Coincidentally, just the other day I found out that the same can be done to Nero .nrg files. (Nero is a CD burning program for windows.) Change the extension to .iso and mount-up!

For those who prefer a GUI, this is also doable in recent versions of Disk Copy. When creating or converting the disk image, specify "CD/DVD Master" as the output format.

Seriously, I have the same situation as you, and used the command-line solution for a long time, until Panther came out. The Disk Copy (CD/DVD Master) option works great, and it seems to be faster than the command-line, and Nero burns it without a hitch.

This works, but the file is created with a ".cdr" ending, which should be changed to ".iso" to stick with the convention on other platforms.

#!/usr/bin/env tclsh

# dmg2iso
# juanfc (2004-01-29)

foreach f $argv {
    if {[file extensio $f] == ".dmg"} {
        eval exec {hdiutil convert "$f" -format UDTO -o [file rootname "$f"].iso}
    } else {
        eval exec {hdiutil convert "$f.dmg" -format UDTO -o "$f.iso"}
    }
} 

---
---
juan

[ Reply to This | # ]

Here's an alternative script using the bash shell:

----------------------------------------------------------------

#!/bin/bash
echo "Converting "$1".dmg to "$1".iso:"

hdiutil convert "$1".dmg -format UDTO -o "$1".iso

mv "$1".iso.cdr "$1".iso

----------------------------------------------------------------

Save as dmg2iso (Or whatever) and run:
chmod +x dmg2iso

To use:
$ dmg2iso image

You don't have to include the ".dmg" bit. It's assumed. The output file will be: image.iso

Enjoy.

Commandus

anyway to do disk image compression in the iso.... this method seems to create huge uncompressed disk images.

the whole idea for me is so i can burn ISO files on a windows or linux box. my mac doesent have a CDR drive, and the chance of me getting one soon is slim. so to be able to make ISO files out of DMG files and then burn elsewhere is handy.

---
Lotas Smartman
www.lotas-smartman.net
www.the-hairy-one.com
www.lsn-blog.tk

the ISO image standard does not allow internal compression. You'll have to gzip or stuff or zip (or whatever) the resulting file, if you want to send it or whatever.

This is partly why I'm a big fan of compressed DMG's... no muss no fuss. but also no interoperability with lesser OS'es ;)

---
In /dev/null, no one can hear you scream

What I am looking for is the cross-platform equivalent of compressed .dmg's. The content is compressed, but the disk image is still mountable without decompressing with some other utility.

Just in case someone else is wondering, there is no such thing. ISO doesn't have compression and it is basically the only standard in common use for transferring CDROM and DVDROM images.

when ever i tried to do that it would say "convert failed - Operation not permitted" what did i do wrong?

i have windows xp and i write this in run < this messege appear to me < windows cannot find hdiutil >
so what should i do .

It won't work in windows xp, that's only for linux (probably need to install the program) and Mac OS X.

I think I saw on a message board that Nero will do it if you force it to....

Found this on another website... I dont own a Mac so ..

"...the hdiutil is a command that is native to MAC, not Windows... "

Also I found this and tested it ...to convert an Image
(.DMG, .ISO...or whatever) use UltraISO
Awsome Tool!....Easy as pie baby! (point and click!)

They have a trial download (Good for up to 3GB of data)
http://www.ezbsystems.com/ultraiso/index.html

p.s. If you want to see the files on Windows like you do when you open a folder then you will have to "extract" the files from its .ISO, .DMG format or whatever format it is in. Althought, UltraISO will show you the files before it converts them or extractes them in its window.

Good Luck!

Remote Operative

hi there.

this also didn't work for me on windows XP. which system is this meant to be used on? any hints to help me here would be appreciated :)

thanks!

That is a utility built into Mac OS X if i am not mistaken and cannot be used on Windows XP but if you need theres a tool called dmg2iso (do a google search on it) that will make dmgs into isos if you really nead to do that

"hdiutil" is only for MAC OS 10, thus your Windows OS will not run this command. I have yet to find a way to do this using Windows XP. I will post once I have found a solution.

Sorry folks, this will not run on WIndows XP, this is a shell script written for Mac OS X....I'm still looking for a way to convert from DMG to ISO on a PC....

then why are you looking on a site called Mac OS X Hints?

