你遇到过磁盘镜像(disk image)，ISO镜像(ISO image)这个词吗？您可能从一个拥有大量磁盘库（CD、DVD(DVDs)、蓝光光盘）的(Blu-Ray)精通技术的朋友(savvy friend)那里听说过，但他或她似乎没有使用其中任何一个，至少不经常使用。嗯，你的那个朋友很可能已经创建了他或她更经常使用的所有光盘的磁盘映像。(disk image)什么是磁盘映像(disk image)，为什么有人会创建或使用磁盘映像？阅读本指南，到最后，您将获得这些问题的答案等等。
什么是磁盘映像(disk image)以及它有什么用处？
磁盘映像(disk image)是存储整个磁盘的所有内容和结构的文件。该磁盘可以是光盘，如 CD、DVD 或蓝光光盘(DVD or Blu-Ray disk)、硬盘驱动器(disk drive)、USB 闪存(USB flash)驱动器、磁带驱动器(tape drive)等。磁盘映像(disk image)是一个文件，它是磁盘卷(disk volume)或整个物理磁盘驱动器(disk drive)的精确副本。此副本保留其源的所有属性：文件、文件夹、属性和磁盘名称。
磁盘映像是存储磁盘备份副本的便捷方式。例如，您可能有一些定期播放的音频 CD 。(Audio CDs)您可能不希望它们快速磨损，因为您经常使用它们。在这种情况下，聆听它们并保持它们处于原始状态的一个好方法 - 因为您实际上不会使用它们 - 是为它们创建磁盘映像。磁盘映像可以存储在您的计算机上，当您想听音乐时，您可以简单地安装它们。显然，您可以将它们的内容翻录成另一种格式，但那是另一回事了。
为您的音频 CD(Audio CD)创建磁盘映像(disk image)的用处只是一个示例，但在更多情况下磁盘映像(disk image)证明了它们的价值。例如，一些软件供应商选择将他们的程序作为磁盘映像(disk image)交付，您可以从Internet下载。一个很好的例子是操作系统(operating system)，它通常以磁盘映像(disk image)的形式在线交付。这是因为磁盘映像(disk image)是物理DVD磁盘的精确复制品，而且安装操作系统(operating system)通常意味着您必须将它放在可引导磁盘上。如果你得到操作系统(operating system)作为磁盘映像(disk image)，这是您可以从Internet下载的单个文件，然后可以将其刻录到CD 或 DVD(CD or DVD)上，最后，您可以使用它来启动和安装操作系统(operating system)。
总结一下，以下是使用磁盘映像的一些最突出的好处：
- 磁盘映像是磁盘驱动器或磁盘卷的精确副本，因此它们不仅忠实地保留了与内容相关的所有细节，而且还保留了与原始文件和文件夹结构相关的所有细节；
- 当您需要创建该磁盘的多个副本时，光盘的磁盘映像可能非常有用；
- 包含Windows 操作系统(Windows operating)的硬盘驱动器的磁盘映像可用于非常快速地重新安装Windows ；
- 硬盘或光盘的磁盘映像具有便携性的巨大优势。例如，作为单个文件，很容易将其在线发送给其他人或将其存储在外部硬盘驱动器(disk drive)上。
磁盘映像最常见的文件格式
正如我们现在所知，磁盘映像(disk image)是存储在磁盘上的文件。像任何文件一样，它必须带有名称和扩展名。换句话说，文件必须具有文件格式(file format)。当今最常见的磁盘映像文件格式(disk image file format today)是“.ISO”，但还有许多其他类型的文件格式(file format)可以使用。这里是其中的一些：
-
".NRG" (Nero CD/DVD Image File) - 是使用 Nero 光盘创作软件创建的 CD 或 DVD 磁盘映像。
-
“.BIN”和“.CUE”（提示表文件）(".BIN" & ".CUE" (Cue Sheet File)) - 将 CD 或 DVD 磁盘映像拆分为两个不同的文件。其中之一是“.BIN”文件，它是一个二进制文件，是磁盘的精确副本。补充的“.CUE”文件包含有关原始磁盘上数据结构的详细信息。
-
“.MDF”和“.MDS”（媒体磁盘映像文件和媒体描述符文件）(".MDF" & ".MDS" (Media disk Image File & Media Descriptor File)) - CD 或 DVD 映像存储在“.MDF”文件中，而标题和轨道信息存储在“.MDS”文件中.
