISO file. To launch the image, just double-click on it with the left mouse button, after which the installation wizard or another menu that the original had will start.

1. 1. If you need to view the content, the “Open in a new window” / “Open in a new tab” option often helps .
      Please note that not all ISO files launch the installation window or menu, some simply go to the next Explorer window , where you need to select the installation file (usually called “Setup.exe” ), and it is after its launch that the installation process begins. Also in this case, sometimes it is possible to manually perform the installation. To do this, right-click on the virtual drive and select “Install or run a program from media” .
   2. When you are done working with the virtual drive, it is better to close it manually. In the context menu, select “Eject” .

Method 2: “Windows PowerShell”

Windows 11 has a more labor-intensive method that allows you to open an ISO file and mount it. In this case, you will need to use console commands, and this option is useful in situations where, for example, the operating system or Explorer are unstable.

1. 1. Launch the Windows PowerShell console (or it may also be called Windows Terminal ). To do this, right-click on Start and select Run as administrator or use the search bar.

1. 1. Enter the command Mount-DiskImageand press the Enter key . This will launch the corresponding snap-in.

1. 1. On the next line, you need to specify the path to the ISO file in Explorer . If you don’t have this information at hand, open Explorer and copy the path from the address bar, paste it into the console window, then copy the full file name and add it to the request along with the extension ( .iso). Press the enter key.

1. 1. The next line that appears in Windows PowerShell is for mounting the second image, but if you don’t need to do that, then just press Enter again .

1. 1. After executing the previous command, the image should be mounted. Pay attention to the line “Attached” . If the value opposite it is set to “True” , then the operation was successful and the virtual drive is mounted. Now you can access “Explorer” to launch the image or view its contents.

The mounted drive can also be cured via the console. To do this, first run the command Dismount-DiskImage, then specify the path to the ISO file and its name with the format again and confirm the execution. The “Attached” line should have the value “False” .

Option 3: Third-party programs

There are special software solutions from third-party developers for working, viewing and extracting files from ISO images. With their help, you can connect drives and install programs or games embedded in the file. Such software in Windows 11 is usually used not to mount ISO, but to directly create ISO or images in other formats, but such options are also worth considering, especially since some of them have additional features and functions, unlike standard Windows tools.

Method 1: Daemon Tools Lite

One of the most popular solutions is the Daemon Tools Lite program, distributed free of charge. It works with disk images and virtual drives and supports a large number of formats, including ISO, MDX, APE, CUE, IMG and many others. The main purpose of the software is to create images, but it also copes with mounting, allowing you to create up to 256 virtual drives, 32 SCSI drives and 4 IDE drives.

The official website of the developer is currently unavailable to users in the Russian Federation, so you will have to resort to third-party and trusted sources to download.

1. 1. Download the installation file and run its installation, and at one of the stages make sure that the ISO extension is marked in the list of supported formats. After launching the program, click on the “Quick Mount” button located at the bottom. You can also click on any empty drive, if there is one.

1. 1. Using the opened Explorer, specify the path to the ISO file and select it to open.

1. 1. The virtual drive will be created, and the system window that appears below will inform you about it. You can go to the Explorer to view or run the ISO image contents, or click on the new drive in the Daemon Tools Lite window.
       
      

      If the launch occurs directly through the program, then the automatic installation of the installation file, which is embedded in the disk image, will begin.

   2. To remove the drive, simply click on the arrow icon that appears in the upper right corner of the button when you hover over it with your mouse.

There are other editions of the program besides Lite, such as Pro or Ultra, but they provide additional tools for working with images and you will need to purchase a license to access them.

Method 2: UltraISO

Another tool for opening ISO files, UltraISO, allows you to create, edit, mount and burn the contents of a disk image. It also works with USB drives, hard drives and floppy disks, allowing you to compress data to save space, check images for errors. One of the many features of the program is the ability to open and connect ISO as removable storage devices.

Download UltraISO from the official website

1. 1. Install UltraISO on your computer, at one of the installation stages check the box “Associate .iso file with UltraISO” and run the program.

1. 1. To open and view the contents of a disk image, click the File tab and select Open Image File .

1. 1. The Explorer window will open , through which you need to specify the path to the object.

1. 1. The left panel of the program window will display the content structure, and in the central part of the window all the files embedded in the ISO. Any of them can be viewed individually or extracted to a folder on the hard drive.

1. 1. If you need to mount the image, click on the “Service” tab and select “Mount to virtual disk” .

1. 1. Next, specify the drive and file to be mounted. Click the appropriate button.

The mounted image will be displayed both in Explorer and through the UltraISO interface. The contents can also be viewed, edited or launched.

Method 3: PowerISO

PowerISO is a multifunctional program for working with disk images. It allows you to create, edit or unpack image files, and if necessary, you can write the contents to physical media, such as optical discs. Support for all CD, DVD and BD-ROM image formats is implemented, including ISO, BIN, CDI, NRG and others. The main functions of the software are available for free use, but to expand the functionality, you will need to purchase a license.

Download PowerISO from the official website

1. 1. Immediately after installation, at the preliminary setup stage, mark the necessary associations, in particular the item “.iso” and close the step-by-step installation wizard window. Restart the computer, then launch the program and click the “Mount” button on the panel at the top.

1. 1. In the drop-down menu, click on the drive available for connection.

1. 1. All that remains is to specify the path to the ISO file, after which the program will mount the image, and you will be able to view or run its contents.

There is another way to open an ISO file via PowerISO (by the way, it is also applicable to other similar programs). To do this, right-click on the file in Explorer , point the cursor to Open with and select the desired application. After that, the file contents will be automatically opened in the interface of the selected software, and you will be able to work with it.