Burn an .iso Image to Disc (Windows)

*.iso images allow you to burn a full copy of large pieces of content to a CD or DVD from a single file. You can download .iso images of Microsoft software from our MSDN-AA or Microsoft Discount pages to burn to disk on your computer.

The instructions below follow the .iso image-burning process in Windows 7 at OIT Computer Classrooms. The process is similar in earlier versions of Windows. Check the Help section of your operating system for more information. The bundled application in Windows XP cannot burn DVDs, you'll have to use a third-party program.

Burn an ISO File to Disk

After you have downloaded a program's installation file (*.iso format for a Windows-compatible program) to your Windows computer's hard drive, you can burn this *.iso file to a blank CD or DVD. You can use this disk to install the program on another computer, or have a backup installation disk in case you need to reinstall the program in the future.

Note: For *.iso files that are larger than 4.7 GB, you will need to use dual layer DVD. See About Recordable Media Types for more information about different types of recordable DVDs.

To burn an *.iso file to disk:

1. Download the .iso file you wish to burn to your computer.
2. Insert your disc into the computer's disc drive.
3. Locate and right-click the *.iso file you downloaded and select Open with > Windows Disc Image Burner. The Windows Disc Image Burner window will open.
4. In the Windows Disc Image Burner window, click Burn. The burning process will begin. When the disc has been burned, a success message will appear on the screen.
5. Click Close to exit the program. Remember to retrieve your disc from the drive.
6. If you are using a shared computer (e.g., in an OIT Computer Classroom or in the Library Learning Commons), please delete the downloaded .iso image(s) from the hard drive when you finish.

About Recordable Media Types

There are two types of recordable CDs and DVDs: CDs and DVDs labeled "R" can only be recorded on once, while those labeled "RW" allow you to write data to them once and then add more files later. You can also erase the data on CD-RW or DVD-RW disks entirely and re-use them, which you can't do with DVD/CD-Rs. You can use either kind in OIT Computer Classrooms.

For dmg or *.iso files that are larger than 4.7 GB, you will need to use dual layer DVD.