XP: Small, Free Way to Use and Mount Images (ISO files) Without Burning Them

Contributed by MickeyMouse

Tagged: Windows

Microsoft has an unsupported virtual CD-ROM program. Why buy alcohol or Daemon Tools?

Alcohol and Daemon Tools are excellent software packages that allow users to mount ISO files as virtual CD-ROMs. Yes, there is a way to use that ISO without burning it to a disk.

Although I love these tools, Microsoft has a free, 60kb program that does the same thing! Of course, it is not supported… and it’s not as friendly as the software listed above; however, it works and it’s free.

Here’s the download link:
winxpvirtualcdcontrolpanel

Here’s the readme:

THIS TOOL IS UNSUPPORTED BY MICROSOFT PRODUCT SUPPORT SERVICES

System Requirements
===================
- Windows XP Home or Windows XP Professional

Installation instructions
=========================
1. Copy VCdRom.sys to your %systemroot%\system32\drivers folder.
2. Execute VCdControlTool.exe
3. Click “Driver control”
4. If the “Install Driver” button is available, click it. Navigate to the %systemroot%\system32\drivers folder, select VCdRom.sys, and click Open.
5. Click “Start”
6. Click OK
7. Click “Add Drive” to add a drive to the drive list. Ensure that the drive added is not a local drive. If it is, continue to click “Add Drive” until an unused drive letter is available.
8. Select an unused drive letter from the drive list and click “Mount”.
9. Navigate to the image file, select it, and click “OK”. UNC naming conventions should not be used, however mapped network drives should be OK.

You may now use the drive letter as if it were a local CD-ROM device. When you are finished you may unmount, stop, and remove the driver from memory using the driver control.

185 Comments -

MAP said on October 16, 2008

Thanks for the help.
This is good and it works on Windows 2003. However, only you remove the driver you cannot install it again and it would probably need a reboot to be able to install it again.
Mark said on October 20, 2008

i really want to git this to work but every time i try to open the .sys thing in install driver window it says acess is denied and it wont work im currently running on windows vista is that a possible reason why its not working
Jhun said on October 21, 2008

Thanks for the information. Great! so easy.
Manphish said on October 21, 2008

Okay so I followed through with the instructions, and I’m sure that I messed up somehow, but the virtual drive that I mounted the .iso to just says “Windows cannot read from this disk. The disk might be corrupted, or it could be using a format that is not compatible with Windows.”
Is it something I did? Or is it the .iso file that has the problem?
Michael said on October 22, 2008

I just installed the tool – no problem here. I suspect that the iso-image is corrupt.
By the way: thanks for the tip!
Shibu Dev said on October 28, 2008

Does it work with Windows Vista. I tried but failed.
ronzo said on November 1, 2008

thanks works great so far
BadBear said on November 4, 2008

Superb thanks, saves me loads of disks and hassle
mv288 said on November 10, 2008

GoI suspected something like this. Am sure Microsoft teams wouldn’t be using
all kinds of crap out there for this functionality. Perhaps there aren’t releasing
this utility to not run into anti-trust and ridiculous US patent issues…and waste their time.

Good Stuff.
Angey said on November 11, 2008

Can this be used with VIsta? Am having troulble after step 3, it says the ‘handle’ is invalid.
Anonymous said on November 11, 2008

Can this be used with Vista? Am having trouble after step 3. It says the handle is invalid
davak said on November 12, 2008

I use it with Vista but it is not as stable. I believe you have to run it as admin and in xp compatibility mode.
sms world said on November 23, 2008

thanks works great so far
MJL said on November 26, 2008

Awesome, highly recommended. Who needs Alcohol? :)
Fellipe Cicconi said on November 26, 2008

Best tip ever. Thanks
Steven said on November 27, 2008

Worked perfectly in vista
gasapi said on December 1, 2008

i love you
Kathleen said on December 5, 2008

On my machine, I was getting that error because I did not have admin rights on my machine and therefore could not update drivers (.sys file). Once I was granted admin rights, I did not see the “invalid handle” error
Chris said on December 8, 2008

awesome… thanks!
lazyadmin said on December 8, 2008

Confirmed on Vista Ent with VLK works 100%

easy to use and easy to setup
Daniel said on December 10, 2008

Great post. Exactly what I needed and it works like a charm. (thanks to google for keeping this post on the top).
Vis said on December 16, 2008

It works great. I also tried to run this on windows which was running on MAC with parallels.
rach said on December 16, 2008

This worked for me, thanks!!
tarun said on December 17, 2008

hii..
did u find solution for this problem?
If yes please let me know I am having the same problem.

