PowerISO is a shareware application that will let you mount, burn, edit and open your ISO files with ease in one convenient package.
Installation & Requirements
During the installation be sure to choose the custom path and uncheck the boxes of the extra software that the setup wizard will try to install on your computer if you do not want them. After all that, the application will ask you to set up file associations and some other minor settings like automatic updates. PowerISO’s 32-bit version supports all Windows platforms from 98 and later while the 64-bit version supports Windows XP and later.
Interface
The program’s interface is very sleek and clean-looking with a non-intrusive working environment and a neat toolbar. Using the application’s various features is extremely simple and familiarizing yourself with it takes no time at all. In case you are unfamiliar with virtual image mounting tools, the application creates a virtual disk in your computer that it will use to trick your PC into thinking there’s a physical drive. It is an extremely easy way to view compressed content that would otherwise be unavailable to your computer.
All of the different tools are conveniently located in the top toolbar. All of them open in separate windows with their own properties so that you can customize them all you want. Opening an already existing ISO or image file is also very easy. If you have set the file associations to work with the program, then double clicking on those files will open them. Otherwise, you can simply drag and drop them inside the main interface window. From there you have a variety of options like extracting the contents, burning them to a disc or mounting it to your computer’s virtual drive.
In order to create your own ISO or image files, simply click on the New icon and choose an option that suits you from the dropdown list. You can add items to your virtual image simply by dragging and dropping them inside the window or by clicking on the Add button. For more advanced settings regarding the new file, go to the File menu and click on Image Properties. There you can change the label, the file system, the compression method and more advanced features like splitting the output file to multiple volumes. For more general options you can always go to the Configuration tab.
Pros
-Clean, user-friendly interface
-Extremely simple to use
-Support for multiple file types
-A lot of extra tools and utilities
Cons
-Somewhat slow at times
Conclusion
PowerISO is one of the leading virtual image management utilities. It is easy to use, supports almost all virtual image files and the extra utilities make it a very complete package.
