Using Microsoft MSDN Subscriber Downloads

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Using ISO Image Files Many products are posted as ISO-9660 image files. An ISO-9660 image file is an exact representation of a CD or DVD, including the content and the logical format. The most common use of an image file is to write it to a blank CD-R or DVD-R, resulting in an identical copy of the original disc including file name and volume label information. ISO image files may also be opened and their contents copied to a local folder, much like ZIP files. ISO files may also be virtually mounted and accessed as a device. These three methods of using ISO images are described below. Note: you may have to rename the file extension from .IMG or .UDF to .ISO, depending on your software. Writing ISO files to CD-R or DVD-R Most CD-R/DVD-R writing software includes a feature to create a disc from an image file. Note: you must use the special "copy image to CD" or "burn image" functionality. See your software’s Help for detailed information. Writing ISO images to CD-Rs and DVD-Rs The Windows Server 2003 Resource Kit includes the DVDBURN.EXE command line tool. Though it has not been tested by Microsoft, many customers also report success using ISO Recorder. Testing CD-Rs and DVD-Rs After your CD/DVD-R has been written, you can compare your download copy to the original to verify that the process was successful. For this purpose, Subscriber Downloads provides the SHA-1 hash value for the download’s ISO image; to view the SHA-1 hash value, click “Details” in the download’s listing on Subscriber Downloads. To verify your copy, you can use the Sigcheck tool, available from Sysinternals, to generate its SHA-1 hash value by running Sigcheck with the –h option; then compare the value you generated against the original to verify your copy. In addition, many freeware programs can calculate an SHA-1 hash value; use your favorite Internet search engine to look for sha1 hash to find them. Accessing ISO images via Virtual Drives Certain tools exist which create a virtual disc drive on your PC and mount an ISO image on that drive. These tools typically assign a new drive letter to this drive, and the contents of the image can be accessed by opening “My Computer” and double clicking on the new drive. Though they have not been tested nor are supported by the Subscriptions team, customers report that Daemon Tools offer such capability. Other products like IsoBuster and WinRar can access the contents of ISO images directly and verify ISO files, but also have not been tested nor are supported by the Subscriptions team.


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