An ISO file contains optical disc file system and contains elements that would be written in optical disc. It comes with .iso extension but sometime .img extension is also used in some cases like Microsoft Dreamspark. The file which doesn’t contain ISO 9660 but have UDF which comes with .udf extension. It is sector by sector copy of data.
What is ISO FILE
The full form of ISO is International Organisation for Standardization. The ISO name is taken from ISO 9660, used with CD ROM media but it contain a UDF(ISO/IEC 13346) file system ( used for DVDs and Blu-ray Discs). Most of the operating systems like Unix, Linux and Mac OS have built in capability to mount an ISO. Most of the emulator uses .ISO file to create image of CD. Emulator like PCSX2, Dolphin use .iso to emulate Wii and GameCube games and Playstation 2 games respectively.
Benefits of ISO file
- It is the program file which is neatly copied in a single file and it is used to distribute large program over the internet.
- It is used to create backup of CD or DVD because it creates the exact copy carry, and converts all the data with bits from the disc. Whenever the file is copied, it lacks the header file but when iso file is created it covers all the things including the header file.
Softwares used to create iso file
- ISO Recorder
- Magic ISO
- Power ISO
- Any to ISO
What is .dmg file
DMG file is Apple disc image which is used for Mac OS. It comes with .dmg extension. DMG stands for Disc Image File. It has UDIF(Universal Disc Image Format) for Mac OS X with .dmg extension. It is capable for the compressed, encrypted data, file spanning amd some of which are password protected. It is downloaded from internet and mounts a virtual disc on the desktop when opened. Disc image file is only used for Mac OS not for the Windows. DMG file support 128-bit and 256-bit AES encryption.
Benefits of .dmg file:
- It has supporting feature for creating hybrid optical media, that has multiple file system
- It also supports some of the file system like Hierarchical File System (HFS) , HFS Plus, ISO 9660, Universal Disc Format (UDF), File Allocation Table(FAT).
- DMG files are read only file ,allow the file to change nothing after being created. This makes the software more secure and free from any virus.
- It is easy to send more than one file over the internet that contains software and its Installer.
- It has ability to show multilingual software licence agreement before mounting the disc image.
We have so much in Mac that would make it easy for us to convert an ISO file to DMG and DMG file to ISO and also no additional software is required. Although there are some processes that would be used to convert the DMG file into ISO file in Mac OS X.
The first process is by using opening disc utility , the second process comes with the command line and the third via different software.
Opening Disc Utility
This is a powerful technique. We should be careful while doing this because by our single mistake it would easily wipe out data from some of our discs. So be cautious.
Explanation of process:
- First of all we have to insert the CD/ DVD which contains the file that we want to convert into a CD burning capable mac.
- After that, go to the Finder file and open it. After opening click on the application and then double click on the Utilities folder.
- After that, to open the Disc Utility, double click on the application.
Creating DMG file
- After opening the Disc Utility window, go to left and check name of the disc that we want to insert in the highlighted region.
- Then click on the file menu which is at the top and go to downward menu option, click New, then click on Disc Image (name of our disc).
- Give a name to new file and navigate on the desktop to save the file there.
- Choose the compressed image format
- Click on save menu and now we have .dmg file save in the desktop. Now our next task is to burn the file onto a blank CD/DVD.
Burning the DMG file
- Take out the original CD/DVD from the computer and put a blank CD/DVD on it. If you promoted with a pop-up window, click ignore.
- Then after return to Disc Utility and go to top of the window and click the Burn button.
- Then after, go and check out on the desktop and highlight the .dmg file and save. Then click on Burn button.
- Click Burn again in the new window to set the new default setting.
- CD/DVD is automatically ejected, once the program is finished. Now we have a burned CD or DVD with a copy of original file saved in .dmg format.
Second Method
Using Command line:
This is the easiest method to convert the ISO file into DMG by using command line.
Explanation:
- Go to the Finder and open it, then open the terminal by clicking GO > Terminal
- Type the following command on the terminal
- hdiutil convert /path/imagefile.iso –
- format UDRW -o /path/convertedimage.dmg , here /path/imagefile.iso is the path to the file.
- Then after press Enter , it will take few seconds or minutes according to the size of file. After completion, the file comes with .CDR extension. Just rename it to .ISO . The file is ready to use.
Third method via different software
Softwares which are capable to convert the ISO file into DMG
Some of the softwares atr also used to convert the ISO file to DMG file. Some of them are
- MagicISO: It is a software which is capable to convert many format into disc image file. Click on the MagicISO then click on the File and then click on open our ISO file. Click on Property and then Apple Disc Image and click Save. The ISO file is converted to DMG file. To download the MagicISO go to this website link: Download Magic ISO. It is available for 64 bit as well as for 32 bit.
- PowerISO: It is also another software which is capable of converting many types of format into disc image file. Open the Power ISO and click File and then click on open ISO file. Click on the Properties and then select the Apple Disc Image. Click on the File icon and save it from the drop down menu and click Save. The ISO file is converted to DMG and ready to use. To download the PowerISO go to official website www.poweriso.com .
- Nero Burning Rom: Like the MagicISO and PowerISO, Nero Burning Rom is also used to convert the ISO file into DMG file. Click on the Nero Burning Rom amd click on the File and then click on open the ISO file and then click on the File and Save As dialog box. “Output File Type” property is changed Disc Image File and the Save it . This is how we convert the ISO file to DMG using Nero Burning Rom. DMG file is ready to use. To download the Nero Burning Rom go to the Official website www.nero.com .
