Windows 7, 8: How To Use Disc Image Burner

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Windows 7 — and Windows 8 Developer Preview — have a built-in ISO burning utility that lets you make bootable discs for any OS. And burn DVDs. Here I’m using it via Windows 7 to create a bootable Ubuntu disc. Check me out.

In Windows 7 and Windows 8, you don’t need to get third party software to burn it. Not anymore. The built-in Windows Disc Image Burner will let you burn ISOs onto disc. But not just of Windows. Of any OS.

I’m going to show you how to burn an ISO image —  in this case for the purpose of creating an Ubuntu install disc.

First insert a blank CD or DVD into your optical drive.

Right click the ISO file. Click Burn Disc Image.

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The Windows Disc Image Burner utility comes up. Select the drive with your blank disc, check Verify Disc After Burning. Click Burn to start the process.

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Now wait while the system burns the bootable ISO to your blank disc. The amount of time it takes will vary depending on the speed of your CD / DVD drive and the amount of data being burned.

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After burning, Windows will scan the disc and verify there are no corruption issues.

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All done! Your CD / DVD tray will open with your disc-bootable version of Windows.

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Make sure and label your discs so you don’t lose track of them.

This process is the same in both Windows 7 and 8.

Windows Disc Image Burner isn’t for just creating bootable ISO images. If you convert a DVD to ISO you can use it to burn an unprotected DVD ISO to disc, so you can watch it in most DVD players.

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If you download Windows 7 via TechNet or MSDN, it comes as an ISO file that you can and should burn to disc in case of a future emergency.

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