Creating an image (exact copy) of a CD / DVD disc with Alcohol 120% is a simple process, and the created image will help you recover lost data.
To start the process of creating a CD/DVD disk image, insert the source disk into the CD-ROM drive and run the program, for example, from the desktop by clicking on the program shortcut..
In the main operations menu, click on the "Create images" link. The Imaging Wizard window opens.
If you have more than one drive installed on your computer, select the required drive from the list of DVD/CD drives. Next, click Reading Options.
Specify the local drive to host the image.To create a folder for the created image, click on the "New Folder" button.
Enter a folder name and click OK.
Select the format of the created image. The Media Descriptor (*.mds) image format is used by default. Attention: when creating an image .mds two files are created, both files are needed for the image to work properly.
Enter a name for the image file to be created, or leave the program's default name. Then you can rename.
Ignoring Read Errors.This option is enabled by default because the original CD/DVD may have some damage on the platen. I advise you to always select this option, especially if you will be creating an *.mds image file.
Fast bad block skip (not for any drive).This option is used for special CD formats to speed up the imaging process.
Advanced Sector Scan (A.S.S.). This option allows you to skip large blocks of errors, thereby increasing the reading speed.
Reading subchannel data from the current disk.This option is for special CD formats where some data is stored in a disc subchannel.
Measurement positioning data.The new SecuROM 4.8x protections install irregular data on the spiral track of a CD. The data position measurement option is only used with the following data types: "Securom *NEW (4.x/5.x)", "StarForce 1/2/3" and "VOB ProtectCD V5". The best results are obtained when the DPM read speed is kept as low as possible.
Data type.Some CDs are copy protected. For example, StarForce is a copy protection family tied to the physical structure of a CD spiral track. And the new versions of StarForce block the operation of the file system during the check of the key disk and make sure that hard drive protected data was not read, and special protective components make sure that after decryption no one can remove the dump. The Alcohol 120% program can bypass such barriers. However, sometimes the created image cannot be written to a disc and will only be intended for the emulator.
If you don't know what data type your source CD/DVD represents, leave the data type at the default (Custom).
To start the image creation procedure, click the "Start" button.
The image file is ready when the progress bar reaches 100%. After the image is created, the main window of the Alcohol 120% program will open. You will see the created image.
To mount the created image to a virtual drive, right-click on it. Select "Mount to Device" from the context menu.
If you have created more than one virtual drive, specify which drive the program should mount the image on.
To unmount the image, in the "My Computer" folder (Computer, This PC), right-click on the virtual drive.
Select "Unmount Image" from the context menu.
Installation instructions for Alcohol 120% and information on how to mount, for example, a game image using this program.
The method of storing data on DVDs or CDs remains quite popular. But it often happens that the optical drive that was recorded recently does not recognize the disc. It is especially offensive when something very important is on it. Why is this happening? Firstly, it depends on the quality of the discs themselves. Cheap low-quality discs sometimes fail after a few months. Secondly, scratches may appear on the disc, and then it will also be poorly readable.
If there is enough space on the hard drive, then you can store the necessary files on it in the form of images, thereby saving yourself from losing important information. The recorded file can then be easily written to the same disc or opened using a whole arsenal of programs.
Alcohol 120% is included in this arsenal as a leader. With the help of this software, images of the most common formats are made. And also virtual drives are mounted, with the help of which they are then read. By the way, many games on the global network are distributed precisely in the form of images.
In order to start working with the program, you need to download and install it. The disadvantage of Alcohol 120% is that this software is paid. But given the versatility and relatively low price of the program, you can close your eyes at this point.
You can purchase and install Alcohol 120% on the official website. Can be used free version within 15 days, and then after payment to activate. The software is Russified and works on almost all Windows operating systems.
Installation process
After downloading, run the installation file.
In the language selection window, select Russian and click "Next".
In the installation wizard window that opens, proceed in the same way.
After that, we “give the go-ahead” to the license agreement and press the installer button again.
If Windows requires a reboot, then we do it. After the reboot, the "Security Warning" window appears.
We do not pay attention and click "Run".
Windows will then ask which program components the user wants to install. Select everything and continue until the installation wizard complete window exits.
We press the "Finish" button. On this, the installation of Alcohol 120% can be considered complete.
