How Do I Use or Open Bin, Cue, or ISO Files?
Contributed by David Kirk 
Tagged: Windows People frequently get confused regarding these file types. Here’s how to use these files. Updated.
- *.bin
*.cue
*.iso
These file extensions are commonly used to show that a file is an image of a CD or DVD.
The most simple way to access these files is to use your CD or DVD Burner to burn them to a disk. Nero is a common program that is used to burn bin/cue files to hard media.
One really nice thing to do is to treat these files as a virtual CD or DVD without ever burning them. Daemon Tools is one program that is often used to do this. Microsoft now has a free program that does this as well.
The other place that *.bin files are frequently used are in emulation software. Gaming roms are often stored in compressed files full of bin files. If you have a zip file full of *.bin files, try Mame or some similar emulator.
Updated for some minor edits and spelling changes.
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Muggle said on October 8, 2008
Thank you for this useful informations.
harvey said on January 1, 2009
i use PowerIso to open the files and put them on a virtual drive works great
blue64 said on January 2, 2009
oof, you might have just downloaded a virus, sorry dude. nothing EVER will ask you to replace ANYTHING in your (main drive):/windows/system32 folder cause the only thing in that specific folder that’s .dll is all your windows OS (Operating System) drivers which are all very important…unless you want a very expensive brick.
Umaid said on January 10, 2009
Power ISO player is also best , because it is doesnot require any CD burner and save lot of time. try it and enjoy.
nems said on January 10, 2009
hey i downloaded a game on bitcomet for my pc. and when the download was complete the files are .bin
how do i play the game..any know?
FreeRyde said on January 19, 2009
Mount it
Timos said on February 11, 2009
http://www.poweriso.com/ works the mounting and manipulation of iso’s and others of the sort extremely nicely.
BAss... said on February 11, 2009
Helpful, Thanks
biggMan said on February 12, 2009
ive downloaded a game which was separated in 4cd.. ive mounted all 4 cd in 4 different virtual device using daemon tool.. all ive got in every device was 3file- an image file, CNF file and another weird one, 92file… what the heck should i do with this… plsssss help!!!!
Bladewarez said on February 25, 2009
Many thanks buddy, i was really stuck with the Game- Audio Surf, it was in Bin/Cue format and until i read this info on your page i wasn’t able to open it. but now i have read this is very clear, i just used Power ISO v4.3 (registered) to mount the image to a virtual drive, then it installed no probs.
Cheers Dude
luke said on March 21, 2009
hi. if u help refer to me as luke so i know ure helping me ;) i just dowloaded spyro the dragon on playstation 1 and i have a bin and cue file. i havent the foggiest what to do with these and have wasted 5 cds trying to get it to work. any ideas any1 plzzzzz :)
Dave said on April 23, 2009
Thanxs for the info. I learned something new.
Anonymous said on April 27, 2009
i have ibm pentium 3 i downloaded battle realms wich i exrect then there comes flt.bin i not how to open it
pwnerer said on June 29, 2009
DOWNS t3h m-lakx est pwnxach 1337?!?!?!?!?!? (-_-)
Anonymous said on July 19, 2009
ya well how do i open it??? i just got a torrent game and it has some cue and bin files i need to know how to put it on a disk, do i put the bin and cue files on a disk or just cue??
Anonymous said on July 23, 2009
Use Daemon tools..Just google “daemon tools” and download it..then after installing the software ,use it to open the bin files..
good luck !
Brandur said on August 4, 2009
Or use MagicDisc to mount with, I find it to be way better than Daemon Tools. I also use MagicISO to compress or make ISO files if I get a file that is not made into a picture, or when I am making pictures of my own CD’s (God I love having the pictures and virtual drives, I always lose my CD’s xD)
aa said on August 25, 2009
.cue
Minz said on September 10, 2009
my 2 cents.. download ‘undisker’.. i’ll do the job.. undisker can use for iso files as well.. i just used for bin file and worked.. gud luck
Anonymous said on September 18, 2009
Hello folks, first time i have came across these bin files and not sure what to do regarding my burn process. 1. I downloaded game. 2. I unpacked game which gave me the usual ISO file & burn file but also gave me a file named Security_Sectors containing three bin files. I’m now confused on my next move regarding the burn process, can anyone help me?.
Anonymous said on September 19, 2009
Nah, you could just use Linux, eh.
Or reinstall Win again.
(Unless you mess with the BIOS. Hehehehe. That’s the way to make your PC a brick)
eckert said on September 23, 2009
just the info i needed, thanks. used alcohol and it worked perfick.
Anonymous said on October 17, 2009
I have Daemon tools and have used it before for another game which came as an iso file. When i opened that game it wouldn’t work, kept saying the CD-rom wasn’t there, but as makes sense, the game had a folder in it which was for the No-cd runaround. It was the icon to actually play the game which didn’t work in that folder, and a doc instructing me to copy that game icon to the program files, overwriting the gaming icon there.
