#62 Cannot mount image in 'img' format

[Csimbi]

Hello,
I download this image, right click and I try to mount it:
https://officecdn.microsoft.com/db/492350f6-3a01-4f97-b9c0-c7c6ddf67d60/media/en-us/ProPlus2024Retail.img

I get this error: "The volume does not contain a valid filesystem. What do you want to do? Unmount/Format/Exit"

I know that to be wrong because any other tools recognize the image.
If I save it as ISO, I can mount it in ImDisk, however, the preference would be, of course, not having to convert it.

Thank you!

[v77]

The extension is important. This tool considers .img files as direct copies of volumes or full disks.
Here, you have an ISO file. Just rename it with the .iso extension. No need for any conversion, as this is already the ISO format.

I think Microsoft did a mistake by giving this file the .img extension. That said, with Windows 11, Explorer opens it directly, so at least it works, but this file should have the .iso extension.

Of course, various tools perform analyses of the file to determine its type, and it's the great tendency to have tools that make the file extension meaningless.
I don't like that, because for instance, if the analyse goes wrong, you can be unable to open the file. The file extension is a way to keep the control.

[Csimbi]

Hello v77,
thanks for responding.
Understood, thank you - I will take a mental note to rename these to ISO until such a time that Microsoft adopts a fix going forward.

[Olof Lagerkvist]

Microsoft have named Office installation images .img for many years now and I would think that they are not going to change that any time soon.

I think their idea at some point might have been that these images do not use the ISO9660 file system but instead UDF and therefore they did not want to use the .iso extension. Although that is just a guess. They call many other UDF images .iso, so the logic behind it is not entirely clear.