Run .iso file on mac

Husky1992 · Oct 31, 2012

What is the best way to run a .iso file made for windows on my mac 10.8.2?
I need something easy and that doesn't slow down performance nor drain too much battery. thanks!

p.s. When I try to open the file it says me that it is a powerpc app and that it can't be launched

chriscl · Oct 31, 2012

"The Unarchiver" - which is free on the Mac App Store - can easily open ISO images.

An ISO file is an image of (usually) a CD or DVD disc, but you can make anything in to an ISO if needed.

Husky1992 · Oct 31, 2012

chriscl said:
"The Unarchiver" - which is free on the Mac App Store - can easily open ISO images.

An ISO file is an image of (usually) a CD or DVD disc, but you can make anything in to an ISO if needed.

the iso in only supported from powerpc. not my mac.

i've downloaded oracleVM is it of any help? I can't figure out how it should be set up

iThinkergoiMac · Oct 31, 2012

Husky1992 said:
What is the best way to run a .iso file made for windows on my mac 10.8.2?

An ISO is a disk image file. You can't "run" it like you run an app (say, Preview). You can open it with an app. A disk image file is basically a file that pretends to be a disk (like a CD, DVD, or external hard drive). DMGs are another example of disk images.

p.s. When I try to open the file it says me that it is a powerpc app and that it can't be launched

ISOs should open with the built-in disk image loader. Did you update from Snow Leopard? Sounds like you have an app assigned to be the default app for ISOs that requires Rosetta, which Apple dropped after Snow Leopard. Right-click (two-finger click or ctrl-click) on the file, choose "Get Info..." and click the arrow next to "Open With" in the window that appears. What does it say is the default application.

OracleVM isn't going to help in this case. What it does is completely unrelated to what you're trying to do. UNLESS you're trying to run the actual contents of the image file, which you said is made for Windows. At that point, you're entering a whole different realm.

Can you tell us what the ISO is, and what your goal is? That will help a lot.

chriscl: I use TheUnarchiver all the time for things, but I don't understand what good it would be for disk image files. What's the advantage over the OS? Thanks for the tip that it's on the MAS, though!

MisterMe · Oct 31, 2012

There appears to be a lot of confusion here. An .iso is a disc image file, not an executable. Double-clicking on an .iso will mount it on the Desktop. What you can do with an .iso depends on the contents of the image. If the .iso is the image of a media DVD, then DVD Player can play it just like a plastic disc. I assume that iTunes can play the image of a media CD. If the .iso is the image of a data disc, then the contents will be handled by whichever application you have that handles the specific file types within the image.

Word of caution: My experience with .iso files is that they mount on the Desktop as writable volumes.

iThinkergoiMac · Oct 31, 2012

MisterMe said:
Word of caution: My experience with .iso files is that they mount on the Desktop as writable volumes.

This has never happened to me. If I make an ISO of a DVD, for example, I can't write to the mounted image. I believe you can set up an ISO to be writable, but one made of a disk is almost certainly going to be locked.

MisterMe · Nov 1, 2012

iThinkergoiMac said:
This has never happened to me. If I make an ISO of a DVD, for example, I can't write to the mounted image. I believe you can set up an ISO to be writable, but one made of a disk is almost certainly going to be locked.

The .iso of interest here was the distribution CD for software downloadable from the Web. IIRC, I have had the same experience with a Linux distribution distributed as .iso. Whatever the source of the .iso files or the motivation of the people who created them, the fact remains that mounted .iso images can be writable. Users should take appropriate care.

Husky1992 · Nov 1, 2012

the .iso is an interactive medical volume of anatomy (called Netter). I've read on the internet that with rosetta it could be opened, but now, with 10.8.2 it can't anymore. I'm asking what is the best way to play this .iso on my mac

blueroom · Nov 1, 2012

Rosetta was a Power PC emulator. If you want it back you're going to have to downgrade your OSX to Snow Leopard or upgrade your software.

chriscl · Nov 1, 2012

Husky1992 said:
the .iso is an interactive medical volume of anatomy (called Netter). I've read on the internet that with rosetta it could be opened, but now, with 10.8.2 it can't anymore. I'm asking what is the best way to play this .iso on my mac

You can't "play" it - as pointed out by many posters above.

An ISO file is a disk image - you will need to "burn" that image to a CD or DVD.

That will then give you an optical disk with a bunch of files on it - presumably an application in this case.

However - if this is an "old" PowerPC application that requires Rosetta, it *will not run* on a recent Mac OS X version (10.8 >) as Rosetta has been removed.