Thanks in Advance.

Tarun
Gloudas said on December 18, 2008

Hey, I followed all the steps, everything seems to have worked just fine, but… I can’t actually use the image file itself. I guess I’m a little unclear on what this does.

I have an ISO file, and I did everything on it, but its still just sitting there as a file. Is there some way I’m able to run it now, or what? If anyone could enlighten me on what I’m supposed to be doing or producing through this that’d be great.
Gloudas said on December 18, 2008

Nevermind, I figured it out.
eternam said on December 18, 2008

Thanks, helped a lot!
Naren said on December 18, 2008

Thank you very much. The tool worked fine, but now im facing problem while unmounting the drive. The stop button is disabled in the driver control window. I ve tried to remove driver but it was giving the following message.
“The service cannot accept control message at this time.”
Kindly telly me how to unmount the drive.
mugglesquop said on December 18, 2008

brilliant cheers!
Ralph said on December 21, 2008

Wow, this thing just saved me lots of time. Thanks.
Polion_iv said on December 23, 2008

this is off topic, but i have EasyCreateIso to create the image of a dvd/cd/game disc. and everytime it created a .zip image file and i can’t mount this image on a virtual drive that i created. help ??? is there a better “free” program that create an .iso file for easy mounting ??
Syd said on December 26, 2008

Thank you, works better/easier than all the rubbish I used before
Dom said on December 30, 2008

Thanks for that. I loved this app on xp and was getting frustated that vista wouldn’t seem to work.
Avatar said on December 31, 2008

Works perfectly under Windows 7… No other software would install :(
Thankies for the quick guide and tools needed
Arul Prakash D said on January 9, 2009

Can anyone help me, I am unable to Mount ISO, message shown as “Mount Failed” also I am not able to Remove the Drive.

Regards,
Arul.
ban said on January 10, 2009

It worked for me. Great!

Thank you very much for your help
ravib said on January 14, 2009

Love it. thanks MickeyMouse !

You dont have to install the VCDRom.sys in the systems32 folder. The link above is a winzip distributable. You can unzip the file contents to any folder. When it asks for the driver file, simply navigate to the folder where you unzipped the files to, and choose the sys file.
reece said on January 15, 2009

what if i do not have permision to accsess the folder
qwerty123 said on January 17, 2009

cant work with vista, fail
Noah said on January 19, 2009

Thanks for the link! This really saved my life. xD
Fireman said on January 23, 2009

Great little app! Thanks Mickey :)
haster said on January 25, 2009

Hi it says that the cd is unformated. I can’t burn it. Please some one help me.
Aamen said on January 25, 2009

thanks it worked with me
P4 Win xp SP 2
t41 said on January 26, 2009

daemon lite is free = so why bother – Microsoft should have these types of tools integrated into software for the money we pay
Anon said on January 27, 2009

Windows 7:

When I hit Start, it says, “This driver has been blocked from loading.”

I am running as administrator and as XP SP2 compatability mode.

Maybe I should try putting the file in the system32 folder, someone said I did not need to.
Anon said on January 27, 2009

No, putting the file in the system32 folder in Windows 7 means it basically becomes invisible because I can’t see anything in the folder when I browse to it.

What is a good light program without ads, spyware, or viruses, no 30 day periods, that can mount ISOs in Windows 7?

I used Alcohol 52% just fine in Vista previously but now I can’t find a version that isn’t a 30 day trial or spyware that requires you to install some stupid toolbar to use the program.

Thanks in advance for any help.
Anon said on January 29, 2009

I’m on Windows 7 64bit by the way.

I tried Alcohol 120% and it did not work.

Anyone know any programs that work on Windows 7?
Anon said on January 31, 2009

Ditto.

I tried Alcohol 120%, DaemonLite Free, MagicISO Maker, Virtual CloneDrive, I think I even downloaded a 64 bit version of one of them.

I am on Windows 7 64 bit. None of the above programs worked, WinXP VirtualCD says, “This driver has been blocked from loading,” when I hit Start.

