I recently downloaded the IT software on my Windows computer and all the files were .BIN and .CUE files. To work with them, I needed to convert the BIN files to ISO images and mount them as a disc.
In this article, I’m going to mention a couple of free and paid utilities that you can use to convert from one format to another. Some programs just convert from BIN to ISO, but most convert multiple formats to ISO and have other useful features.
If you only need to do the conversion once, it’s wiser to use free software. For batch conversion or conversion on an ongoing basis, it might be worth investing in one of the paid utilities.
WinBin2ISO
WinBin2ISO is a tiny free program that converts BIN CD images to ISO images and that’s it. I mentioned the first one because it’s free, portable (meaning it doesn’t need to be installed), works with files larger than 2GB, and works with Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 10.
This program is only 35KB in size and very small. I also like this program because the developer is very active and there are many other programs on his website that he constantly updates. The program works as expected and there isn’t much to say.
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WinISO
WinISO is another free program, but you need to download the old version 5.3 instead of the newer one. The standard version costs $ 20, which is not bad, but only useful if you need to edit, create, convert, mount, or burn ISO images.
Luckily, you can do most of that with the free version too, it just has an outdated interface, which doesn’t really matter to me.
You can use WinISO to view the contents of BIN, NRG and ISO files, as well as create bootable ISO images. You can see all the differences in features between the standard and free versions here.
Any2ISO
As the name suggests, Any2ISO can convert almost any file format to ISO image. The Pro version of the program costs $ 23, but they also have a lite version that is free. The only snag in the lite version is that it doesn’t work with files that are larger than a regular CD (870 MB). It’s pretty small, so for most people, you’ll either have to buy it or use one of the free programs I mentioned above.
This program can convert many different file types, including 7Z, DAA, DMG, RAR, XAR, etc., to ISO images. It can also take any CD / DVD / Blu-ray and convert it to ISO or BIN / CUE image. In addition, he can take any folder and create an ISO image from it. It seems that the lite version can also do all these tasks, only with a file size limit.
PowerISO
PowerISO is almost the same as the paid version of WinISO but costs a little more at $ 30. You can download it for free, but if it is not registered, you can only work with files up to 300MB in size, which is less than the limitation in the free version of Any2ISO
All in all, this is a great piece of software that works as expected, but I’m not sure if it’s worth $ 30, especially if you have a few free options. Obviously, if you need some extra features and do a lot of converting, recording images, and creating images, then that could be worth the cost.
MagicISO
Finally, there is MagicISO, a program that hasn’t been updated since 2010 and costs $ 30, but still remains a popular choice for converting BINs to ISO images.
You can do all the same things mentioned above in terms of creating, editing, burning, converting and mounting ISO images, but I don’t understand why people still buy a program that is already several years old. Better to spend your money on Any2ISO, WinISO or PowerISO The program works fine, but it doesn’t support anything other than Windows Vista.
Hopefully one of the above utilities will help you perform the conversion in the cheapest possible way. If you are using another program other than those mentioned here, feel free to let us know in the comments. Enjoy!
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