Here's an alternative script using the bash shell:

----------------------------------------------------------------

#!/bin/bash
echo "Converting "$1".dmg to "$1".iso:"

hdiutil convert "$1".dmg -format UDTO -o "$1".iso

mv "$1".iso.cdr "$1".iso

----------------------------------------------------------------

Save as dmg2iso (Or whatever) and run:
chmod +x dmg2iso

To use:
$ dmg2iso image

You don't have to include the ".dmg" bit. It's assumed. The output file will be: image.iso

Enjoy.

Commandus

Alternative method:

Open Disk Utility, convert the DMG file to a CD/DVD Master (it'll have the extention .cdr), change the extention to .iso, transfer it over to your PC and burn it with whatever software you have.

Originally posted on macrumors by: vniow

Hi
Buddy i am using "Mandriva 2006" linux on my PC. My PC configuration is Pentium D with 512 RAM and SATA 80 GB HDD. Can u plz guide me which other linux will fit with my PC.
As i am using Mandriva for the first time and the command "hdiutil" is not a valid command on my linux.

Plz guide me as i am in great mess.

Thnx

I am confused what to write in the comand. I am confused what to write for first Path and then another Path in the end.
I have file name: iLife , on C Drive (its directly on C, not in any folder). and I want to save that file on Desktop.

Can anyone help me... Please...

You can contact me on: jaypatel06@yahoo.com

Thanks

i tried converting a dmg to iso using this method to get parallels desktop to read it as a cd but parallels refuses to connect (through windows xp).

Any ideas why this might be?

iso's made with parallels image tool work fine but that doesn't allow you to convert an existing image.

Elapsed Time: 32.480s
Speed: 17.1Mbytes/sec
Savings: 0.0%


500+ MB Image. 2.0 Ghz Intel Core 2 Duo

Rip a CD-ROM to a .iso file:

In disk utility, get info on your mounted CD to see what device name it is. On mine it's /dev/disk1s0.

hdiutil create -srcdevice /dev/disk1s0 -format UDTO filename.iso

mv filename.iso.cdr filename.iso

I think there is some confusion between naming something ".iso" (which, if a .cdr image, is then burnable in Windows) and the actual ISO-9660 *filesystem*, with or without the Joliet extensions, which is an actual burnable, mountable and useable VOLUME in Windows. If you do this:

hdiutil convert /path/to/filename.dmg -format UDTO -o /path/to/savefile.iso

or more properly this:

hdiutil convert -format UDTO -o /path/to/outfile /path/to/source.dmg

You end up with the same thing: A .cdr disc image. Leave the ".iso" off to see. So why not just make a .cdr ("CD/DVD Master") from Disk Utility in the first place (or select a .dmg and pick Convert in Disk Utility) and rename the .cdr to .iso? It's the exact same thing. But the resulting burned CD has only 1 filesystem - HFS+ (Mac OS Extended) that is not very useful in other OSes.

But for Windows compatibility (a CD or volume you can actually mount) you want the ISO-9660 *filesystem*, with or without the "Joliet extensions" to the ISO specification. Or maybe you want UDF for DVDs. But what if you could have HFS+, ISO-9660, Joliet, *and* UDF all on the same image - and have it be smaller than the file created by the above Terminal commands? Well, you easily can - here's the quick and dirty how-to:

1. Drag the .dmg file (the CD, DVD or volume of which you want to use in Windows or Linux) to your Desktop.

2. Then go to the Terminal and type:

hdiutil makehybrid -o ~/Desktop/ ~/Desktop/

3) Press Enter.

That's it! The "example.dmg" which you dragged to your Desktop is , and is just any name for the resulting image file. You can rename later, so don't dork it up - leave out spaces, symbols, etc. DO NOT add .iso, .dmg, .cdr, etc. to the end of . The correct filename extension will be added only if it isn't part of the provided name. Also, the path is case-sensitive. The currently logged-in user likely does NOT have a ~/desktop, but DOES have a ~/Desktop directory.

