Author Topic: best virual cd/dvd maker and image mounter? (Read 31,293 times)

delwoode · « **on:** March 09, 2010, 09:39 AM »

I have Deamon tools (free) but anyone use something else?

Josh · « **Reply #1 on:** March 09, 2010, 09:44 AM »

I live and swear by Daemon Tools Pro. I am the owner of a 2 user, 2 year license for the program and from my experience, nothing else supports what DT Pro Std does and does it so eloquently. It supports just about any format I can throw at it, is very light on resources, supports shell based mounting and just plain works. No gimmicks, no hacks to work around, just straight out of the box working!

Some people use Alcohol 120 but I did not find it as robust as DT Pro.

Please note, I am not affiliated with DT. I am just an avid user and fan of the software

f0dder · « **Reply #2 on:** March 09, 2010, 09:51 AM »

MagicISO MagicDisc or Slysoft Virtual CloneDrive, don't bother with d-t if you don't need it's piracy-related features.

I'm personally using MagicDisc, which works like a charm - VCD is also nice, but doesn't play super well with 32bit alternate explorer on 64bit Windows, since it's user interface depends on explorer shell extensions.

Crush · « **Reply #3 on:** March 09, 2010, 11:46 AM »

I use several for different tasks.
A very good one is Virtual Drive - but it isn´t free.
Paragon also has a really free CD/DVD-Emulator with a lot of great features like realtime compression: CD-Rom-Emulator V3.0 - I love this company because all of their products are really cool and the most of them are available as free editions.
Daemon-Tools & Alcohol are still top notch programs, but I still miss some features others have.

f0dder · « **Reply #4 on:** March 09, 2010, 12:11 PM »

IMHO disc image compression isn't such an important thing, considering that a lot of cds/dvds consist mainly of already compressed files (.msi, .cab, or whatever else is used by the particular setup program used).

Crush · « **Reply #5 on:** March 09, 2010, 12:28 PM »

I prefer these emulators for playing my old games - the most of them didn´t use a complete cd/dvd and were often uncompressed. The soundtracks can get crunched to mp3 in the cd-image.

Innuendo · « **Reply #6 on:** March 09, 2010, 02:16 PM »

I love Daemon-Tools Lite. They've made their free product so good that most people will never need one of their commercial products. MagicISO MagicDisc comes in second, but its interface is just klunky by comparison, IMHO.

And Daemon-Tools comes with a Desktop Gadget if you're into that kind of thing (I'm not).

delwoode · « **Reply #7 on:** March 09, 2010, 07:57 PM »

I am still using daemon tools 3.7 at the moment as I have read on various forums that the later versions put spyware and rootkits on your computer, true? Also that they interfere with the sleep function on your laptop??

delwoode · « **Reply #8 on:** March 09, 2010, 08:04 PM »

Quote from: Crush on March 09, 2010, 11:46 AM

I use several for different tasks.
A very good one is Virtual Drive - but it isn´t free.
Paragon also has a really free CD/DVD-Emulator with a lot of great features like realtime compression: CD-Rom-Emulator V3.0 - I love this company because all of their products are really cool and the most of them are available as free editions.
Daemon-Tools & Alcohol are still top notch programs, but I still miss some features others have.

They seem interesting but is seems they cant create an iso or cue or whatever is that so?

Deozaan · « **Reply #9 on:** March 09, 2010, 10:55 PM »

I doubt it's the best, but I use Gizmo Central's Gizmo Drive to mount images.

Though I can't say I've had much need to make disc images in some time, so I'm not sure how well it does at that.

delwoode · « **Reply #10 on:** March 10, 2010, 12:29 PM »

Quote from: Deozaan on March 09, 2010, 10:55 PM

I doubt it's the best, but I use Gizmo Central's Gizmo Drive to mount images.

Though I can't say I've had much need to make disc images in some time, so I'm not sure how well it does at that.

I read on the Gizmo forum that it can mount nero .nrg images but they dont work properly - I mean you cant then play the music files, you can if you mount with daemon and that is the only one that works for me so far. others also claim to handle .nrg but in practice they dont work. I have also tried power.iso and WinCDemu which claim to handle .nrg but they cant

Deozaan · « **Reply #11 on:** March 10, 2010, 12:37 PM »

Quote from: delwoode on March 10, 2010, 12:29 PM

I read on the Gizmo forum that it can mount nero .nrg images but they dont work properly - I mean you cant then play the music files, you can if you mount with daemon and that is the only one that works for me so far. others also claim to handle .nrg but in practice they dont work. I have also tried power.iso and WinCDemu which claim to handle .nrg but they cant

Basically, Gizmo Drive can handle data discs in Nero Format, but not audio discs. I imagine it's the same way for the other programs you mentioned as well.