I’m sure people know about this as its probably a common technique for playing otherwise CD-only games.
My problem is that I have another game now which is bin/cue format. I’ve got it mounted fine, it installed properly as it should and appears as my virtual drive, but it has the same problem, saying “Please insert the correct CD-rom, press OK and restart the application” and I can’t find any instructions for how to get around that amongst the rest of the game files.
I’ve tried doing the same sort of thing I did with the first game but I’m pretty much just stabbing in the dark. Does anyone know how I am supposed to get around the “Must insert CD’ problem and have it work on my hard-drive?
Anonymous said on October 17, 2009
Just to clarify, the first game I had worked fine and I play all the time. I have no problems with mounting or anything, that’s fine. It’s simply about how once it’s all done and I click the game to play it, it won’t work and says the CD-rom needs to be in there, even though I’ve already mounted it in a virtual drive. Doesn’t that defeat the point?
Needz Help said on October 17, 2009
Yeah… Can I mount a .bin with this? I have been wondering, please respond back soon. im a little puzzled
Anonymous said on October 27, 2009
Hey use daemon tools its free. You can access any files using this software. Or undisker.
Bless
Anonymous said on November 22, 2009
Thanks for the useful information.
Anonymous said on November 28, 2009
hi! i dl’d a game witch is in 2 folder “DVD1″ “DVD2″ so i got through the 1st but the DVD2 folders has these “setup-2a.bin, setup-2b.bin and a setup2c.bin” so how do i get through these?? is there a way to do it without using any burning programs?
marty nation said on December 9, 2009
Uh, Yeah. and like what is the answer? you still never said how to use them. Or open them. You forgot to answer the question. I know you know how to do it but your answer isn’t an answer. You didn’t tell me how to. i still don’t know and will have to go to a different site
Anonymous said on December 11, 2009
Just open the file with winzip or Winrar and it would work perfectly
Anonymous said on December 30, 2009
Cod modern warfare 2 ;) proper skidrow ;)
Pratik Mohapatra said on January 3, 2010
Yeah Nero works for this but the program is relatively heavier than daemon tools and alcohol….
Pratik Mohapatra said on January 3, 2010
Finally , I learned to use the .iso, .bin and. cue files…..Sense of achievement……
Anonymous said on January 17, 2010
to open iso and view contents, you can download dolphin emu->open .iso-> right click-> properties. there you can view the contents and extract what you want. Shouldn’t necessarily need to be a game to do this although it is more ment for games.
Motivate & Inspire Blogger said on January 31, 2010
I successfully used magic iso to mount the .bin file! Thanks!
nonos86 said on February 23, 2010
i realy need help i downloaded a game as a torrent an it was all bin files and 1 cue file so i downloaded deamon tools and tried the virtual cd thing it opened and i tried to install it but it said “game is not installed. This setup will exit”
plzzzzzzzzz help and try 2 b specific i realy don’t know much about how to use these stuf.
Anonymous said on March 2, 2010
I’m sorry disk PLEASE HELP ME!!!! If you can you would be a god.
Michael Jackson is KING said on March 13, 2010
thanks a lot!
Chandra Wijaya said on March 25, 2010
Thanks for bring this thing up. I really have no idea what is this bin file was.
Anonymous said on March 31, 2010
Why use .iso files? Are they compressed? Can you fit more data on a CD or DVD?
Mr Obvious said on April 2, 2010
“The most simple way to access these files is to use your CD or DVD Burner to burn them to a disk. Nero is a common program that is used to burn bin/cue files to hard media.”
Really? I would never have thought I would have had to use my CD burning software to place bin or .cue files onto my CD! How about instead of stating the frackin’ obvious you give people a step-by-step guide in Nero, as you clearly have paid so much for your high Google placement?
Anonymous said on April 14, 2010
in a .bin file every file of a certrain game is stored. i recommend you to convert these to .iso, BIN2ISO might be a good choice. you burn a .iso file on a CD-ROM, so you are able to install it. but idd, daemon tools works just as well.
saji said on April 14, 2010
am download NEED FOR SPEED game . that ia 2 bin file…. am using nero 6.1 but not born …. no to write to CD plz help me…. my id iasaji09@gmail.com
hi said on May 8, 2010
I have a .bin file. How do i open it? It’s a game by the way.
Anime said on May 11, 2010
Can’t you use PowerISO to extract the .bin files?
YoWatUpAddict said on June 5, 2010
Hey, I downloaded the crysis demo. when it was finished it arrived as a bin file. I tried to mount it with DMT but it wouldnt work. anyone who can solve this problem???
Dennis said on June 23, 2010
For anyone who gets the error about ‘Acces denied’ etc. I have the solution. Run the VCdControlTool as administrator. It worked for me ;)
Peter said on June 25, 2010
I mounted on the demon tool but after I tried to start the program, they said I need to insert a disc. someone help please?
