Unable to Mount ISO file in Windows Explorer

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  1. Posts : 22
    Windows 10 Home (20H2)
       #1

    Unable to Mount ISO file in Windows Explorer


    Please note : I am able to open the ISO with other programs (Winrar, 7zip, etc)


    I am desperate, looking for help. I have scoured the web far and wide and cannot find a solution to my issue and I refuse to believe that reformatting my PC is the only way to fix this issue.


    My issue is, I want to be able to mount iso files (and have been able to do so in the past) with windows explorer. I get the "mount" option when i right click, but when I select it, or select to open the file through windows explorer, I get an error that reads " Sorry, there was a problem mounting the file"
    Unable to Mount ISO file in Windows Explorer-screenshot.26.jpg


    I have Windows 10 Home x64
    Unable to Mount ISO file in Windows Explorer-screenshot.31.jpg
    I have tried;

    copying the file to another drive(its currently in "D:/backup.iso" (My C: drive is my windows install drive). I get the same error as above no matter where i copy it (ctrl+c while the iso is selected, ctrl+v somewhere else)


    checking file permissions and read status
    Unable to Mount ISO file in Windows Explorer-screenshot.28.jpg

    Changing (and checking) the sparse flag in a elevated command prompt
    "fsutil sparse setflag {PathToISO} 0"



    Running "sfc /scannow" in a elevated command prompt (no errors returned)


    Checking to see if there was already a mounted drive/file(there isn't)


    changing the default file extension app, but the .iso file type isn't even listed.
    Unable to Mount ISO file in Windows Explorer-screenshot.27.jpg

    This led me to believe there was a incorrect registry entry(s). I thought the only entry I needed to worry about was in "Computer\HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.iso", but it seems like the entries there are correct, and there are hundreds more entries that came up in search related to the string ".iso". Here are a few entries i thought relevant.

    Unable to Mount ISO file in Windows Explorer-screenshot.29.jpgUnable to Mount ISO file in Windows Explorer-screenshot.30.jpgUnable to Mount ISO file in Windows Explorer-screenshot.19.jpgUnable to Mount ISO file in Windows Explorer-screenshot.20.jpgUnable to Mount ISO file in Windows Explorer-screenshot.21.jpgUnable to Mount ISO file in Windows Explorer-screenshot.22.jpgUnable to Mount ISO file in Windows Explorer-screenshot.23.jpgUnable to Mount ISO file in Windows Explorer-screenshot.24.jpg


    I apologize for the long post. There seems to be no end to this. I know I can just open the file with Winrar, but I want to be able to open the file in explorer like i have been able to do in the past, (albeit a while ago). I am truly at my wits end here.

    I would greatly appreciate any help.
      My Computer


  2. Posts : 13,301
    Windows 10 Pro (x64) 21H2 19044.1526
       #2

    Do you have Iso program like iso buster or magic iso?
    The file might be damaged, (winrar and winzip are a bit more tolerant)
    You could try rebuilding it .
    Do you have another iso to test?
      My Computers


  3. Posts : 4,169
    Windows 11 Pro, 22H2
       #3

    forkinator,

    I did a little searching and found an article listing several possible causes and solutions here:

    Fix: Sorry, there Was a Problem Mounting the File - Appuals.com


    I also found another article noting the same exact problem mounting a VHD rather than an ISO. Still, this might apply. They found the solution to be this:

    Copy (NOT cut and paste) the file to another location. Now try to mount it.
      My Computers


  4. Posts : 22
    Windows 10 Home (20H2)
    Thread Starter
       #4

    thomaseg1 said:
    Do you have Iso program like iso buster or magic iso?
    The file might be damaged, (winrar and winzip are a bit more tolerant)
    You could try rebuilding it .
    Do you have another iso to test?
    Hi, I tried multiple ISO files that I am sure are not corrupt. Also, rebuilding the ISO did not fix the issue. I even made my own ISO file and after trying to mount it, windows gave me back the same error as above.

    I specified in my post that I have Winrar Pro. That's the only ISO program I have. I Tried uninstalling it and restarting my PC but this did not work.


