To mount ISO files, a third-party ISO mounter is required in Windows XP and Windows 7. Windows 8 modified that, though, by including its own utility for mounting ISO files on a virtual disc.
Only Windows 10 and 11 have integrated support for mounting ISO images. In Windows 11, there are several entry points to the internal ISO mounter. Therefore, ISO files on a virtual drive can be mounted and unmounted with minimal effort in Windows 11.
In light of that, this tutorial may prove useful if you’re running Windows 11 and want to mount an ISO file. The best practices for using Windows 11’s native ISO mounter are outlined here. Windows 11 users: follow these steps to mount an ISO file.
1. Mount ISO file in Windows 11 with a Double-Click
- On Windows 11, you don’t need to set up the ISO mounter to work. You can double-click on the ISO file, which will immediately mount and open the .iso file.
- You must open File Explorer and locate the folder with the ISO image. Next, double-click on the .iso file to mount it on a virtual drive.
- If you want to unmount the ISO image, right-click on the newly mounted virtual drive and select Eject.
2. Mount ISO file in Windows 11 via Context Menu
If Windows 11’s double-click approach didn’t work, you could mount the ISO file using the Context menu. Just stick to the easy instructions we’ve provided below to get there.
- Press the Windows key + E button on your keyboard. This will open the File Explorer on your PC.
- Next, on the Windows 11 File explorer, navigate to the disc image file you want to mount.
- Right-click on the .iso image file and select Mount. This will mount the ISO file in a virtual drive. You will find it in your File explorer.
- If you want to unmount the ISO image, right-click on the newly mounted virtual drive and select Eject.
3. Mount ISO files using Windows PowerShell
ISO files can be mounted in Windows PowerShell if you so choose. All that is required of you is to take the few easy actions we’ve outlined below.
- First, click on the Windows 11 search and type PowerShell. Next, right-click on Powershell and select Run as administrator.
- Now minimize the PowerShell, and navigate to the folder where you have stored the ISO File. Right-click on the ISO file and select Copy as Path.
- Now, maximize the PowerShell and execute the command given below, and press Enter:
Mount-DiskImage -ImagePath "CompletePathToISO.iso"
Important: Replace CompletePathToISO with the actual path of the ISO file.
- This will immediately mount the ISO file on your Windows 11’s File Explorer.
- If you want to eject or Unmount the ISO image, execute the command:
Dismount-DiskImage -ImagePath "CompletePathToISO.iso"
Important: Replace the CompletePathToISO with the actual path of the ISO file.
That’s it! This is how you can mount and unmount ISO files in Windows 11 using PowerShell.
Mounting an ISO file in Windows 11 can be done with tools other than the built-in ones. This concludes our discussion of recommended methods for mounting ISO images in Windows 11. Leave a comment if you need additional assistance with mounting or unmounting ISO files on Windows 11.