如果您想了解更多关于 man :) 已知的所有磁盘映像文件(disk image file)类型的信息，请查看此网页：磁盘映像文件(Disk Image Files)。
如何在Windows中创建磁盘映像？
为了创建磁盘映像(disk image)，您需要使用知道如何执行此操作的软件应用程序。(software application)不幸的是，Windows 本身不知道如何创建磁盘映像(disk image)，唯一的方法是使用第三方程序(party program)。互联网(Internet)上有许多这样的程序，其中大多数专注于创建CD、DVD 或蓝光光盘的磁盘(DVDs or Blu-ray disks)映像(disk image)，或创建各种硬盘驱动器的磁盘映像。(disk image)
在这两个教程中，我们介绍了一些与为光盘创建磁盘映像相关的场景：
- 如何在Windows中复制(Windows)光盘(Disc)（CD、DVD 或蓝光(DVD or Blu-Ray)）
-
如何制作受保护光盘（DVD 或蓝光）的备份副本。
如何在Windows中挂载磁盘映像？
默认情况下， Windows(Windows) 8.1 和Windows 10知道如何使用最常见的磁盘映像(disk image)文件格式(file format)：ISO 映像(ISO image)。如果您想在Windows中将(Windows)磁盘映像(disk image)用作虚拟CD/DVD or Blu-ray disk，并且磁盘映像(disk image)是ISO 映像(ISO image)，那么您只需挂载它即可。安装磁盘映像(disk image)后，它的外观和工作方式与加载到光学单元中的物理磁盘相同。要了解如何操作，我们建议您按照本指南中描述的步骤操作：如何在文件资源管理器中挂载或卸载(File Explorer)ISO 映像(ISO image)。
如果您仍在使用Windows 7，或者您需要处理使用其他更奇特文件格式的磁盘映像，例如 .NRG、.BIN &.CUE 或 .MDF 和.MDS映像，那么您必须安装第三方工具(party tool)。
以下是我们的一些建议：
- 如果您使用的是Windows 7、Windows Vista 或 Windows XP(Windows Vista or Windows XP)，并且您只需要挂载ISO映像，那么我们建议您使用Microsoft简单且免费的实用程序Virtual CD-ROM 控制面板(Virtual CD-ROM Control Panel)。
- 如果您使用各种其他类型的磁盘映像，请考虑Daemon Tools Lite。它适用于自Windows 98起的每个Windows 版本(Windows version)，它是免费的，它还支持磁盘映像的多种文件格式：B5T、B6T、BWT、CCD、CDI、APE、FLAC、CUE、ISO、ISZ、MDS、MDX、NRG，VMDK，VHD，TC。小心(Take care)但是，在安装它时，因为它会尝试安装一些会更改浏览器主页和默认搜索引擎(homepage and default search engine)的广告软件。
如何在Windows中刻录(Windows)ISO 磁盘(ISO disk)映像？
如果您有ISO或IMG 磁盘(IMG disk)映像并且想要将其刻录到物理CD/DVD or Blu-ray光盘，那么本指南将为您提供如何在Windows中执行此操作的步骤，而无需使用任何第三方派对工具：如何在Windows中刻录磁盘映像（ (Windows)ISO 和 IMG(ISO & IMG)）。
如果您必须挂载、刻录或使用ISO映像以外的磁盘映像，或者您仍在使用Windows 7，则必须使用第三方工具。
结论
现在您知道了磁盘映像是什么、它们为何有用、如何在Windows中挂载它们以及如何创建自己的磁盘映像。希望(Hopefully)我们已经设法回答了您有关此主题的所有问题。如果我们没有，请在下面的评论表中告诉我们。我们会尽力提供帮助。
Simple questions: What is a disc image file (ISO, NRG, BIN)?
Havе уou encounterеd the term of disk image, or that of ISO image? You may have heаrd it from a tech savvy friend who has a huge library of disks (CDs, DVDs, Blu-Ray disks), but he or she doesn't appear to uѕe any of them, at least not on a regular basis. Well, that friend of yours most likelу haѕ created disk imаges of all the optical disks that he or she uses more often. What are disk images and why would someone create or use disc images? Read thiѕ guіde and, by thе end of it, уou will have the answers tо thеse questions, and more.
What is a disk image & how can it be useful?
A disk image is a file that stores all the content and the structure of an entire disk. That disk may be an optical disk like a CD, DVD or Blu-Ray disk, a hard disk drive, a USB flash drive, a tape drive and so on. A disk image is a file that's the exact copy of a disk volume or of an entire physical disk drive. This copy retains all the properties of its source: files, folders, properties and the disk's name.
