How to Mount and Unmount ISO Disc Images in Ubuntu Desktop

Whether testing operating system installers, inspecting legacy software archives, or exploring optical disc backups, ISO files remain a universal standard for disk image distribution. In Windows or macOS, mounting an ISO file creates a virtual optical drive with a single click. In Ubuntu desktop, users often assume mounting disk images requires complex terminal commands like sudo mount -o loop file.iso /mnt. In reality, modern Ubuntu releases include a pre-installed graphical utility that mounts ISO files directly inside the Files file manager in seconds.

Mounting an ISO Image Using the Graphical File Manager

You can mount any downloaded .iso file on your Ubuntu desktop without touching the command line:

1. Open the Files application (Nautilus) from the Ubuntu dock.
2. Navigate to the folder containing your downloaded ISO file (typically your Downloads folder).
3. Right-click the .iso file.
4. Select Open with Disk Image Mounter from the context menu.
5. If this option does not appear immediately in the top list, click Open With…, select Disk Image Mounter, and click Select.
6. Ubuntu immediately attaches the file as a virtual storage volume.

Browsing and Copying Files from the Mounted ISO

Once mounted, the ISO behaves exactly like a physical USB drive or CD-ROM:

• Look at the left navigation sidebar in the Files app. A new drive icon will appear under the Other Locations or drives section showing the ISO volume label.
• Click the drive name to browse its directory tree, open documents, or extract compressed archives.
• To copy contents to your local PC, simply drag files from the ISO window into your Documents or Desktop folder. Note that mounted ISO images are read-only; you cannot delete files from or add new files directly to the mounted image.

How to Safely Unmount the ISO Image

When you have finished extracting files, unmounting the image reclaims virtual device resources:

1. In the left sidebar of the Files app, locate the mounted ISO drive entry.
2. Click the small triangular Eject icon (⏏) located directly next to the drive name.
3. Alternatively, right-click the virtual drive icon on your desktop wallpaper (if desktop icons are enabled) and select Unmount.
4. The virtual drive vanishes cleanly from your filesystem.

Mounting via Terminal for Headless or Server Environments

If you are working over SSH or prefer terminal workflows:

1. Create a temporary mount directory:

   sudo mkdir -p /media/iso

2. Mount the ISO using loopback mode:

   sudo mount -o loop ~/Downloads/filename.iso /media/iso

3. When finished, unmount with:

   sudo umount /media/iso