Virtual CloneDrive is a free Windows utility from Elaborate Bytes that mounts disc image files as virtual optical drives. Once Virtual CloneDrive loads an image, Windows and the programs running on it treat the virtual drive like a physical CD, DVD or Blu-ray drive with a disc inserted. You can browse, install or play the contents without burning the image to real media. It runs on 32-bit and 64-bit editions of Windows and is distributed as freeware.
Mounting a disc image
The usual way to load an image is to double-click it in Windows Explorer. Virtual CloneDrive places the file in a virtual drive, which then shows its contents as if a disc had been inserted. You can also mount images from the Explorer context menu. The file can sit on a local disk or on a network share.
Unmounting works through an eject action. The eject button removes the image from the drive. An optional setting unmounts the image whenever the virtual tray opens, for example when you choose Eject on the drive in Explorer. An “Automount last image” option reloads the previously used image automatically, which helps when the same disc is needed every session.
Supported image types and media
Virtual CloneDrive reads the common image formats ISO, BIN, IMG, UDF, CCD and DVD. DVD files can specify the media type of an image. Virtual CloneDrive uses the layer break position from CloneCD images. When no descriptor is present, the program reads the media type from the image itself.
The virtual drive can present itself as CD, DVD, HD-DVD or Blu-ray hardware, including recordable and rewritable Blu-ray media types. This matters for software that checks what kind of disc is in the drive. An audio CD image, a video DVD and a Blu-ray data image each appear as the matching media rather than as a generic data volume. Disc playback programs can therefore open mounted video images as they would a real disc.
Running several virtual drives
Up to 15 virtual drives can exist at the same time, each holding a different image. This lets a multi-disc set stay mounted together, or keeps a reference disc available alongside another image. Drive letter settings for the virtual drives remain in place when the program is updated.
History, tray icon and preferences
Virtual CloneDrive keeps a list of recently mounted images, so you can load a previously used file again without browsing for it. Entries for files that no longer exist drop out of the list automatically. You can clear or purge the history on demand.
A notification-area icon gives access to the drives and a help menu, and its appearance can be changed. The preferences also include a Buffered I/O option, which changes how the program reads image data. This option is relevant mainly for images opened from network locations. The interface is available in around 20 languages.
Command-line control
The VCDMount tool included with Virtual CloneDrive accepts switches for scripts and shortcuts. It can mount an image to a chosen virtual drive unit, unmount a drive, or open a browse dialog for picking an image. It can also clear or purge the mount history and toggle the virtual tray. These switches let batch files or other programs load and remove images without using Explorer.
