DAEMON Tools Lite 4.45.2

When you have a virtual image of a CD or DVD (ISO or NRG file for example), there are two options at your disposal. Your first option is to burn that file onto an actual CD or DVD, which can prove to be a hassle. You need to have an physical disk to burn the info onto and you need to have software that lets you burn data onto media disks. Not to mention that you must pop the burnt disk inside the CD/DVD reader every time you want to access that data.

Your second option is to use a piece of software like Daemon Tools and mount that virtual image onto a virtual drive. That is precisely what Demon Tools does: it creates one or several virtual drives onto which you can mount any disk image you want. This way you don’t have to bother with burning data onto a disk, or the annoying sound the disk makes when it is being read.

When you first think about it, emulating a disk image may not seem that useful to you. But if you take the time to properly think about it you will come to the conclusion that it is actually quite handy. Any file can be easily loaded right from your system, you don’t waste money on purchasing CDs or DVDs, you don’t waste time burning them, and last but not least, virtual drives are faster (and a lot more quiet) than CD/DVD readers.

In the world of disk emulating, Daemon Tools sets the norm and draws you in by offering everything you will ever need from such a piece of software: ease of use, speed, does not hog your computer’s resources. After you download and install the software (a system reboot is mandatory), you will notice a Daemon Tools icon on the system tray. Simply click that icon and you will have access to the software configuration menu and functionality (things like set the number of virtual drives, select the file you want to mount, and so on).

There are three Daemon Tools versions to choose from: Lite, Pro Standard and Pro Advanced. Only the Lite version comes free of charge, but for the regular home user it will be more than enough. Sure, it doesn’t come with support for DHD HD and Blu-Ray, and it does not come with the option to create image files, but most times the regular user only wants to mount a virtual disk and access the data on it.

Didn’t mention this before, but Daemon Tools works with Windows only and is available in just two languages (English and German).

Pros
No need to burn CDs and DVDs
Virtual drives are faster than physical ones
Lightweight on computer resources
Free for personal use

Cons
Comes with a few extras that you might not want: adds a default search provider, customized start page and toolbar. Just pay attention to the installation process and uncheck these options if you do not want them.
Upon installing the software, you always have to restart your computer
The free version is limited to 4 virtual drives and does not let you create image files

DAEMON Tools has been reviewed by George Norman on 22 Sep 2009. Based on the user interface, features and complexity, Findmysoft has rated DAEMON Tools 5 out of 5 stars, naming it Essential