Windows 8 Explorer will support native mounting of ISO

With a masterful nail in the optical disc coffin, Rajeev Nagar of the Windows 8 Storage & File Systems team has detailed how Microsoft’s new operating system will natively mount ISO disc images. On the slightly more enterprisesque side of the equation, Virtual Hard Disk (VHD) files will also be supported by Windows 8 in much the same way as ISOs. Both new features will be smoothly integrated into Windows 8 Explorer’s ribbon menu, and mounting an ISO or VHD is as simple as double clicking the file.

If you’ve ever had to play with disc images of any kind, you’ll appreciate just how awesome native ISO and VHD support will be. If, like the hairy denizens of the ExtremeTech bunker, you absolutely abhor the banality of physically locating and slotting discs into your computer, this change will revolutionize how you use Windows. You can make backups of your games and movies, store the files on your hard disk, and then just double click the file when you want to play them. Mounting ISOs will appear in My Computer as optical drives, and unmounting them is as simple as clicking Eject in the ribbon.

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