How to work in Alcohol 120% and create an image through it
We launch installed program. In the upper left corner, click on the "Create Images" button.
Then click on the "Reading Options" tab. The next step is to choose a folder to store the image. By default, the program installs it on the local drive "C". But since this disk contains an installed operating system, it is better to create a storage folder in another HDD partition.
After that, check the boxes "Ignore read errors" and "Improved sector scanning". This is necessary for hard-to-read discs or discs with scratches.
From the drop-down list, select the image format - "ISO Image".
Press the "Start" button to launch the mount.
We are waiting for the green progress bar of the status to reach the end and Alcohol 120% will complete the creation of the image. The operation window will automatically close when it is completed.
Sergey / /Both programs are good, but UltraISO is better suited for slightly scratched discs, since it tends to try to read this place many times, or eventually skip the bad sector.
As for Alcohol 120%, it also does its job just like UltraISO, but is not designed to work with bad disks. In the event that there are a lot of bad sectors, Alcohol 120% will stop creating a disk image, while UltraISO tries several times to skip this sector and move on.
Now let's get more specific: How to create a disk image using Alcohol 120“, step by step and with screenshots!
Let's create a disk image using the Alcohol 120% program as an example.
So, insert the desired disk into the drive. Click in the program on the button " Image creation«.
A window for creating a disk image will open, here you need to configure something and start creating an image.
In the item DVD / CD drive, select your drive into which you inserted the disc from which you want to make an image. Pay attention to the settings item " Data type“, there you can choose which disk to work with. In the event that you are creating a disk image for Playstation 2, then select the appropriate item from the list.
Now click on the " Start" and disk image will be created. When the process is over, the image will be ready for use, then you can remove the disk and see the created image in the list of Alcohol 120% images.
Alcohol 120%- this is computer program to create CD images and DVD discs, creating virtual CD and DVD drives, as well as burning CDs and DVDs.
Alcohol 120% copies discs at the physical level, not at the file system level, which allows you to copy, for example, discs for PlayStation and PlayStation 2 game consoles, as well as some copy-protected discs.
Program features:
- Allows you to create up to 31 virtual disks (using SCSI Pass Through Direct (SPTD) layer).
- Direct copy from disk to disk.
- Erasing information from CD-RW and DVD-RW discs.
- Search for disk image files (local disk).
- Writing an image to a disc.
Supports image formats: MDS, CCD, BIN/CUE, ISO, CDI, BWT, B5T, B6T, NRG, PDI, ISZ.
All these file formats are just different extensions of captured CD/DVD images:
- Formats mdf and mds- favorite extensions of the program Alcohol 120%
- Extension nrg- native format for Nero
- Disk images in the format iso- in general, a universal extension created and understood by absolutely all emulation and imaging programs.
So, in order to run an image downloaded in any of these formats, the first thing to do is to mount it in a virtual CD / DVD drive.
Where can I get this virtual CD/DVD drive?
Virtual drives can be automatically created by Nero, Alcohol, DAEMON Tools - these are the most popular and common programs for emulating and creating virtual drives.
Using the program
The program window looks like this: the standard menu is at the top, the main functions and navigation through the program are in the left column, there are also the main application settings. On the right is the workspace, and below is the disk selection panel. Everything here is stretched / compressed - it will not be difficult to adjust for yourself. In fact, there is no particular need to change anything in the standard form, but if the need arises, then there is no problem: you are the creator here.
The first thing to do after entering the program is to activate the virtual drive. Of course, there are tasks in which it may not be needed, but suppose that we still need it. In order to add a new virtual drive, you need to click on the inscription "Virtual disk" in the left column with the name "Settings". Here you can connect up to six readers (in the trial version, this number is less). We select the number of drives we need and click on the "OK" button. Now virtual devices can be used!
Image creation
Let's say you have a disc that you plan to copy to your computer. An alternative to the usual transfer of material is the creation of a disk image. This method is better for the following reason: instead of a lot of files, you get a single one. Agree, the fewer units of information, the more convenient it is to store this very information. So, first we load the disk into the computer drive. To create its image, click on the first inscription in the side menu ("Basic operations" - "Creating images"). A menu appears in which we are prompted to select the drive from which we will record the image. In addition, by clicking on the "Reading Options" tab, we will see several useful add-ons. Here you can set the name of the future image, select the location folder, file format, and also configure the image splitting. Actually, everything is extremely simple, but some points are still worth clarifying.