    Thanks for the response.







    hsehestedt said:
    forkinator,

    I did a little searching and found an article listing several possible causes and solutions here:

    Fix: Sorry, there Was a Problem Mounting the File - Appuals.com


    I also found another article noting the same exact problem mounting a VHD rather than an ISO. Still, this might apply. They found the solution to be this:

    Copy (NOT cut and paste) the file to another location. Now try to mount it.
    Hi, and thanks for the response.. I already did the copy and paste method and unfortunately it did not help. Before posting here, I scoured the web for ways to fix my issue and found that post you linked. I Tried everything on that page but nothing is able to fix it. I can't wait to find out what the problem really is.


    I have a feeling it's a registry issue since the .iso extension is not showing up in my default file extensions associated apps, but I cannot find the broken registry path anywhere.
      My Computer


  5. Posts : 13,301
    Windows 10 Pro (x64) 21H2 19044.1526
       #5

    One more thing to try, Long shot, right click on iso choose properties, see if the file is blocked,
    uncheck if it is there. (If it doesn't show up its unblocked).
    Also you could try making explorer the default program for iso files (take note of what is the the default so you can change it back)
      My Computers


  6. Posts : 22
    Windows 10 Home (20H2)
    Thread Starter
       #6

    thomaseg1 said:
    One more thing to try, Long shot, right click on iso choose properties, see if the file is blocked,
    uncheck if it is there. (If it doesn't show up its unblocked).
    Also you could try making explorer the default program for iso files (take note of what is the the default so you can change it back)
    Thanks for responding. I really appreciate it. I'm curious, but did you read my post? Or maybe my pictures are not showing up? If so, I apologize. It's just, both questions are answered in the post.

    I posted a picture of the properties tab of the iso file in question where it shows the answer, (I tried multiple known working ISOs, made my own new ISOs, and all of them are giving the same error) but to answer your first question, no the ISO file is not blocked. I made sure of it. I can use Winrar to extract the contents of the file, but not Windows Explorer.

    In that same picture it shows in the tab the answer to your second question; the Properties window shows "Opens With : Windows Explorer".

    Below the picture I also mentioned what fixes I tried. One of those fix attempts was that I changed the default app for the .iso extension ( to "Windows Explorer". I had to do this In the windows context menu since the .iso extension does not show up in Settings -> Apps ->Default Apps -> Choose default apps by file type ).


    This is a curious issue since It is usually fixed by just right clicking, selecting "open with", and then selecting "Windows Explorer".



    Also, please know that I greatly appreciate your help. I hope that someone can figure out what is going on because this is a strange one.
      My Computer


  7. Posts : 1,020
    Windows 10 Pro 20H2 19042.572
       #7

    This was no problem inside of Hyper-V on my system. But I noticed that your on W10 Home (No Hyper-V), so what are you using ? (VMware? etc).
      My Computers


  8. Posts : 11,247
    Windows / Linux : Arch Linux
       #8

    Hi there

    @forkinator

    Please state what your HOST machine is and what are you using as your Virtualisation software - as it's W10 HOME I'd assume you are using VMWare or Oracle's Virtual Box.

    Do the following though :

    1) If on a Linux Host ensure that the HOST can handle ISO's -- usually in Linux it's /dev/srx where x is the device number.

    2) If on a Windows Host ensure that you can mount an iso via file explorer

    If you can't mount an iso on the HOST system then you won't be able to do it on any Virtual machine (at least not easily and how to do it is way beyond the scope of this post).

    If it CAN mount then the chances are you haven't allocated an iso image in the Virtual machine configuration so the VM won't know anything about the device.

    Note --eject the iso on the host system if mounted otherwise the Guest (VM) won't be able to access it. Even if it's an image iso you still need to "eject it" in Windows explorer or if on Linux your file manager.

    You need to allocate an iso image before booting up the VM -- doesn't matter if it doesn't exist at boot time as all you need is to ensure the virtual iso driver is loaded at boot time.

    3) Now after booting up the VM go into the VM menu (on the Host) and change settings for the CD/DVD device (disconnect if one already connected , re-connect and point to the iso you wish to read).

    I'm using VMWARE Workstation here but a similar option must exist on your VM program on the host. I'm running W10 20H1 (skip ahead build) here on a Linux host but any Host it will be the same.

