File Extension .Iso

ISO stands for the “International Organization for Standardization” and therefore files with this file extension are mostly linked to disc images stored in the ISO-9660 file system. This file system is usually used to store data in CD-ROM disc images and is therefore the standard that is being followed and utilized nowadays. ISO files therefore contain the exact disc images of various optical media and are often used for file duplication and backup purposes.

ISO files then may be classified as archive files as they store information that is already present in an original CD or DVD. Every contents of the disc, including the file and folder structure, the original file system, and any other attributes are included within the ISO files. But then again, ISO files are uncompressed which makes the files very large in size. The advantage however of an ISO file is that it is a stand-alone file format and can therefore be mounted using a virtual drive as if it is a physical disc – no need for additional power to extract data from an ISO file.

ISO files are therefore popular in terms of storing backups for several discs and even for the distribution of CD and DVD-based media over the internet. This is also due to the fact that even with its large size, ISO files contain the exact disc image from the original disc and are transferred as single files retaining disc attributes that might be lost when using conventional zipping utilities. Below are the programs that can open an ISO file: