Virtual CD

Virtual CDs and DVDs have many advantages. Instead of inserting one disc after another, you can just mount one or more images. Also, virtualizing your discs is a good way to back up their data or to avoid wearing out your optical drive. Simply named Virtual CD, this flexible program enables you to create and manage disc images, burn them, use them to protect your private files and more. The complexity of its interface allows you to perform numerous tasks and it will not take long to get used to its functions and layout.

Downloading and installing the software may take a bit longer than expected. The setup file is 104 MB and it will take a few minutes until the program's files are installed on your computer. The good news is that you don't have to make any advanced settings. You can opt for a manual installation, which is not complicated or let the wizard use the most common settings.

Virtual CD's features are spread across multiple windows. When you start the application, it will display a Home screen, which contains options for accessing the available features. You may choose to manage your disc images, create a new one, insert a virtual blank, assemble data to burn it on a CD, burn images or bring up the general settings menu.

To create an image, you must go through multiple stages. You can either use Next and Back buttons or jump to specific steps, by selecting them from a list, on the left side of the window. The software will detect and display your loaded CDs automatically, so you just need to select one. You can perform an analysis, to see if there are any problems on the source CD, add comments, encrypt the virtual CD and much more.

The virtual blank feature has different uses. You may create blank CDs, DVDs or Blu-ray discs and load them into a virtual burner. Once loaded, you can add files on the virtual blank and burn it whenever you want. Besides blank medias, you can also create virtual safes. They can be mounted and dismounted like any other image, but you can also password protect them and use them to store and protect personal files.

The software makes it very easy and comfortable to manage virtual CDs. You may categorize them in different folders, on the program's CD Control Center, use a search function, to find specific images, burn, analyze, compare or convert them and much more. Your physical and virtual drives are listed on the right side of the window and you can load images by dragging and dropping them over a virtual drive or burner. Double clicking a loaded drive will reveal a series of options, on a separate window, for ejecting, burning or exploring the image or to show its properties. The software lets you create more virtual drives and load up to 23 images simultaneously.