Bin and Cue, Img and Iso files are CD and DVD formats that store all the information of the CD or DVD. Users come across them on many occasions such as Linux distributions, Open Source software distributed on CDs and of course when downloading files from P2P networks, FTP, IRC or the Usenet.
All formats can be burned to CDs or DVDs depending on their size using a DVD burning software like Nero for instance. Another method favorited by many is to mount those images as a virtual drive. This lets the user access the contents on the CD or DVD without burning it first.
Pretty good if you just need to install something or watch a movie that was distributed as a bin, cue, img or iso file. Several softwares exist that can mount those filetypes, one is named Daemon Tools for instance.
You would simply create a virtual drive in Daemon Tools, browse to the location of the image file on your hard drive and select it from there. Daemon Tools will do the rest and make the contents available for further use.
This is an excellent way to store CDs and DVDs on your computer. Great if you are traveling and do not want to take the original discs with you or to save power when using a notebook. It essentially means that you do not need to use the installed CD or DVD drive which saves the power.
Microsoft is offering a free unsupported software as well that is able to mount those files if you are using Windows XP.
Read More:
Microsoft Win XP Virtual CD Control Panel
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7 Responses to “Bin, Cue, Img and Iso files explained”
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[...] Cue, Img and Iso files explained Bin and Cue, Img and Iso files are CD and DVD formats that store all the information of the CD or DVD. Users come across them on many occasions [...]
Daemon Tools comes bundled with Adware. You should use MagicDisc instead-
http://www.magiciso.com/tutorials/miso-magicdisc-overview.htm
Also, ISO Images are more friendly in linux… they are as easy to mount as a simple :
mount .iso -o loop
and creating ISO images in linux is :
dd if=/dev/dvd of=image.iso
So I recommend people to stick to ISO, you never know you might work on linux some day.
Also, where in this article are you EXPLAINING ISO CUE BIN ? The whole article just manages to say that all these formats are cd images and that to mount them you need some software! I was really excited when I saw the heading but this was a letdown.
duryodhan, you are right of course. Let me give a basic explanation..
Bin and Cue: Bin holds the raw data of the disk including metadata while the Cue file describes that data. It contains track information for instance.
Iso: Iso is probably the most used format these days. They hold all data of a disk plus metadata including boot code and structure.
Img; Img files are raw dumps of disks.
I think all formats can also be unpacked using archivers like IZArc.
Streaker I disagree with what your saying about Daemon, I’ve been using it for a very long time and have never noticed any Adware or anything unusual. I tried Magicdisk and can’t say that it beats Daemon Tools.
I agree with the second commenter – an explanation would be welcome.
Come on Martin – educate the unwashed masses!
Um, the unsupported window program (ironically) doesn’t support cue or bin. It supports iso, and a .rock or something but not the ones you said it did.