### Mounting an ISO image in Linux ###


CD-ROMs are often distributed (or pirated) digitally in the form of ISO images. Like a .zip or .tar file, an ISO image encapsulates a collection of files. The main difference is that an ISO image contains specific information about how those files are laid out on a CD-ROM. After you have acquired an ISO image, you can access its files immediately, even before you burn it onto a CD-ROM. These notes explain how.

[You probably need to be root to do all of this]

To mount the image, simply issue the following command:

   mount -t iso9660 -o loop image.iso /mnt/isoimage

where image.iso is the filename of the ISO image and /mnt/isoimage is the directory under which you want the ISO's files to appear (create it if necessary).

After doing this, you will be able to navigate through the ISO's files, starting from /mnt/isoimage, just as you would any other files in your file system, but with one exception: all of the files and directories mounted from the ISO will be read-only.

When you are finished looking at the files, unmount the ISO:

   umount /mnt/isoimage