mounting an ISO image

so many times i figure out technical stuff that i need to know for a specific task, then when the task is completed, i just trust that i'll remember what to do the next time i need to do the same or a similar task. but invariably, i forget and it's right back to square one with the technical research. i'm going to try to short cut that process by taking some notes and putting them either here or on my hard drive.

to run an ISO image file off your hard drive (rather than from a cd) you need an emulator, like Daemon Tools (free; they have a version for win2k, xp and vista), that mounts the image on a virtual drive and allows you to read the file. installation of Daemon Tools is quite easy, no configuration is necessary and the GUI is self-explanatory. but don't go for the DAEMON Tools Pro Basic. though it's free, it requires signing in with valid email address and the installation file requires internet connection and an adware component is forced on user during installation or the installation does not complete.