I am running as administrator and as XP SP2 compatability mode.

Alcohol 120%, DaemonLite Free, MagicISO Maker, Virtual CloneDrive, WinXP VirtualCD do not work for me on Windows 7 64 bit. I will have to make some DVDs with the isos I have but what can I do with a 7 GB iso? My DVDs are only 4.7 GB DVD+Rs.
omar said on February 3, 2009

thanks a lot

this is heaven
bunny said on February 3, 2009

this is briliant — just 60kb thats awsome
and it works well ..

thanks
Anon said on February 3, 2009

UltraISO works with Windows 7 64 bit.
aart said on February 11, 2009

this works great it is a good way for mount a virtualdrive from a iso but is there a way
for make it a boot cd ??
vince said on February 12, 2009

Good piece, thanks!
JimmyB said on February 19, 2009

used this about 3 years ago… needed it again today for extracting the installers out of microsofts own downloadable visual studio iso. works like a charm. tx
hal9000 said on February 20, 2009

Hi! Awesome stuff. Thanks :)
Doesn't work said on February 20, 2009

“the driver has been blocked from loading”

i get that msg on Win XP 64b

it doesn’t work on 64b!
MRS... said on February 23, 2009

Worked like a charm, thanks!
Rick said on February 27, 2009

This is exactly what I needed!!! Thanks for the post
nick said on March 1, 2009

where is that file you need to put it in? plz email a prometheusf1r3@gmail.com if you can help me
Fuzzybunny said on March 1, 2009

I love you. And Google for finding me this page.
THEONE said on March 11, 2009

THANK YOU VERY MUCH… IT WORKS FOR ME…
KEEP ON HELPING…
KNOWLEDGE SHOULD BE SHARED…
jonny said on March 22, 2009

Uh… Daemon Tools works and it’s also free.
Worshak said on March 27, 2009

Okay, for anyone interested in this, listen up, it’s fairly straight forward.
1) Not all ISOs, when put into file format, will work with this tool. Just happens sometimes.
2) The install instructions are posted above, please follow those exactly.
3) I did not create the .exe file, but I have used it before, and it is safe (as far as i can tell).
4) The real goal is to prevent CD damage, and still have the functionality for your pograms.
Prop said on March 29, 2009

Works great!
alone said on April 5, 2009

thanks a lot! it works with my xp =D
Moe said on April 6, 2009

Wow, perfect it works great. No more using discs to burn my ISOs to.

Thanks
Brandon said on April 12, 2009

I tried to do it but it keeps saying “Mount Failed” ever time I tried to mount. I’ve tried with almost every drive so that’s not the problem.
tje laughing guy said on April 15, 2009

HAHAHAHHA MEsa LOL’ed!!!
NRG said on April 16, 2009

maaaannnnnnnnnnnnnnnn!!! thanks a ton! this was exactly what i was looking for :)))) it did the job in less then 30 seconds. There where i otherwie would have needed to install some overbloated software with it’s trial limitations this app is free and worked perfect for me. this iso mounter goes from now on with me on a USB stick :)))) thanks again for the tip!!!
lillo said on April 17, 2009

really fine work!
catarina said on April 17, 2009

Where in the world is this folder? I looked in system 32, but ???
%systemroot%system32drivers folder

Can someone please let me know?

TIA!
Batmac said on April 20, 2009

Worked great thanks!
Fai27 said on April 24, 2009

Hooooooo, wow, this is so convenient. Installing CoD1 here, and There are 2 CD’s so I just made 2 freaking drives with one CD on each, and I mounted/unmounted when requested. Jesus it could NOT get easier.
mike d said on April 28, 2009

everytime i try to mount a .iso file it simply says, mount failed, ive followed the instructions flawlessly, any ideas?
Richard said on May 5, 2009

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/Downloads/powertoys/Xppowertoys.mspx

You can download Tweat UI.

In tweak UI, you can remove drives from explorer among many other things…
grawss said on May 7, 2009

Tried it in Windows7. Running as Admin got me past the driver load error, but it blue-screened and my install divided by zero. Reboot, nothing. Win7 repair, nothing. So I safe-moded the sucker out of drivers and logged back in okay. Maybe try it on a 32bit system?