Intell · Nov 1, 2012

MisterMe said:
The .iso of interest here was the distribution CD for software downloadable from the Web. IIRC, I have had the same experience with a Linux distribution distributed as .iso. Whatever the source of the .iso files or the motivation of the people who created them, the fact remains that mounted .iso images can be writable. Users should take appropriate care.

The ISO standard dictates that the disc image is read only. An ISO can be reimaged using some terminal commands to be writable, but those are generally unstable and do not burn well or at all and are rarely if ever distrbuted. DMGs are the more common read/write form of a disk image. Out of the thousands of ISOs I have dealt with over the years, only a few of my own have been writable. I ended up having to trash them as they became unstable and started eating data put in them.

Husky1992 · Nov 1, 2012

chriscl said:
However - if this is an "old" PowerPC application that requires Rosetta, it *will not run* on a recent Mac OS X version (10.8 >) as Rosetta has been removed.

I know this, what is the easiest way to run it?
I know that I could run it by partitioning my hdd and installing windows or a prev version of OS with rosetta but I'm not confourtable doing that. Is there a way of running on OSX (in some kind of window) linux, windows, rosetta and then run this .iso in it?

Simplicated · Nov 1, 2012

Husky1992 said:
I know this, what is the easiest way to run it?
I know that I could run it by partitioning my hdd and installing windows or a prev version of OS with rosetta but I'm not confourtable doing that. Is there a way of running on OSX (in some kind of window) linux, windows, rosetta and then run this .iso in it?

Did you read others' replies

? An ISO is nothing more than a container for files, and ISO itself pretends to be a disc. So it must be (a) an application is defaulted to open ISOes, or (b) an application inside the ISO disc image is a PowerPC application.

iThinkergoiMac · Nov 1, 2012

Husky1992 said:
the .iso is an interactive medical volume of anatomy (called Netter). I've read on the internet that with rosetta it could be opened, but now, with 10.8.2 it can't anymore. I'm asking what is the best way to play this .iso on my mac

I did a google search for this, and didn't come up with much. If it's an interactive piece of software, then I'm assuming you have an ISO of the install disc. You said it's for Windows. If that is so, then Rosetta won't help you at all. If it's for Mac, but requires PPC support, then ONLY way you'll do it (without some fancy virtualization) is by downgrading to Snow Leopard or earlier (though I don't recommend anything earlier).

This is all very confusing. Did you ever follow my instructions for seeing what was opening, or attempting to open, your ISO? Or is the ISO itself opening (mounting/appearing on the desktop or Finder window sidebar) but you're unable to open what's inside it?

Husky1992 · Nov 1, 2012

iThinkergoiMac said:
I did a google search for this, and didn't come up with much. If it's an interactive piece of software, then I'm assuming you have an ISO of the install disc. You said it's for Windows. If that is so, then Rosetta won't help you at all. If it's for Mac, but requires PPC support, then ONLY way you'll do it (without some fancy virtualization) is by downgrading to Snow Leopard or earlier (though I don't recommend anything earlier).

This is all very confusing. Did you ever follow my instructions for seeing what was opening, or attempting to open, your ISO? Or is the ISO itself opening (mounting/appearing on the desktop or Finder window sidebar) but you're unable to open what's inside it?

I said that wrong at first, it isn't a windows only application, I know it can run on mac, BUT ONLY on powerpc mac's. The .iso open's (it mounts on the finder sidebar) but as soon as i click on the executable files it says me that thing on powerpc. What is the best way you reckon on opening this .iso ?
The application is this, in case you're wondering what's all about http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qEV_RJCD20o

p.s. I know what is an .iso file, so thanks and stop telling me what it is, the real problem is that it is a POWERPC supported app only

iThinkergoiMac · Nov 1, 2012

Husky1992 said:
I said that wrong at first, it isn't a windows only application, I know it can run on mac, BUT ONLY on powerpc mac's. The .iso open's (it mounts on the finder sidebar) but as soon as i click on the executable files it says me that thing on powerpc. What is the best way you reckon on opening this .iso ?
The application is this, in case you're wondering what's all about http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qEV_RJCD20o

p.s. I know what is an .iso file, so thanks and stop telling me what it is, the real problem is that it is a POWERPC supported app only

OK, now we're getting somewhere. FWIW, people keep telling you what an ISO is because you keep saying things like "what's the best way to run/open this ISO, the ISO is PPC-only". You're interchanging the words "application" and "ISO".