Image creation |
When setting the image format, the default value is the mds extension, but in many cases it will still be better to use the iso format. It has at least one advantage: choosing this type creates a single file, but in the case of mds, two. It is also impossible not to mention the function of "separation" of images. Obviously, it is needed so that a "broken" disc (for example, Blu-ray or a two-layer DVD) can subsequently be written to smaller media. It should be noted that splitting is available only for mds-images. Also in the "Reading Options" you can check the box next to "skip reading errors" in the event that the media from which the recording is being made is damaged. Sometimes it helps to save at least something useful from a worn disk. After all the necessary manipulations, to start creating the image, simply click on the "Start" button.
Burning images to discs
The second possibility of the program is the recording of images. We have an iso file (or some other) that needs to be copied to disk. Moreover, we are not interested in transferring the image itself, but the files it contains. The write operation in this case is quite simple. You just need to insert a blank disc into your PC's "burning" drive and follow a few simple steps. The first is to click on the "Burn images to disc" button located in the left column of the program. In the window that appears, specify the path to the image file that you want to burn to optical media. If necessary, check the "Delete image file after burning" checkbox. Then click the "Next" button and you will proceed to the second step. In the window that appears, select the drive in which you have a blank disk (if there is only one drive, then it is selected by default). Also here you can select the recording speed and its type (simple recording and recording with imitation). In the lower drop-down menu of this window, you can specify the type of data to be written. Check the one you need or leave everything "by default" and click on the "Start" button. That's the whole process!
Burning the image to disk |
Copying discs and searching for images
The disc ripping feature is essentially a combination of imaging and burning operations. It is in the third position in the left column. Having chosen this operation, we will first see the "Image Creation" window in front of us, and then a slightly modified "Records" window. The copy operation is elementary, and if you didn’t have any questions before, then there won’t be any here either.
"Image Search", located in the same left area of our application, is designed to quickly scan disk space. With it, it is convenient to search and add images to the Alcohol workspace.
Finding images on your hard drive |
DVD/CD manager, disc eraser and audio converter
Disk Manager all from the same "Basic Operations" panel allows you to find out some information about your drive. In addition to the main points like the name of the drive and the write speed, here you can see which discs your drive can read and write. The disk erasing routine doesn't look complicated - it's just a couple of tweaks. Set the speed and type and click on "Erase". As for the "audio converter", this option is not included in the base part of the Alcohol program and you will have to pay extra for it (unless, of course, you decide that you need this application).
Image mastering
The last major component of the Alcohol program is the Image Wizard. You can call it from the "Basic Operations" panel. It serves to create images from files stored on your computer's hard drive. The thing is definitely very useful. So, after calling the wizard, a window appears in which you must place the files from which the image will be molded in the future. This can be done by simply dragging the desired objects to the active "alcohol" window or using the "add file" and "add folder" commands. After the objects are added to the wizard window, click on the "Next" button. On the next page, select the location of the image, name it and select the format. Then again use the "Start" button.
Image mastering |
Using images
We have completely considered the creation of images. And how to view files recorded as images? Everything is very simple. For this, virtual drives are used, which we created in the first place. The image file is identical to a regular optical disc. In order to run it, you need to move it from the workspace with the mouse desired file to the bottom menu of the Alcohol program. Where the "virtual DVD/CD drives" are located. We place the image on the icon of any drive and that's it! Now, using "My Computer" or any file manager, you can view the mounted images. On the computer, they appear as normal drives.
Loading the Image to the Drive |
Summarizing
Alcohol 120% today is one of the best programs of a kind. It is easy to use, yet has good functionality.
An example of opening / launching iso, nrg, mdf and mds images with the Alcohol 120% program
2. We start the installation, agree to create a virtual drive.
After rebooting the computer, going to "My Computer", we see that we have another CD / DVD drive. He is what we need.
Immediately after launch, the program scans the system and creates a virtual drive.
In the window that appears, there will be a list of possible letters for the drive.
We select for example "W". That's all! You have a virtual drive in which you can mount a variety of image files.