It seems these awesome little virtual programs are being flushed by Microsoft. I see they’re possible thanks to the obvious Virtual XP deal Microsoft just released, but none of my old utilities have a chance. :(
Dan said on May 7, 2009

Works Great! Nice little utility.
Thanks
Adult Acne said on May 8, 2009

Great suggestion for that piece of software. Thanks :D
WhitE-DeMoN said on May 9, 2009

Awesome program… There is no need for restarting the computer as all new programs do.
Nice job.
BG said on May 10, 2009

Nice. Thnx
me said on May 15, 2009

Works great. If you always get the “mount failed” error, you need to make sure your path has no space, so put the iso in you root drive and remove any spaces from the name of the iso
Jeremy said on May 17, 2009

Hah, it makes so much sense I should be angry I didn’t think of it right away. Thanks a bunch :D
Ata said on May 18, 2009

I tried it with windows XP .It works fine. Great thanks.
your momma said on May 24, 2009

thanks
Chris said on May 25, 2009

This was just what I needed and worked flawlessly for me (XP Pro, SP2). Thanks for the great article!
Jack said on May 27, 2009

Didn’t work says there is no File to run, and when i install the Driver again it says Marked for deletion ? lol
RHI said on May 28, 2009

Ace . .just what I was looking for!
Mike said on May 29, 2009

when i go to mount it it asks me to install a disk………… can someone help please? thanks
RTFM said on June 4, 2009

Yea!!!! Thanks!!
Lee Oades said on June 16, 2009

Absolutely brilliant, thanks.
steve said on June 20, 2009

this is really cool. i can’t stand bloated overthought software. daemon tools messed up my computer too.
Anonymous said on June 20, 2009

Works 100% for me.

when you download the file from the link, there is a file called VCdrom.sys TOGETHER WITH THE EXE. you MUST put this file in your sysyem32/drivers folder for this to work
Rex Saffer said on June 26, 2009

This is so cool I had to go pee. Works like a charm.
JimboJones said on June 29, 2009

Loaded in Windows 7 32bit, mount an ISO but can’t find the drive letter?! :(
Joe said on July 4, 2009

Ty so much for that link. it’s 100% work for me.
Dusitn said on July 6, 2009

awesome thanks
Bex said on July 23, 2009

Wow, this works brilliantly! I deal with disk images a lot, but have no common sense, so I forget what I’ve named them. Using this utility, I can just open them up and see what’s in them, without spending money on a third party program. Great find!
Anonymous said on July 30, 2009

Once i mount file it pulls up the mounted file, bu when i click on i nohing happens.
Name said on August 6, 2009

just
Computer > C > Windows > System 32 > Drivers

it’ll just be named “Drivers”
Anonymous said on August 8, 2009

When it says navigate to the image file i don’t know what that is or where it is. Please help, thanks
H said on August 9, 2009

The image file is the file you’re trying to mount. They are sometimes called image files, iso files, etc.
Davie Mac said on August 9, 2009

Thanks man!
Name said on August 16, 2009

I installed the driver per the instructions. My %systemroot% = C:WIN2K
in the Driver control window appears the following:
Virtual CD-ROM Device Driver : (??C:WIN2Ksystem32driversVCdRom.sys)
then I close out of Driver control. and click “AddDrive”. This automatically populates Z: into the drive list. then as a test I open Z: from Explorer. I get a dialog requesting to isnert a disk. This appears normal and an approriate response given that I have not yet mounted an image file. next I go back and mount an image file.
I do so by clicking mount then browse to an iso file. I double click the iso file which brings be back to the mount window. then I click ok. I get a message,” Mount Failed”, however in the drive list it shows Z: in the maped image field it shows ??F:Dirmyiso.iso
I go back to explorer and try to open z: again. now I get and error stating Z: is not accessable. incorrect function.

what’s the problem how can I fix this?
DLF said on September 1, 2009

I just stumbled upon this today and love that it works rather simply! No more annoying Daemon Tools verifications or anything, I have this and it works great :3
Mary said on September 4, 2009

was this reply saying you could use this in Vista?
the site says it is for 32bit only?
So guess that rules out this for me.. :((((
Peter said on September 7, 2009

Wonderfull tip!!! Thanks MM
heather said on September 29, 2009

doesn’t mount bin/cue files though
Anonymous said on September 30, 2009

Just Love this tool…. never thought we could do this with the ISO images.. cool.. thanks
Anonymous said on October 3, 2009

Already run CDdControlTool.exe but when click Driver Control button, it appears a window with an alert: “Cannot Open SCM: Access Denied”. but it opens it anyway. then when trying to install the driver, another alert window appears: “Controller not valid”
Anonymous said on October 5, 2009

Hi,

Thanks for a great info and clear manual!

