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Thread: What is a good virtual drive?

  1. #1
    TexMec Senior Member Louis VI the Fat's Avatar
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    Question What is a good virtual drive?

    I've got a question for all you technical folk.

    Which virtual drive is best?


    I usually have some four or five games which I play most of the time. And I watch or burn the odd DVD. All this swapping of discs, plus the need to have them within reach, is tiresome. I know there are such things as a virtual drive (?) that use a part of your hard drive as a virtual disc drive. Which would be a good one? I don't need any copy protection overrides or anything fancy, just a means to skip the tedium of having to find and swap disks every time I want to play a quick game.

    thanks.
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    Mr Self Important Senior Member Beskar's Avatar
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    Default Re: What is a good virtual drive?

    You can get a virtual drive from Daemon tools (google search it), what you do is copy your cd's and dvd's onto your computer as an ISO and you load these onto your virtual drive.
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    the G-Diffuser Senior Member pevergreen's Avatar
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    Default Re: What is a good virtual drive?

    I like powerISO

    Easy to use, free etc

    I use it and Daemon Tools Lite, as some stuff only wants to go through that :(
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    Beauty hunter Senior Member Raz's Avatar
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    Default Re: What is a good virtual drive?

    Daemon Tools Lite. However, I am unsure as whether or not it works on a 64-bit system.
    http://www.daemon-tools.cc/eng/downloads

    If Daemon Tools Lite doesn't install correctly on your system, I know for certain that Alcohol-Soft works.

    Try Alcohol 52% (free version, not the trial version) if Daemon Tools Lite doesn't work.
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    Nobody expects the Senior Member Lemur's Avatar
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    Default Re: What is a good virtual drive?

    Quote Originally Posted by pevergreen View Post
    I like powerISO

    Easy to use, free etc
    Hmm ... their website has a bit where you're supposed to give them money. Are we sure this is free, and not "demo now, pay later"?

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    TexMec Senior Member Louis VI the Fat's Avatar
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    Default Re: What is a good virtual drive?

    I tried Daemon. Couldn't get it to work on my Windows 7 / 64 bit machine.

    I'll try the others, the free ones. I just need a simple, dummy-proof little utility.


    Thank you all for the suggestions!
    Anything unrelated to elephants is irrelephant
    Texan by birth, woodpecker by the grace of God
    I would be the voice of your conscience if you had one - Brenus
    Bt why woulf we uy lsn'y Staraft - Fragony
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    The very model of a modern Moderator Xiahou's Avatar
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    Default Re: What is a good virtual drive?

    Virtual CloneDrive is free and claims to support Windows7 64bit. (I haven't used it, but it might suit your needs)
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    the G-Diffuser Senior Member pevergreen's Avatar
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    Default Re: What is a good virtual drive?

    Quote Originally Posted by Lemur View Post
    Hmm ... their website has a bit where you're supposed to give them money. Are we sure this is free, and not "demo now, pay later"?
    Its shareware, in the same way that WinRAR is. As in, it says "Please buy me" you click later, and it works in full.
    FYI: That limitation it has there, never actually worked that way for me. I've edited 4gb stuff etc.


    powerISO is about as easy as I've seen. You click mount, it brings up a list of the virtual drives and what is mounted on them, you click a free/used one, select the image file and it is mounted.

    Also quite easy to change how many virtual drives are there, in that drop down list is the option. Its letting me put up to 23 virtual drives on.

    edit: feeling generous



    Quote Originally Posted by Raz View Post
    Daemon Tools Lite. However, I am unsure as whether or not it works on a 64-bit system.
    http://www.daemon-tools.cc/eng/downloads
    Works on my W7 Professional 64 bit.
    Last edited by pevergreen; 04-07-2010 at 03:55.
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  9. #9
    Mr Self Important Senior Member Beskar's Avatar
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    Default Re: What is a good virtual drive?

    Quote Originally Posted by Louis VI the Fat View Post
    I tried Daemon. Couldn't get it to work on my Windows 7 / 64 bit machine.
    It works perfectly fine for both of mine. Not sure why it wouldn't work.
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    Vagrant Member Madoushi's Avatar
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    Default Re: What is a good virtual drive?

    Quote Originally Posted by Louis VI the Fat View Post
    What good is a virtual drive?
    It's virtually as good as a real drive.



  11. #11
    The very model of a modern Moderator Xiahou's Avatar
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    Default Re: What is a good virtual drive?

