Virtual CD

Virtual CD (computer software): A way to mount an image on stored on your hard-drive as a CD (whether audio or data CD-ROM) for all intents and purposes. Boring old trivial task on Unix/Linux. This is mostly only an issue on Microsoft Windows - you'll need special software. It'll install virtual device drivers to simulate a SCSI CD-ROM drive, a very limited system (only D:, E:, ..., Z: can be mounted).

Why would one want to do this? I have an 82 GB hard disk. I do a "full installation" of a computer game, and yet it always asks for the CD-ROM, apparently for anti-software piracy purposes. So instead I can do a "minimal" installation and keep an image of the CD-ROM. See also: Why do I bother to take the Porn CD out of the Drive anymore?

A Windows program developed by H+H Software, which gives the user the ability to mount a CD-ROM/DVD-ROM to the hardrive. The program workds as giantfish mentioned above, using a SCSI Host to emulate a SCSI CD-ROM Drive. It allows you to mount as many drives as you want, using the letters A-Z (assuming none are already taken). It is, however, different to the above method as this program uses compression to make the file smaller. A 750 MB CD is compressed down to around 100 MB.

Also, this program installs software that makes the virtual drive much like a real drive. For each CD you copy to your hardrive, you can then right click the virtual drive (in my case F:) in My Computer, Explorer, etc. and it gives you the option: Insert a Virtual CD (with three sub-categories, Games, DVDs and Audio). This makes the mounting process as simple as possible and means that people with little to no experience in mounting can use this program to make it as easy as inserting a real CD.

You can find Virtual CD v4.0 at: http://www.virtualcd-online.de/vcd/apps/download/spack.cfm?lg=0