Creating a Virtual CD on Your Hard Drive: Easy Autorun and Duplication

In summary, Alcohol is a good program to use to create virtual CDs. Virtual CD is a better program to use to burn virtual CDs.
  • #1
Saint
437
0
Let say I have an installation CD of Microsoft office, which can autorun.
How can I create a virtual CD on my hardisk , copy the whole contents of the CD onto my HDD.
When I double click the virtual CD, it can autorun; and, I can also burn it onto a blank CD, duplicate it.

What software shall I use? Is there freeware of it? Where to download?
 
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  • #3
can not enter the website,why?
 
  • #4
Originally posted by Saint
can not enter the website,why?

Another option is VirtualCD, I've used it before and it works very well.

A search on download.com for virtual cd:
http://download.com.com/sort/3120-2001-0-1-4.html?qt=virtual+cd&ca=2001

Virtual CD link:
http://www.virtualcd-online.com/vcd/apps/download/demo.cfm?lg=0 [Broken]

DAEMON Tools :
http://www.softnews.ro/public/cat/3/7/3-7-6.shtml [Broken]
 
Last edited by a moderator:
  • #5
Thanks for the secondary links Kyle, I don't know why the DT homepage is down. Saint, let us know what you think of the programs and if we can further help you.
 
  • #6
I downloaded Alcohol 120%,
it can create 6 virtual drives,
the image file is saved in the format of MDS.

Thanks for your help.
 
  • #7
I used that once, didn't really care for it, but I never really gave it the time of day.
 
  • #8
Alcohol is just 3.4MB large, easy to install and use.
First,
just put the CD you want to backup into your CDROM,
click "make image", specify image folder path, start !
Then, right click your virtual drive, click "mount image", choose the MDS file you want to mount, that's it.

Burning from image file to CDR also can be done by wizard, easy!

I'm happy with it.
 
  • #9
Originally posted by Saint
Alcohol is just 3.4MB large, easy to install and use.
First,
just put the CD you want to backup into your CDROM,
click "make image", specify image folder path, start !
Then, right click your virtual drive, click "mount image", choose the MDS file you want to mount, that's it.

Burning from image file to CDR also can be done by wizard, easy!

I'm happy with it.

Hm...doesn't sound complicated enough:smile: You can't possibly use something if it doesn't take hours to figure out!

Heheh, I guess I really DIDN'T give it the time of day. I really like Virtual CD though. You just pop in the CD and click create Virtual CD and it takes you through a wizard with lots of options for ripping, such as modes to rip it in, error correction, etc. It mounts itself automatically, you can have as many drive letters as you want for Virtual drives, and you can even retain copyright information, I don't see this as a feature though:wink:
 
  • #10
I like alcohol myself, pretty simple, straightforward.

However, VirtualCD is much more powerful, and can support more devices. It's the way to go if you want to keep a lot of CD's on your computer.

Just be sure to stock up on some 120gig HD's if you are going to keep your collection there
 
  • #11
:smile: yeah alcohol is good,
6 virtual drives are enough, you can mount and unmount easily.

What i did now is to copy my MP3 songs CDs into my HDD, and some favourite movies too (X-rated ).

in this way , i no need to load and unload CD/VCD.

my 100 GB HDD is enough, I have triple boots of windows ME/2000/XP plus Linux Mandrake 9.0
 
  • #12
i tried virtual CD 5.0, it is 5 times slower than alcohol to copy the same VCD.

bad!
 
  • #13
Originally posted by Saint
i tried virtual CD 5.0, it is 5 times slower than alcohol to copy the same VCD.

bad!

I had much faster copying speeds with Virtual CD.

Although, if alcohol works fine then there is no reason to use Virtual CD, because you wouldn't need the extra options it offers.
 
  • #14
I prefer CD Anuwhere , But unfortunately , it's not free.
It's really cool , you can creat unlimited number of Vertual CD's , and you can change the Vertual CD contects easily , also , you can work on those Vertual CD's under the compressed size , so you can save HDD space , but will make programs slower .
 
  • #15
Nero burning rom also can create image file on HDD, but it can not be mounted, therefore it is better to use alcohol to create image file on hdd as backup of your CD, at the same time it can be mounted as virtual Cd.

:smile:
 

1. What is a virtual CD and how does it differ from a physical CD?

A virtual CD is a software-based disc image that mimics the functionality of a physical CD or DVD. It is stored on your hard drive and can be accessed and used in the same way as a physical disc, without the need for a physical disc drive. The main difference is that a virtual CD does not require any physical storage space and can be easily duplicated or shared.

2. How do I create a virtual CD on my hard drive?

To create a virtual CD, you will need a disc image file, also known as an ISO file. This can be downloaded from the internet or created from a physical disc using disc imaging software. Once you have the ISO file, you can use a virtual CD program to mount the image and create a virtual CD on your hard drive.

3. What is an autorun and why is it important for a virtual CD?

An autorun is a feature that allows a program or file to automatically run when a disc is inserted into the computer. This is important for a virtual CD as it allows the user to easily access and use the contents of the virtual disc without having to manually run the program or open the files.

4. Can I duplicate a virtual CD on my hard drive?

Yes, virtual CDs can be easily duplicated on your hard drive. This is one of the main advantages of using virtual CDs, as they do not require any physical duplication equipment. Simply use disc imaging software to create a new ISO file from the original virtual CD and then mount the new image to create a duplicate virtual CD.

5. Are there any limitations to using virtual CDs on my hard drive?

One limitation of using virtual CDs is that they cannot be used on devices that do not have virtual CD software installed. Additionally, some programs or files may not be compatible with virtual CD software, so it is important to check compatibility before creating a virtual CD. Lastly, virtual CDs may not be as durable as physical discs, so it is important to regularly back up your virtual CD files to prevent loss of data.

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