    Quote Originally Posted by Xiahou View Post
    Virtual CloneDrive is free and claims to support Windows7 64bit. (I haven't used it, but it might suit your needs)
    FWIW, I tried Virtual CloneDrive on an XP machine today, and I was pretty impressed. Next time I need a virtual drive, I'll be using it.
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  12. #12
    TexMec Senior Member Louis VI the Fat's Avatar
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    Default Re: What is a good virtual drive?

    Quote Originally Posted by Xiahou View Post
    FWIW, I tried Virtual CloneDrive on an XP machine today, and I was pretty impressed. Next time I need a virtual drive, I'll be using it.
    It works like a charm!

    Unfortunately, I am still too stupid to operate it. Apparantly, you need to convert your discs into an .iso before you can mount them into Virtual CloneDrive.

    Rather than start a new thread 'What is a good .iso converter?', does anybody know how to do this? A quick link to a site for dummies?


    I don't know about this stuff. I write my mail with a quill, which I then have converted by my assistant into 'e-mails', or whatever it was she called them.
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    Bt why woulf we uy lsn'y Staraft - Fragony
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  13. #13
    Vagrant Member Madoushi's Avatar
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    Default Re: What is a good virtual drive?

    I've heard DiscJuggler is good, but I've never been able to get it to run, on any PC.
    So I use Nero, when I have to. (I hate .isos so much)



  14. #14
    Boy's Guard Senior Member LeftEyeNine's Avatar
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    Default Re: What is a good virtual drive?

    Dear Lwi,

    Please get using Magic ISO Virtual CD/DVD Manager.

    Truly yours,

    LEN

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    Mr Self Important Senior Member Beskar's Avatar
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    Default Re: What is a good virtual drive?

    Quote Originally Posted by Louis VI the Fat View Post
    Unfortunately, I am still too stupid to operate it. Apparantly, you need to convert your discs into an .iso before you can mount them into Virtual CloneDrive.

    I said that in the 2nd post.
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  16. #16
    TexMec Senior Member Louis VI the Fat's Avatar
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    Default Re: What is a good virtual drive?

    Quote Originally Posted by Beskar View Post
    I said that in the 2nd post.
    I know. After one week, I managed the first part of your excruciatingly technical post. Then I struggled with the even more rocket-sciency second half, and cried for help.


    One day I'll succeed!


    Quote Originally Posted by Beskar
    You can get a virtual drive from Daemon tools (google search it), what you do is copy your cd's and dvd's onto your computer as an ISO and you load these onto your virtual drive.
    Anything unrelated to elephants is irrelephant
    Texan by birth, woodpecker by the grace of God
    I would be the voice of your conscience if you had one - Brenus
    Bt why woulf we uy lsn'y Staraft - Fragony
    Not everything
    blue and underlined is a link


  17. #17

    Default Re: What is a good virtual drive?

    Assuming you have a clone image of whatever contents on your CD disk, it should be possible to mount this file.

    Something like this should work (requires administrator powers, so you'll have to run cmd.exe as administrator)
    Code:
    mount "c:\drives\my_clone" +
    From what I understand that makes Windows attempt to figure out the filesystem type of "c:\drives\my_clone" and mount it under some mount point, so it can be accessed like any other type of storage medium (e.g. USB stick, harddisk partition, DVD, memory card).
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  18. #18
    The very model of a modern Moderator Xiahou's Avatar
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    Default Re: What is a good virtual drive?

    Quote Originally Posted by Louis VI the Fat View Post
    Rather than start a new thread 'What is a good .iso converter?', does anybody know how to do this? A quick link to a site for dummies?
    The lovely and talented ImgBurn should be able to make iso's from discs. It's also a great iso burning program.
    Last edited by Xiahou; 04-14-2010 at 22:43.
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  19. #19
    TexMec Senior Member Louis VI the Fat's Avatar
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    Default Re: What is a good virtual drive?

    I've succeeded!


    I'm now officially a whiz kid, a mighty geek, a Jedi of the digital age!
    Thank you all for the suggestions and input.



    Oh - does anybody know what that right button on my mouse does?
    j/k
    Anything unrelated to elephants is irrelephant
    Texan by birth, woodpecker by the grace of God
    I would be the voice of your conscience if you had one - Brenus
    Bt why woulf we uy lsn'y Staraft - Fragony
    Not everything
    blue and underlined is a link


  20. #20

    Default Re: What is a good virtual drive?

    It gives a nice clicking sound.
    - Tellos Athenaios
    CUF tool - XIDX - PACK tool - SD tool - EVT tool - EB Install Guide - How to track down loading CTD's - EB 1.1 Maps thread


    ὁ δ᾽ ἠλίθιος ὣσπερ πρόβατον βῆ βῆ λέγων βαδίζει” – Kratinos in Dionysalexandros.

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