    Unable to Mount ISO file in Windows Explorer-snapshot45.png

    Cheers
    jimbo
      My Computer


  9. Posts : 22
    Windows 10 Home (20H2)
    Thread Starter
       #9

    storageman said:
    This was no problem inside of Hyper-V on my system. But I noticed that your on W10 Home (No Hyper-V), so what are you using ? (VMware? etc).
    Hey, thanks for the reply.

    I just noticed that my post was moved to the Virtualization forum. I don't know much about Virtualization (just the basics).

    I normally would (if i could) just use the built in windows 10 home function of mounting ISO's, but it gives back an error as you have noticed. Now I have to use Winrar to extract the files of the ISO since the Windows 10 function seems broken on my machine.

    I apologize. I don't know what the basic windows 10 Virtualization name is. Below is a screenshot of the method I would use, but fails.Normally I would just right click and choose "Mount". Then the ISO appears in my explorer as a virtual drive. I don't have any software installed for the function of mounting ISOs.

    Unable to Mount ISO file in Windows Explorer-screenshot.32.jpg




    jimbo45 said:
    Hi there

    @forkinator

    Please state what your HOST machine is and what are you using as your Virtualisation software - as it's W10 HOME I'd assume you are using VMWare or Oracle's Virtual Box.

    Do the following though :

    1) If on a Linux Host ensure that the HOST can handle ISO's -- usually in Linux it's /dev/srx where x is the device number.

    2) If on a Windows Host ensure that you can mount an iso via file explorer

    If you can't mount an iso on the HOST system then you won't be able to do it on any Virtual machine (at least not easily and how to do it is way beyond the scope of this post).

    If it CAN mount then the chances are you haven't allocated an iso image in the Virtual machine configuration so the VM won't know anything about the device.

    Note --eject the iso on the host system if mounted otherwise the Guest (VM) won't be able to access it. Even if it's an image iso you still need to "eject it" in Windows explorer or if on Linux your file manager.

    You need to allocate an iso image before booting up the VM -- doesn't matter if it doesn't exist at boot time as all you need is to ensure the virtual iso driver is loaded at boot time.

    3) Now after booting up the VM go into the VM menu (on the Host) and change settings for the CD/DVD device (disconnect if one already connected , re-connect and point to the iso you wish to read).

    I'm using VMWARE Workstation here but a similar option must exist on your VM program on the host. I'm running W10 20H1 (skip ahead build) here on a Linux host but any Host it will be the same.

    Unable to Mount ISO file in Windows Explorer-snapshot45.png

    Cheers
    jimbo


    Hey jimbo. Thanks for the response.


    The machine I am trying to mount the ISO on is my main and only machine. Windows 10 home as you know. I don't know what the built in Windows 10 name of the software is for mounting ISO files is. I don't have any virtual disks mounted or enabled and I also don't use any software to mount ISOs other than the built in Windows 10 home function. Also, as you can see in my reply just above yours, I just right click the iso file, and select "Mount".

    Truly, I don't know anything but the basics about virtualization, so reading your reply was a bit too advanced for me as far as terminology as I don't know what VMWARE is and don't use Linux.

    On my pc, I just have ISO's(backups,games, etc) that I would like to mount on my PC and the option is giving me errors, when in the past it would work just fine.

    My pc storage devices are a Samsung 850 pro SSD for my main OS drive, and a Samsung 850 evo for my secondary drive. I tried to mount the ISO file itself on each drive separately hoping that it would work on the other drive, but it failed as before.


    Again, thank you for the response.

    - - - Updated - - -

    Just an update. I tried mounting the iso in powershell in the hopes of getting a more informative error message. This is what i got;

    Unable to Mount ISO file in Windows Explorer-screenshot.33.jpg

    Hope someone knows what to do.

    - - - Updated - - -

    Manually updated to windows version 1903 and it fixed this problem.
      My Computer


  10. Posts : 7
    Win10
       #10

    There's the actual error,

    0xc03a0014
    A virtual disk support provider for the specified file was not found

    You could try specifying the storage type, maybe something is messed up with ISO extensions...

    Mount-DiskImage -ImagePath "D:\backup.ISO" -StorageType ISO

    If that fails, run this to get clearer info about the error

    $Error[0].CategoryInfo
      My Computer


 

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