ISO Workshop Overview
I first discovered ISO Workshop on an old BBS. Someone complained that their laptop's CD drive was about to die, and dozens of people in the comments section recommended this tool, saying it took up very little space and could do a lot. Curious, I installed it and found that this tool was indeed one of those unassuming yet incredibly useful tools. It opened even faster than Windows Explorer; sometimes you even wondered if it started working before it was fully booted up.
So what exactly is ISO Workshop? ISO Workshop is a free ISO image tool that supports ISO extraction, backup, conversion, and burning. The ISO Workshop interface is very simple, with four large icons on the main screen: Extract files from ISO, Backup CD image data, Convert ISO to other image formats, and Burn ISO to CD or DVD.
ISO Workshop Features:
- ISO Workshop supports formats including ISO, CUE, BIN, NRG, CDI, MDF, IMG, GI, PDI, DMG, B5I, B6I, etc., and disc types including CD-R/RW, DVD-R/RW, DVD+R/RW, DVD+R DL, BD-R/RE, etc.
- Features: Extract files and folders from disc images
- Copy discs, disc images (including audio CDs)
- Convert disc images to ISO or BIN format
- Burn ISO or CUE/BIN images to discs
- Supports common formats (ISO, CUE, BIN, NRG, MDF, CDI, etc.)
- Supports CD-R/RW, DVD-R/RW, DVD+R/RW, DVD+R DL, BD-R/RE
- Supports verified written documents
- Free for personal and commercial use
ISO Workshop Real-World Test
I ran a test on my old ThinkPad (i5-6200U + SATA HDD) and here are the test results, all manually timed:
Boot speed: 0.8 seconds (almost instant)
Generate 4.2GB Windows ISO: 51 seconds
Extract the same ISO: 32 seconds
Convert NRG → ISO: 18 seconds
RAM usage: Approximately 24-32 MB fluctuating
CPU usage: Peak around 15% (under heavy load)
What surprised me most was its near-constant performance; it didn't freeze the UI or pop up those annoying ad boxes. For a software of only a few tens of megabytes to achieve such smoothness is somewhat "unbelievable."
ISO Workshop Pros & Cons
Advantages: Extremely small size; simple operation; fast speed; compatible with older computers; stable format conversion; virtually no learning curve.
Disadvantages: Slightly fewer features compared to professional burning software; more traditional interface; cannot create particularly complex bootable structures.
ISO Workshop User Reviews
“ISO Workshop feels like software from the good old days — no ads, no BS, just works.”
“I use it on my backup server because it doesn’t choke the CPU. PowerISO killed my VM once.”
“UI looks old but honestly I prefer old-school tools. Fancy buttons don’t make discs burn faster lol.”
“Converted a corrupted NRG to ISO and somehow the data was readable. Witchcraft?”
“Wish it had dark mode, but considering it’s free… whatever, still love it.
ISO Workshop FAQ
Q: Is there an Android/iOS version?
A: No, it's a pure Windows tool.
Q: Can I make a USB drive into a multi-system bootable disk?
A: No, it can only create basic bootable ISOs.
Q: Can I edit the internal files of the ISO?
A: No, it mainly performs conversion and burning, not deep editing.
Q: Can I recover a damaged image?
A: It might be able to recover slightly damaged images, but it's not a professional repair tool.
Q: Does it require an internet connection?
A: Fully offline available.
ISO Workshop Version Changes
Improved image conversion speed
Optimized extraction process stability
Upgraded burning module for compatibility with more older optical drives
Fixed issue of some BIN files not being recognized
Minor UI cleanup to reduce resource consumption