Michael Richard Basher said on July 20, 2010
Thank you all,,, for the simple advice that can/could cause so much agro just for knowing/not-knowing,,, OH! and not forgetting the ‘humour’ so generated!,, Ace,,,(‘ ‘,)
jude said on August 1, 2010
can i use bin files to play on DVD after i burn in CD? or i will convert it?
Abofira said on August 11, 2010
thanx
Anonymous said on August 12, 2010
thank you
AssClown said on August 28, 2010
Like a boss!
BNTDC said on September 12, 2010
Thank you very very much.
Anonymous said on September 12, 2010
No problem. Glad we could help!
LightningStrike123 said on September 13, 2010
win 98 is too old, you need xp at the bare minimum. i reccommend switching to vista or windows 7 and the best programme ive found for mounting to virtual disk is alcohol 120%, download free trial then get a keygen for it. simples ^^
Henrik15795 said on September 14, 2010
i cannot open iso files tried several programs and nothing worked. Only winzip latest opened iso bios file not another programs worked in vista.
william said on October 15, 2010
so i downloaded a game. its a 6 disc game and in my documents. so it’s splint into two categories. 1-6 of the discs are cue file and 1-6 of the discs are bin. is there a way to combined them or a program that will allow me to play the game. im pretty lost on what to do. i know one is audio and the other is video. i downloaded vlc but it didnt work. maybe i missed something, i really dont know.
BJ said on October 30, 2010
Hi. I’ve got some Super Smash Bros. Brawl (for Wii) screenies of Kirby, and I wanted to add captions, so I put them on the computer, and I couldn’t use them as they were .bin files. But I can’t figure out how to convert them to a usable picture file (prefferably JPEG or PNG) with Daemon Tools, can someone please help?
Abdultiger Ramdzi said on November 16, 2010
use alcohol120%
Ghghhg said on November 21, 2010
LOL!! Your replying to a 6 year old post!!!
Glenians said on November 27, 2010
wat…d’^_^ u think that he can read ur repz… lolz:-0
Ustaz said on December 6, 2010
It did helped me . Thnx
Ffwefwef said on December 12, 2010
Hey question: How do i get the came to stop showing up with random color and such a small screen?
Historybuff01 said on January 20, 2011
Hey, so I have a bit of an irritating problem
I downloaded a program which needed installation. The instructions called for burning .cue and .bin file onto a disk. I searched, and could not find any .bin or .cue. There was a bin folder, but no files.
I do not know if it’s related, but it was .iso compressed to start with.
I am rather frustrated, and my free trial is limited. Any help would be very nice indeed.
Guestkkk said on January 21, 2011
helped me too :d
Suzieq51 said on January 22, 2011
I have a disc that has bin files on them but i cant open then so have no idea what they are.
Ra. said on March 3, 2011
What goes on internet stays there! Let us get this post listed under Rule 34! Waiting to see results.
WinterAssault said on March 20, 2011
I mounted hundred of games from website,
For .iso file use daemon tools to mount it and install game also remember to paste crack from the mounted game. For .bin or .cue file just use magic iso/power iso to open the file and extract the content from it to install.
Note : Daemon Tools FAIL to open .BIN or .CUE file
Rodent44smb said on April 1, 2011
haha helped me too :D
Nadeem said on April 1, 2011
hey people………i have bit of problem here………it goes like this..
i downloaded matrix path of neo for pc which was in .iso format…..
i created a virtual cd by mounting the file with powerISO……….the game installed and shortcut was created.
but here’s the problem ..when i double clicked the icon the game is not running….
PLEASE HELP……………………
Nadeem said on April 1, 2011
and as WinterAssault please explain how to paste a crack and where to paste it step by step.PLEASE…………
Snoobeagle said on April 3, 2011
LOL.. speaking of 6 year olds, why are you pleasuring yourself with the fact he responded to an old post, and like so many, typically misspelling YOU’RE?
Ehab Salem said on April 6, 2011
hi .,, some one tell me plz.. how to convert nrg to iso by using kiso
Ad said on April 16, 2011
You can open these format with the software called “Magic ISO” or any ISO software. gauranteed
Amogh :) said on May 31, 2011
i downloaded nfs 2 ( a game) and the files r in .bin and .cue format ….. what should i do now..?
Putanginaninyo said on July 9, 2011
Try fairuse wizard V2. its good
morrisiv said on October 21, 2011
Can anyone tell me how to open a .bin file on an android.
danish said on October 29, 2011
hey i downloaded a sony picture package in iso file. how can i use this?? please help me..
Zart said on January 4, 2012
I installed a six DVD game (rage).
I have a problem in DVD 4.I want to open a file is named “setup2c.bin” .a file in this bin file has courrepted i want to copy it manually to the directory of the game.I tried magic iso power iso daemon tools ….but I cant open it.please help me to find a way to access this bin file
Zart said on January 7, 2012
Anyone knows my answer?