3. Now, to mount the downloaded image into the created virtual drive, just right-click on it and select " Mount Image"
mount image to open iso nrg mdf and mds
4. In the window that opens, specify the image file we need by double-clicking on it with the cursor. The image is automatically mounted into a virtual drive and it will autorun if this feature is not disabled in your settings.
Method 2 opening mdf, mds, iso, nrg using Alcohol 120%
It's also very simple:
1. Right-click on the downloaded file (in the example, the mds extension)
open iso nrg mdf and mds files
2. In the menu that opens, select " Mount Image" and specify our created virtual drive.
Method 3. If the drop-down menu does not include the ability to select a drive
On some computers, with strict security settings, with prohibitions on changing registry entries, with a prohibition of making changes to the context menu, with bad antivirus settings, the entry " Mount Image"
1. In this case, just double-click on the image or select " to open with"
2. In the window " Program selection"specify Alcohol 120%, you can also check the "Use it for all files of this type" checkbox.
In this case, all files with the extension mdf, mds, iso or nrg, depending on the extension of the file being opened, will be associated with the Alcohol 120% program and immediately opened by the program.
3. The program will start, in the window that opens, select the desired image, the program itself mounts it into the drive and starts it.
And more info:
Instructions: HOW TO VIRTUALIZE DISKS
1. click search for samples
2. choose the place where they lie
3. click search
4. highlight the found disk samples you need 5. click add files to alcohol
(Instead of all these items, you could simply drag the image file into the main field of the program with the mouse)
6. click virtual disk
7. choose the number of disks(you only need to do this once, because by default they are disabled for the program)
8. click ok
9. double-click on the file you need while it is virtualized(if, for example, it asks for a second disk, we do the same)
10. We are happy with the result.
Open ISO, MDS, CDI, BWT, BIN / CUE, ISZ, B5T, B6T, BWI, BWA, CCD, BWS image files, and you can also turn original games on discs into images, and then use only these images to start the game or burn game to your disk after mounting them on virtual disks. However, Alcohol 120 will not be able to write the image to a USB flash drive.
How to create an image in Alcohol 120
To create a disk image in Alcohol 120, you need to click Image creation or click on the panel File — Image creation.
Alcohol 120 how to use when creating an image
A window will open in which you select the drive with the disk from which you will make the image and go to the tab Reading Options. On this tab, you specify where the image you created will be located, you can change the name of the image, select the format in which the image will be created.
How to set up virtual disk creation in Alcohol 120
When finished with all the listed settings, press the button Start and immediately a disk image will be created on the computer that you will find in the folder you specified.
How to mount an image in Alcohol 120
To burn the image you created earlier on a CD or DVD disc or open the image to play or run the game, you need to mount the disc image in Alcohol 120 to a virtual drive that is created by the Alcohol 120 program. During installation of the program, one Alcohol 120 virtual drive is automatically created on the computer, and if desired, you can create from 1 to 31 virtual disks. To create a virtual disk, click Service — Settings.
Alcohol 120 instructions for changing the number of virtual disks
In settings choose Virtual Disk, select the required number of virtual disks from the list and click OK. After a few seconds, virtual disks will be created and each disk will be assigned its own letter.
After that, you can mount the previously created image in Alcohol 120. To do this, in the lower part of the program, select a virtual drive, hover over it and by clicking the right mouse button, select the item from the context menu that opens. Mount Image.
How to mount a game in Alcohol 120
A window will open in which you will need to find and open the image you previously created. When you manage to mount a disk in Alcohol 120, the system will ask you what to do for this disk. After that, it will be possible to run the image in Alcohol 120 or view the files in it.
How to burn an image to disk in Alcohol 120
If you need to burn the disk image you previously created using Alcohol 120 to your CD or DVD, you will need to press Burning images to discs.
Alcohol 120 how to burn a disc
A window will open in which you will need to click the button Review and in the window that opens, find and select the image. After choosing an image, press the button Further. A window will open in which you will need to set the disk burning options.
How to burn a disc with Alcohol 120
Check the box Imitation so as not to damage the recordable disc if the image suddenly turns out to be damaged. Pushing a button Start the disc will start burning. When recording a disc, it is advisable not to perform any other actions on the computer in order to avoid a failure, since as a result of a failure, the disc being burned will be damaged.