Darwin · « **Reply #12 on:** March 10, 2010, 01:49 PM »

I have tried both Alcohol 120% and Magic ISO. For straight image creation and mounting, either would be a fine choice, IMHO. Both worked flawlessly. One thing to consider is that both come with lifetime upgrade protection. Magic ISO ($29.95) is much cheaper, even with Alcohol being offered at half price at the moment (39 euros ~ $57). Daemon Tools looks nice (I tried it YEARS ago), but is much more expensive when you consider that a license comes only with one year of upgrade protection. It's hard to tell from their respective web pages what features differentiate the three products. Alcohol and D-T Pro Advanced both have up to 31 virtual drives compared to MagicISO's 15... Other than that, a very superficial reading suggests to me that they're all pretty comparable.

Innuendo · « **Reply #13 on:** March 10, 2010, 03:53 PM »

Quote from: delwoode on March 09, 2010, 07:57 PM

I am still using daemon tools 3.7 at the moment as I have read on various forums that the later versions put spyware and rootkits on your computer, true? Also that they interfere with the sleep function on your laptop??

There are no spyware or rootkits installed with Daemon-Tools. The only thing to be aware of is during install you are offered to OPTIONALLY install their browser toolbar & to change your browser home page to their search engine page. These two things are easily turned off and only provide revenue streams to the authors.

I've used Daemon Tools Lite (latest version) on both a Dell & an Acer laptop recently and their sleep/hibernate functions were not interfered with in any way.

Innuendo · « **Reply #14 on:** March 10, 2010, 04:00 PM »

Quote from: Darwin on March 10, 2010, 01:49 PM

Magic ISO ($29.95) is much cheaper, even with Alcohol being offered at half price at the moment (39 euros ~ $57).

Alcohol 120% is awesome. However, I bought it a couple years ago when the normal price was ~$57 & I got it on sale for $35. Obviously, what I deem getting my money's worth is going to be different for someone buying today at a higher price.

Quote

Daemon Tools looks nice (I tried it YEARS ago), but is much more expensive when you consider that a license comes only with one year of upgrade protection.

Daemon Tools had a total interface overhaul just recently so if anyone tried it a long time ago they should try it again to see what the new experience is like. The main thing to keep in mind when comparing versions of Daemon Tools is that most people will be perfectly happy with the free version. The only real limitations of the free version are being limited to 4 virtual drives and not being able to create virtual IDE drives.

If you have special 'hard-core' needs like needing 31 virtual drives & the ability to create virtual IDE drives, then yeah...by all means look at the commercial versions, but for most people the free version will be more than sufficient.

Darwin · « **Reply #15 on:** March 10, 2010, 05:52 PM »

Quote from: Innuendo on March 10, 2010, 04:00 PM

Alcohol 120% is awesome. However, I bought it a couple years ago when the normal price was ~$57 & I got it on sale for $35. Obviously, what I deem getting my money's worth is going to be different for someone buying today at a higher price.nd not being able to create virtual IDE drives.

No arguments from me! I bought it myself recently (a couple of months ago?). I use it everyday. I also have a license for Magic ISO - I probably *could* have used it to repair the CD that I was trying to use (my ten year old copy of StarCraft: BroodWar), but found Alcohol easier to use.

Lashiec · « **Reply #16 on:** March 10, 2010, 11:09 PM »

Personally I prefer Virtual CloneDrive, but I'm forced to use Daemon Tools, since it's the only option with proper cuesheet support, which is essential for those pesky multitrack images. The program itself is nice, but I'm no fan of having SPTD installed on the system. Plus, Virtual CloneDrive lets you put a sheep as your drive icon :D

Innuendo · « **Reply #17 on:** March 11, 2010, 12:06 AM »

Virtual CloneDrive is nice, but does it make images as well as mounting them? That's what the OP was asking for.

Lashiec · « **Reply #18 on:** March 11, 2010, 12:13 AM »

Oooh, missed that part. MagicDisc can though, but I use IsoBuster or ImgBurn to image my games.

delwoode · « **Reply #19 on:** March 13, 2010, 02:26 PM »

Quote from: Lashiec on March 10, 2010, 11:09 PM

Personally I prefer Virtual CloneDrive, but I'm forced to use Daemon Tools, since it's the only option with proper cuesheet support, which is essential for those pesky multitrack images. The program itself is nice, but I'm no fan of having SPTD installed on the system. Plus, Virtual CloneDrive lets you put a sheep as your drive icon

What is SPTD short for? Spyware?

Josh · « **Reply #20 on:** March 13, 2010, 02:32 PM »

Scsi-Pass-Through-Direct.

Innuendo · « **Reply #21 on:** March 13, 2010, 05:40 PM »

Quote from: delwoode on March 13, 2010, 02:26 PM

What is SPTD short for? Spyware?

To semi-quote DuplexSecure's download page:

"SCSI Pass Through Direct (SPTD) layer (xx bit). Basically SPTD is similar to other access layers used by other programs who provide access to storage devices but it has a lot more features that make this interface unique."

Both Daemon Tools & Alcohol 120% use this layer to interact with drives. Other programs may use it as well, but I have used both of these programs for years & never had a problem with SPTD.