Cheers
Sylvia said on October 5, 2009

Is there a Vista version for this software? P13453 let me know, thanks!
Anonymous said on October 15, 2009

thank you very much-whoever made this
winxp virtual cd control panel, let it free and suggested it
it works!-)
Anonymous said on October 28, 2009

Daemon tool lite is free and easy to use.
Anonymous said on October 28, 2009

I go through the whole setup (which is damned easy), find the ISO file, but when I try to mount it, the application returns an error: “Mount Failed.”

:(
Sangamesh said on November 3, 2009

This works just fine. Useful tip. Thanks!
Me said on November 14, 2009

People should bother cause this little .exe is far more simple than that crap daemon gives us? Not to mention the Adware in it…
liz said on November 17, 2009

tried to use this prgram however I folloew the installation instructions to the letter and execute the program click driver control and it says cannot open SCM. access is denied, please help, liz
Anonymous said on December 9, 2009

worked well fast and easy no need for the fancy crap just like everything else with a label
Anonymous said on December 17, 2009

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Anonymous said on December 24, 2009

wher can i find drivers control. i dunno how to execute.
Name said on January 1, 2010

Didn’t work on a clean install of Windows 7 (home, 32-bit).

Just refused to actually mount the file — ignored the first attempt and returned “Mount Failed” thereafter.
Anonymous said on January 8, 2010

seems like this works only with .iso files. Is that right?
colorzone said on January 13, 2010

How to Mount iso? http://www.winmount.com/mount_iso.html

Winmount(www.winmount.com) is a powerful windows utility which is dedicated to managing files and disks impressively and conveniently. WinMount supports compressing files to MOU RAR ZIP 7Z, decompressing and browsing MOU ZIP RAR CAB ARJ ISO GZ BZ2 TAR WIM files.

WinMount can mount MOU RAR ZIP to a virtual disk or a local folder, which enabling you to use the files inside directly without extraction, saves your time and disk space dramatically.

WinMount is also an image tool, supports mounting ISO ISZ BIN MDS/MDF NRG IMG CCD CUE to virtual DVD-ROM, supports mounting FLAC, APE, WV, WAVE to virtual CD-ROM, supports mounting VHD, VDI, VMDK, WMT, Microsoft WIM, and folder as a HDD virtual disk.

In addition, WinMount can create a new blank RAM-disk, size from 64M to 4G, data will be lost when restart.
Anonymous said on January 17, 2010

Excellent, thanks for the tip.
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Some kinda long-haired hippy said on February 5, 2010

wow dude thanks
Name said on February 18, 2010

What do I do if I mount an ISO and then it asks me to place the disk in? In this case its Age of Wonders 2.
Neil said on February 26, 2010

Great simple way to mount iso’s. Thanks for the info!
Konrad said on March 19, 2010

Great tool! Thanks for info and link!
Anonymous said on March 22, 2010

I’ve been using this for a couple days now on my netbook and it works great. I never needed anything like this before because I always had a disk drive. With the netbook I was a little frustrated that I couldn’t have some games that needed a cd and I finally got around to doing some hunting around and found this– now I can finally have something better to do when I have to wait around for a long time!
Anonymous said on March 23, 2010

cough cough.. when i try to mount Windows 7 Ultimate, it failed
Anonymous said on March 29, 2010

thank you
Anonymous said on March 29, 2010

thank you
Oh mine.. said on April 25, 2010

You CANNOT install a OS with this.
Use vmware or burn the image on a cd/dvd.
Samith said on May 19, 2010

thanks a lot.. simply it works….
Isaac Comer-Wyrd said on May 22, 2010

A native Windows program that lets you view the contents of an .iso. No need for DeamonTools.
–
Furry cows moo and decompress.
Andre said on May 29, 2010