As has been said before, the only way for you to run the application is to have Rosetta installed, which means you need to have Snow Leopard installed. If you want to spend the money for a VM app, it's possible to virtualize Snow Leopard. This would let you run Snow Leopard at the same time you're running Mountain Lion. It's a bit slow, but it should do the trick. See this thread:

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1365439/

Husky1992 · Nov 1, 2012

iThinkergoiMac said:
OK, now we're getting somewhere. FWIW, people keep telling you what an ISO is because you keep saying things like "what's the best way to run/open this ISO, the ISO is PPC-only". You're interchanging the words "application" and "ISO".

As has been said before, the only way for you to run the application is to have Rosetta installed, which means you need to have Snow Leopard installed. If you want to spend the money for a VM app, it's possible to virtualize Snow Leopard. This would let you run Snow Leopard at the same time you're running Mountain Lion. It's a bit slow, but it should do the trick. See this thread:

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1365439/

what kind of money are we talking about for the VM app? Is there a "cheap" way....?
p.s. And where do I get a Snow lepoard original installation dvd? It isn't better installing linux on the VM app? should it run on that?
thanks for the help!

iThinkergoiMac · Nov 1, 2012

Husky1992 said:
what kind of money are we talking about for the VM app? Is there a "cheap" way....?
p.s. And where do I get a Snow lepoard original installation dvd? It isn't better installing linux on the VM app? should it run on that?
thanks for the help!

"Cheap"? If you're talking about piracy, then our conversation is over. Talking about piracy is banned on these boards.

Parallels is $80, and VMWare Fusion is similar. You'd have to search online for a Snow Leopard install disc if you don't already have one. They actually get more expensive as time goes by, which is strange. All in all, your total investment will be at least $110 ($80 for VM software and $30 for SL @ original retail price).

Linux won't help you. You need Rosetta or a PPC Mac. Unless your software is REALLY old, then you might be able to emulate Classic Mac OS with SheepShaver. But I HIGHLY doubt your software is that old.

Husky1992 · Nov 1, 2012

iThinkergoiMac said:
"Cheap"? If you're talking about piracy, then our conversation is over. Talking about piracy is banned on these boards.

Parallels is $80, and VMWare Fusion is similar. You'd have to search online for a Snow Leopard install disc if you don't already have one. They actually get more expensive as time goes by, which is strange. All in all, your total investment will be at least $110 ($80 for VM software and $30 for SL @ original retail price).

Linux won't help you. You need Rosetta or a PPC Mac. Unless your software is REALLY old, then you might be able to emulate Classic Mac OS with SheepShaver. But I HIGHLY doubt your software is that old.

why wouldn't it work with linux? the software is not that old and it worked perfectly on my desktop pc with windows seven on it. I could emulate windows on my mac but i prefer something lighter and free like linux

old-wiz · Nov 1, 2012

Husky1992 said:
why wouldn't it work with linux? the software is not that old and it worked perfectly on my desktop pc with windows seven on it. I could emulate windows on my mac but i prefer something lighter and free like linux

An application compiled and built for OSx PPC will not run on Linux..period.

Husky1992 · Nov 1, 2012

old-wiz said:
An application compiled and built for OSx PPC will not run on Linux..period.

It's not compiled for OSX. It runs on windows too

iThinkergoiMac · Nov 1, 2012

Husky1992 said:
why wouldn't it work with linux? the software is not that old and it worked perfectly on my desktop pc with windows seven on it. I could emulate windows on my mac but i prefer something lighter and free like linux

That's like asking why your gas car won't run on diesel or alcohol.

You don't seem to understand the basic nature of software. Software has to be compiled or made for the OS it is going to run on. Age of software has nothing to do with it. The application itself does NOT run on both Windows and OS X. Instead, there are two different versions of the software on your disc; one for OS X and one for Windows. If they programmed it cleverly, only the appropriate one will actually show up when looking at the disc in said OS. All the data the application uses is the same, just the application itself is different; one coded for Mac, the other for Windows. Neither are coded for Linux.

You need to virtualize either Snow Leopard or Windows. Or you could use BootCamp to boot into Windows. Either way, Linux WILL NOT WORK. You could POSSIBLY use WINE to do it, but that would be clunky and buggy and almost certainly not work.

Husky1992 · Nov 1, 2012

can I virtualize xp on virtualbox?

iThinkergoiMac · Nov 1, 2012

Husky1992 said:
can I virtualize xp on virtualbox?

Yes, so long as you already have a copy of XP. Otherwise, you'll need to get one.

Husky1992 · Nov 1, 2012

guys you've been incredibly helpfull, finally I managed to play this thing on xp with VM

xp is fine, all plays well, internet connection is fine, trackpad is fine, however once i launch this .iso it "cuts" a part of the screen so it's kinda hard to see, I've tried to launch the .iso in 640x480 mode with xp but it doesn't change, do you have any hints?
thanks!

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