INFORMATICS

InfraRecorder is a free CD/DVD burning solution for Microsoft Windows. It offers a wide range of powerful features including:

• Create custom data, audio and mixed-mode projects and record them to physical discs as well as disc images.
• Supports recording to dual-layer DVDs.
• Blank (erase) rewritable discs using four different methods.
• Record disc images (ISO and BIN/CUE).
• Fixate discs (write lead-out information to prevent further data from being added to the disc).
• Scan the SCSI/IDE bus for devices and collect information about their capabilities.
• Create disc copies, on the fly and using a temporary disc image.
• Import session data from multi-session discs and add more sessions to them.
• Display disc information.
• Save audio and data tracks to files (.wav, .wma, .ogg, .mp3 and .iso).

Windows doesn’t have a built-in way to create ISO files, although modern versions of Windows— Windows 8, 8.1, and 10—can all natively mount ISO files without any additional software.

To actually create an ISO file from your own physical disc, you’ll need a third-party program. There are lots of tools that can do this, but you need to be careful because many of them are packed with junkware.

As always, we recommend Ninite as a safe place to grab tools of all sorts. On the ISO front, Ninite includes tools like InfraRecorder, ImgBurn, and CDBurnerXP. Just be sure to download them through Ninite. Some of these programs—like ImgBurn—do include junkware in their installers if you get them from elsewhere.

After you choose and install one of these tools, all you really have to do is insert a CD or DVD into your PC, click the option for reading a disc or creating an ISO, and then select a location to save the ISO file.