Thanks great hint
Siegfred said on May 31, 2010

why i cant install the driver, it says “The Handle is Invalid”, any clue..
boris said on June 3, 2010

good stuff fkn…
Alexis Rizzman said on June 4, 2010

I tried doing the above and the result was that I managed to create a virtual drive which I now want to get rid of and have no idea how! I hope someone might be able to help!
Lickydog said on June 10, 2010

It is probably a copy-protected disc and is not recognising the virtual image as valid.
Lickydog said on June 10, 2010

I should try MagicDisk from MagicISO – it’s free and should be better supported. he VCD from MS is not fully featured wrt autorun or ISO files on mapped drives/UNC shares.
windows data recovery said on June 21, 2010

It has been proved to be of great use for windows users. I have used the stellar phoenix windows data recovery software V4.2 and recovered all my mails and photos.
anonymous said on June 22, 2010

My problem: when I navigate to the systems folder again to select the .sys file from the program, it says that “the handle is invalid”. What the hell does that mean and what do i do to fix this?
Dennis said on June 23, 2010

When I’m at step 4, I get the message: (In Dutch): De toegang is ongeldig. Which I believe could be translated to; The admission is invalid.
What to do?! xD
Now, I’m a total noob when it comes to ‘computer-language’ so if one could explain it in simple words, please do so.
Thanks!

Dennis, The Netherlands
Dennis said on June 23, 2010

Oh wait, I found the solution myself.
You just need to run the VCdControlTool as administrator. It worked for me. ;)
Anonymous said on June 23, 2010

Exactly, this continues to work in vista and windows 7. The user just has to be sure to run everything as admin.
Mikaboots said on June 28, 2010

Worked like a charm! Thank you so much.
Steve Branley said on July 2, 2010

Why does windows need a separate download just to mount ISO images anyway? How very primative! In linux we can mount just be right clicking or using ‘mount -o loop ‘. SO much easier.
Steve Branley said on July 2, 2010

While I expect this information comes about 5 years too late…
The ‘image file’ is the file that you want to mount. It usually have a .iso file extension.
Jneels said on July 2, 2010

late thread…
cannot mount on xp64, it says driver blocked from loading. any ideas? (works computer so i dont want to install ‘other’ programs.
Abraham Clooney said on July 8, 2010

yeah it doesn’t support .bin or .cue T_T
Lazerbrain343 said on July 20, 2010

Im so happy with this that I’d like to mount you.
Woggie said on August 9, 2010

You are just an abusive A-hole who wants to find the planet where everybody knows everything you do, but who will find himself unsatisfied when he gets there because he will have no one to abuse.
Melvinrioscal said on August 16, 2010

Macs do it right from the OS, have since 2000.
Alexey Supra said on September 5, 2010

FileDisk ISO Mounter
http://www.jeffothy.com/weblog/filedisk-iso-mounter/
is much more useful. tested a lot. good choice.
Kedatinh_alone said on September 8, 2010

i’ve done exactly what readme tell me to do , but when i install drive , i select vcdrom.sys it say “the handle invalid” , can you check it please , thanks so much
Pdofpoov said on September 14, 2010

Thanks. Is it work in Windows 7?
Daugauh Smumurr said on October 6, 2010

i cant use it within win 7 sigh….
RocCityPhoto said on October 13, 2010

Works great, Thanks!
Gamerteen4 said on October 24, 2010

Well that explains why it isn’t working for me…………
Benni6869 said on October 26, 2010

i did all the stps right but when i get to step 4. “If the “Install Driver” button is available, click it. Navigate to the %systemroot%system32drivers folder, select VCdRom.sys, and click Open.” the VCdRom.sys does not appear in the list even when i select show all option but when i open the file by itself it is there so what am i doing wrong?
Anon said on November 22, 2010

6 years later and this worked for me! I run WinXP using VirtualBox on a Fedora Host system. The pass-thru for the physical cdrom works but Windows XP was reporting the Office XP disc as unreadable. I created an iso of the disc on another machine but was then unable to install Daemon Tools Lite in the virtual machine! Anyway, I tried this method and it worked perfectly.
Aston said on December 2, 2010

This VCDTool control tool isn’t working

I’m running the program as Administrator, I’ve got as far as:
1. Copy VCdRom.sys to your %systemroot%system32drivers folder.
2. Execute VCdControlTool.exe
3. Click “Driver control”
4. If the “Install Driver” button is available, click it. Navigate to the %systemroot%system32drivers folder, select VCdRom.sys, and click Open.
5. Click “Start”

