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Organize ways to understand file formats without the use of a CD burner

Organize ways to understand file formats without the use of a CD burner

Vote: (2,817 votes)

Program license: Free

Developer: Daemon-tools

Version: 4.49.1.356

Works under: Windows

Vote:

Program license

(2,817 votes)

Free

Developer

Version

Daemon-tools

4.49.1.356

Works under:

Windows

Pros

  • User Interface is well-designed and easy to use
  • Is good at what it does, mounts and manages virtual devices quickly
  • Is good at what it does, mounts and manages virtual devices quickly

Cons

  • Many features are locked to paid versions

Daemon tools is a program designed to allow you to mount virtual images and interact with 'images'.

When we say the word 'images' this does not mean photos, rather it is a large file that contains all the data within a disc. This can include anything from the complex menus and routines in an interactive DVD to an entire video game. The program allows you to 'burn' data to discs, grab data from discs, mount virtual devices that otherwise would require hardware to perform — To summarize, this is not necessarily a photo editor.

Let's address the elephant in the room first and get that out of the way at once. There are those who are eager to use software like this for piracy purposes. We obviously do not recommend doing this.

So, why use Daemon Tools?

There are a lot of potential uses, most of which go beyond this short review. The most immediately apparent is for posterity. Simply put, DVDs or other disc types wear out eventually, gaining scratches and skips. Having a digital copy on hand can help keep your records and memories intact. Many people have used it to preserve digital copies of old VHS or damaged DVDs they made or own. You can even recreate the damaged DVD by burning the subsequent 'image' you gathered from the original onto a new disc.

Beyond that, there are a plethora of virtual devices you can create and utilize using this software. Of course, the options that are available to you depend on which version you get.

There are several versions of Daemon Tools available depending on exactly what you need from it. Generally, however, you're only going to choose between the Pro and the Lite (or free) version.

The Lite version is bare-bones, to say the least. Many of the more diverse and interesting options are locked from it, only available on paid versions of the software. However, you can still burn an image to a disc, grab an image from a disc, or mount and use a virtual device well enough. Regardless, you can purchase a full license at any time and upgrade to it from within the program itself.

The Pro or Ultra Editions have many more goodies. Everything from virtual Hard Disk Drives, TrueCrypt containers, dealing with iSCSI targets, and even connecting with mobile devices are at your disposal. You would be surprised just how diverse the options available are.

To be honest, considering they have sales fairly often and offer lifetime subscriptions, we can hardly fault them for wanting payment for their services. The program is good, functional, and reliable even for the free version. They've improved on their product for over 11 years, since the first stable release on Feb 4, 2009. Their hard work deserves some compensation.

When it comes to negatives, there simply isn't a lot to complain about — there's a reason Daemon tools is as popular as it is. Some reviewers have had complaints about the UI, but honestly, it's very well-organized and easy to navigate. Even if you know little about image mounting the menus are simple enough for you to find your way in a few minutes with a YouTube tutorial on hand.

Daemon Tools is a popular product and one that comes highly recommended!

Pros

  • User Interface is well-designed and easy to use
  • Is good at what it does, mounts and manages virtual devices quickly
  • Is good at what it does, mounts and manages virtual devices quickly

Cons

  • Many features are locked to paid versions

Pros

  • Manage virtual devices
  • Mount and dismount images
  • Emulate protections

Cons

  • UI doesn’t conform to Windows

DAEMON Tools is a Windows program that creates virtual devices and mounts images.

DAEMON Tools is a powerful program for Windows that lets you create and manage virtual devices. A virtual device is, for instance, a virtual drive that the OS recognizes as a physical device but is actually an interface pointing to a file on another device. These files are often called images, and they feature a directory and a collection of files just like a BD, DVD, or CD does.

DAEMON Tools doesn’t stop at reading image files. It lets you create them either by copying a disc or making them manually. You can edit images, and you can even use this program to burn images to disc via your Blu-ray, DVD or CD writer.

You can create, tweak, and discard virtual devices as needed. You can also maintain virtual devices so that they load with Windows and are available to you at all times. DAEMON Tools is even able to emulate various protection mechanisms. Therefore, if a CD you want to copy has copy protection, you simply copy everything as is, and Windows will be unaware that the image isn’t an actual physical disc.

It’s worth mentioning that these features don’t exist just to steal software. In fact, if you wanted to steal a game or whatnot, there are easier and faster ways to do it than with DAEMON Tools. Rather, this is a powerful tool for people who actually own the software. Let’s say you own a disc that can no longer be replaced. Rather than risk damage to the disc, you burn an image of it and access that instead.

There’s not a lot to complain about when it comes to DAEMON Tools. One issue is that the UI isn’t standard to Windows and it sticks out like a sore thumb. It isn’t a bad UI and whether this deviation bothers you comes down to personal preference. Additionally, most users usually won’t access DAEMON Tools via the central UI but rather through context menus, such as right-clicking a virtual drive in the system tray in order to mount or dismount an image.

Pros

  • Manage virtual devices
  • Mount and dismount images
  • Emulate protections

Cons

  • UI doesn’t conform to Windows