Disk images are a handy way of storing backup copies of your disks. For instance, you might have some Audio CDs which you play on a regular basis. You probably don't want them to wear out fast because you use them often. In that case, a good way to listen to them but also keep them in a pristine condition - because you will actually not use them - is to create disk images for them. The disk images can be stored on your computer and you can simply mount them when you want to listen to your music. Obviously, you can rip their contents into another format, but that's another story.
The usefulness of creating disk images for your Audio CD s is just an example, but there are more situations in which disk images prove their worth. For instance, some software vendors choose to deliver their programs as disk images, which you can download from the Internet. A very good example of that are operating systems, which are often delivered online under the form of disk images. That's because disk images are exact replicas of physical DVD disks, and because installing an operating system usually means you have to have it on a bootable disk. If you get the operating system as a disk image, which is a single file that you can download from the Internet, you can then burn it on a CD or DVD and, finally, you can use it to boot and install the operating system.
To sum it a bit up, here are some of the most prominent benefits of using disk images:
- Disk images are exact replicas of disk drives or disk volumes, so they faithfully preserve all details related not only to content but also to the original files and folders structure;
- A disk image of an optical disk can be very useful when you need to create multiple copies of that disk;
- A disk image of a hard drive that contains a Windows operating system can be used to reinstall Windows very fast;
- A disk image of a hard disk or of an optical disk has the big advantage of portability. Being a single file it is very easy to send it online to others or store it on an external hard disk drive, for instance.
The most common file formats for disk images
As we know by now, a disk image is a file stored on your disk. Like any file, it must bear a name and an extension. In other words, a file must have a file format. The most common disk image file format today is " .ISO " , but there are many other types of file formats that can be used. Here are some of them:
-
".NRG" (Nero CD/DVD Image File) - are CD or DVD disk images created with the Nero disc authoring software.
-
".BIN" & ".CUE" (Cue Sheet File) - are CD or DVD disk images split into two different files. One of them is a ".BIN" file that is a binary file that's an exact copy of the disk. The complementary ".CUE" file contains the details on how the data is structured on the original disk.
-
".MDF" & ".MDS" (Media disk Image File & Media Descriptor File) - the CD or DVD image is stored inside the ".MDF" file, while the header and track information are stored in the ".MDS" file.
If you'd like to know more about all the disk image file types known to man :), check this web page: Disk Image Files.
How do you create disk images in Windows?
In order to create a disk image, you need to use a software application that knows h ow to do this. Unfortunately, Windows itself doesn't know how to create disk images and the only way to do that is to use a third party program. There are many such programs available on the Internet and most of them focus on either creating disk images of CDs, DVDs or Blu-ray disks, or on creating disk images of hard drives of all kinds.
We've covered some scenarios related to creating disk images for optical disks, in these two tutorials:
How do you mount disk images in Windows?
Windows 8.1 and Windows 10 know by default how to work with the most common file format for disk images: ISO images. I f you want to use a disk image as a virtual CD/DVD or Blu-ray disk in Windows, and if the disk image is an ISO image, then you can simply mount it. When a disk image is mounted, it will look and work the same as if it were a physical disk loaded into your optical unit. To find out how, we recommend you to follow the steps described in this guide: How to mount or unmount ISO images in File Explorer.
If you're still using Windows 7 or if you need to work with disk images that use other, more exotic file formats, like.NRG,.BIN &.CUE or.MDF &.MDS images, then you'll have to install a third party tool.
Here are a couple of suggestions from us :
- If you're using Windows 7, Windows Vista or Windows XP and you only need to mount ISO images, then we recommend you use Microsoft's simple and free utility Virtual CD-ROM Control Panel.
- If you use various other types of disk images, consider Daemon Tools Lite. It works in every Windows version since Windows 98 onwards, it's free, and it also supports many file formats for disk images: B5T, B6T, BWT, CCD, CDI, APE, FLAC, CUE, ISO, ISZ, MDS, MDX, NRG, VMDK, VHD, TC. Take care though, when installing it, because it tries to install some adware that changes your browser's homepage and default search engine.
How do you burn ISO disk images in Windows?
If you have an ISO or an IMG disk image and you want to burn it to a physical CD/DVD or Blu-ray optical disk, then this guide will provide you with the steps on how to do that in Windows, without using any third party tools: How to burn disk images (ISO & IMG) in Windows.
In case you have to mount, burn or work with disk images other than ISO images, or if you're still using Windows 7, than you will have to use to third party tools.
Conclusion
Now you know what disk images are, why they are useful, how to mount them in Windows and how to create your own disk images. Hopefully we have managed to answer all your questions on this subject. If we didn't, let us know in the comments form below. We will do our best to help.