I then get:
‘This Driver has been blocked from loading’

I’ve tried it in different compatibility modes and moving the file vcdrom.sys to a different location

I’m on a Windows Home 7 64 bit OS
Anonymous said on December 3, 2010

I think it has been repeatedly demonstrated that using this tool likely will not work in windows 7.
Bobby said on December 16, 2010

What a jerk…So I’d assume you came out of the womb knowing what an image file was…I’m learning as you once learned…grow up.
Stuart said on December 19, 2010

It’s not actually Windows 7 – it’s any 64-bit OS.

You can’t use 32-bit drivers (which is what vcdcontrol is) on a 64-bit platform.
Hang N Around said on January 1, 2011

OK, like many of you I had problems getting Virtual CD-ROM Control Panel v2.0.1.1 to work. I kept getting “the handle invalid” message. So after trial and error I finally got it to work on Vista 32bit and Win 7 32bit. Download the file and extract. Open the folder you extracted to, right click on VCdRom.sys and select copy. Go to C DriveWindowsSystem32Drivers, right click and select paste. Close window and go back to folder where Virtual CD-Rom is located. Right click on VCdControlTool.exe and select (Run as administrator). You should then be able to select Driver Control and Install Driver. Hope this clears up some of the confusion. Enjoy
IndyIram said on January 18, 2011

wow i was just having problem and this solves it. Thanks you very much for the solution.
Popcornr35 said on January 27, 2011

My problem comes after copying VCdRom.sys into the the drivers file. I opened up the program and clicked Driver Control to get to Install Drive. The problem is is that I can’t install it. I see VCdRom.sys right there but it says that the handle is invalid. If you could help with this soon it would be greatly appreciated.
Popcornr35 said on January 28, 2011

Forget my previous post. A new problem has risen. I did all that Hang N Around had suggested which worked beautifully, but now my problem is that I can’t mount my iso on it. Strange enough I did it the first time in Admin but I couldn’t do it as just a regular user. Then when I tried to go back and try to mount it again it FAILS! Its bugging me but I will be looking more into it.Will keep posted if anyone wants to know if I ever fix my little problem.
Proscopon said on February 28, 2011

Well… After reading some of the comments… I just can’t understand them.
If you calmmly read the instructions, it’s all there.
I keep using it for some time (years) and I’ve never had any problems.
mma said on March 22, 2011

Amazing, Thanx a lot
Mahenxx said on April 9, 2011

I NEed HELPP…
When i now click on my computer there are lots of CD drives …..can somebody help me remove these..
Anonymous said on April 9, 2011

If it says “Mount Failed” that might be because the file name is too long. This programm can only read a certain number of characters in the path to the ISO file. Please add this to the guide.
bigrig said on May 13, 2011

Or you can try stopping the driver and then start it again. Worked for me. try stopping the driver and then start it again. Worked for me.
Cozettie said on June 9, 2011

where is %systemroot%system32drivers folder.
Cozettie said on June 9, 2011

where is %systemroot%system32drivers folder.
Lostte said on June 9, 2011

thank you, great tip
lacoste polo said on June 17, 2011

i have used daemon tools all the time in the past but somehow it was crashing a server with RAID and not allowing the computer to boot up.. also it is adware now and a little annoying – so I am glad to find out about this MS tool.
eteRniTY said on July 2, 2011

Cool/Hott recipe!!
bank said on September 13, 2011

The first priority of the site administrator for your comments right know, thank you. Really very good information-sharing gives you.
danny walker said on November 25, 2011

does this work on windows 7?
AnnoyedGuy said on January 9, 2012

I have followed the instructions as given and reached the end. It states:

“You may now use the drive letter as if it were a local CD-ROM device.”

However, I cannot find the drive letter (I’m using Z:) under ‘Computer’ (I’m using Windows Vista).

Am I missing something? Where is the problem?

I have definitely done everything in the instructions, so how do I use the drive letter?

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XP: Small, Free Way to Use and Mount Images (ISO files) Without Burning Them

Microsoft has an unsupported virtual CD-ROM program. Why buy alcohol or Daemon Tools?

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