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do bin and iso files have larger files sizes than it's contents???

5 posts · originally from https://geek.digit.in/community/threads/do-bin-and-iso-files-have-larger-files-sizes-than-its-contents.81353/

tango_cash
tango_cash Original post #1
Feb 29, 2008 at 12:45 AM
hi i have some bin and iso files when i load them in alcohol the total size of the contents is less than the file size of the iso or bin file.
for e.g i have this iso file which has size of 314mb. when i load it in alcohol the total size of the contents is just 271mb.why is that???where is the remaining 43mb used??
i am thinking of copying the contents of the iso to my hdd and delete the iso file .this way i will save 43mb.and similarly more space when i do the same for my other iso and bin files.but i am afraid will the data become corrupt?
am i missing something??is some extra memory needed which i am unable to see.
please help
Saahib
Saahib #2
Feb 29, 2008 at 1:43 AM
alcohol is some virtual drive software ?...

Well, usually ISO is same of size of its content.. but when mostly data is compressed.. eg.. a Linux distro with ISO of 1 GB can come up with 3 GB of software when installed... but as ISO its always 1 GB.. whether u mount it or keep it as it is.
K
khattam_ #3
Feb 29, 2008 at 3:42 AM
Well, usually ISO is same of size of its content.. but when mostly data is compressed.. eg.. a Linux distro with ISO of 1 GB can come up with 3 GB of software when installed... but as ISO its always 1 GB.. whether u mount it or keep it as it is.

Yes, ISOs and BINs are not compressed image formats, however, they may contain compressed files.

@tango_cash
yes, ISOs can take up more space than the total amount of files. And the other space is just nothing. However, some (usually very less) may be occupied by "Boot Image" if the ISO is bootable. If the ISO is not bootable, you may extract and keep the files and del the ISO. However, if the ISO is bootable, it is a gud idea to backup the boot-image with a software like IsoBuster (however it is a software that u shud pay for, the Free function it provides will serve the purpose)..

And BIN images are sometimes made for copy-protected disks. So extracting the contents may not let you install the software.
pushkaraj
Feb 29, 2008 at 4:48 PM
And BIN images are sometimes made for copy-protected disks. So extracting the contents may not let you install the software.

if u r talking abt movies then some files r 2 make THAT .mpeg,dat etc files behave as moviecd when u popin the cd\dvd ......

2 save that space, u can extract & delete the original iso file ....

+1

@tango_cash, decide whether to extract the contents of the image file or not depending on the type of data that is there in it. If it's a movie cd/dvd image then u can extract it safely, but if it's a game or software image, then better leave it as it is.
tango_cash
Feb 29, 2008 at 8:29 PM
thank u all for the help.actually the iso and bin files are of tutorial dvd's. they are not any sftwr(but i will keep that in mind if i have sftwr dvd's iso or bin file. khattam_)
so i guess it is pretty safe if i copy the content and delete the iso bin files and save myself some space.