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 Windows OS Hub / Windows 10 / Couldn’t Mount ISO File on Windows

January 30, 2024

Couldn’t Mount ISO File on Windows

In some cases, you may get an error when you try to mount an ISO image file in Windows:

Couldn't Mount File
Sorry, there was a problem mounting the file

Couldn't Mount File error

In this article, we will look at how to solve the problem of mounting an ISO image in Windows.

Tip 1. Check the ISO file attributes

If Windows cannot mount the ISO, check if the SPARSE attribute is set for the file. Open the command prompt and run:

fsutil sparse queryflag "D:\Distr\Windows10-22h2.iso"

If the command returns This file is set as sparse, disable the attribute:

fsutil sparse setflag "D:\Distr\Windows10-22h2.iso" 0

Check the attribute state again using fsutil sparse queryflag. The command should return This file is NOT set as sparse.

fsutil sparse queryflag ISO file

If you get an ‘Error: Access is denied‘ when you try to change the file attribute, remove the read-only flag in the file properties.

fsutil Error: Access is denied

You can remove the ReadOnly flag in the properties of the ISO file or by using the command

attrib -r "D:\Distr\Windows10-22h2.iso"

Remove read only from ISO file on Windows

If the ISO image file was recently downloaded from the Internet, you will need to unblock the file. Open the file properties and check Unblock in the General tab. The following warning appears in the properties of a file downloaded from the Internet:

This file came from another computer and might be blocked to help protect this computer.

Unblock ISO file downloaded from Internet

By default, Windows displays a security warning to the user when opening files downloaded from the Internet.

Now try to mount your ISO image file from Windows Explorer or using PowerShell.

In some cases, the simplest solution may be to simply copy the ISO file to a different location and then mount the image. If an ISO image file is located in a shared network folder accessible via a UNC path, try copying it to your local computer.

Tip 2. Reset CD/DVD drive settings in the registry

In some cases, the cause of problems with the mounting of ISO files in Windows may be due to incorrect settings for the CD/DVD drive (both physical and virtual). You can reset CD device settings through the registry:

  1. Open the regedit.exe;
  2. Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Class\{4D36E965-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318} key;
  3. Remove the UpperFilters and LowerFilters parameters.reset cd/dvd drive settings in registry
    Tip. If this reg key contains UpperFilters.bak, do not do anything to it.
  4. Restart your computer. Windows will reset CD/DVD drive settings to default ones.

Tip 3. ISO files cannot be mounted from Windows Explorer

If an ISO file is correctly mounted by using the Mount-DiskImage PowerShell command, but cannot be mounted with File Explorer, try resetting file associations for ISO files.

  1. Right-click an ISO file and select Open with;
  2. Select Windows Explorer and check Always use this app to open .iso files; Always open ISO files with Windows Explorer
In some cases, you may simply restart the File Explorer process in the Task Manager or use the command below:

tskill explorer & explorer

restart file explorer process

In Windows Server, try running File Explorer as Administrator.

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