But wait - it gets better! can be the name of a FOLDER! It does not have to be a .dmg image file. Just get the path correct (does not have to be ~/Desktop if you want to make an image from a folder elsewhere, or a disc image elsewhere) and "viola" - you get a perfect hybrid disc image file useable in virtually *every* modern OS. And can even be a hard-drive! Heck, for all I know can be a very large database file by itself... try it. I'd be interested to know.

To see the 411 on this, type "man hdiutil" in the Terminal. Hit Space or Return until you get down to the VERBS section. Look at "convert", then look at "makehybrid". The "convert" verb is basically all the Disk Utility functionality, but in the Terminal. Boo. But look at the "makehybrid" verb; after the 4 filesystems (-hfs, -iso, -joliet, -udf) under "makehybrid" is this:

"By default, if no filesystem is specified, the image will be created with all four filesystems as a hybrid image. The data area of the image is shared between all filesystems, and only directory information and volume meta-data are unique to each filesystem. This means that creating a cross-platform ISO9660/HFS+ hybrid has a minimal overhead when compared to a single filesystem image." Hizzaa!

DMG Converter (http://sunsky3s.s41.xrea.com/dmgconverter/index.html) can create ISO filesystems, but it cannot CONVERT images to ISO filesystems, only make new images using it. So if you mount the image first and then use DMG Converter on the mounted volume, "converting" the disc image is the same as "making" a new image from the mounted volume. But God help me I'm not that bright, so the menu options are sort of confusing to me... This is 1 instance where using the Terminal is actually easier!

I tried this "hdiutil makehybrid" command on a 458 MB .dmg file and got a hybrid .iso that was 530 MB in size. Using "hdiutil convert" gave me a 592 MB ".iso" file that was actually a .cdr - and only had the single HFS+ filesystem - so it did not work in Windows. I'm much happier w/ the true ISO that is 60 MB smaller and has 4 filesystems! There is no compressed image format for Windows, so if you want a smaller file just zip or stuff your final hybrid image.

Figures it would get stripped out, even in plain text. Nice. Here it is in a form that works w/ the damn "geeklog" system (as opposed to having an "Edit" button...):

1. Drag the .dmg file (the CD, DVD or volume of which you want to use in Windows or Linux) to your Desktop.

2. Then go to the Terminal and type:

hdiutil makehybrid -o ~/Desktop/[outfile] ~/Desktop/[source]

3) Press Enter.

[outfile] is the resulting image. Leave off .dmg, .iso, .cdr, etc. from [outfile]. Include ".dmg" for [source] if it is a disc image. [source] can also be a folder.

Crypto, let me say that you are the first person, in hours of research, that really understands this. I'll save you the sob story of what I've been through and just get to the point:

SITUATION:
trying to get a program (Rosetta Stone) installed onto a netbook PC without a CD/DVD drive. i have a mac with a drive. yes, the CD is for both mac/PC

TRIED:
i've tried sharing the disc drive over the network and no luck. i get the workgroup to work and share files/printers, but the drive doesn't seem to want to work. this is why i hate PCs.

WHERE I AM NOW:
i've done your method*, which was successful in getting me the proper filestructure needed. i also got to this point using Toast, but yours was much easier.
on the PC, I am using Alcohol 120% to read the disk image and mount to a virtual drive. i can now mount/read the disk images (proper .iso), but...

THE PROBLEM:
even though i can read the disk properly, i can't run the install/setup files. i can't even see the proper (.exe) files, nor does "autoplay" work to get the disk to run the install utility. is it that since it's burning on the mac it's not burning those files? that doesn't really make sense since the disk image should be an exact copy.


any ideas on how to get the disk (image) to run properly on the PC? any help is much appreciated.

-A

* I think you can also do it with Deeper, which opens up terminal commands in user-friendly manner, and Disk Utility. when you enable "add other formats of disk images" you get a list of: Disk Copy 4.2, NDIF (various kinds), compressed (ADC + bzip2), entire device, iPod image, UDIF stub, sparse, sparsebundle, and the usuals.

** update **

OK, so I've got the shared DVD drive to work, but the problem persists. I can only see Mac type files and not the proper PC ones to run the program on the netbook.

Any ideas out there?

I thought the tools were failing on me since they would always fail to convert images larger than 4GB until I finally realized that the external drive that I was using was formated using Windows FAT32 format (one of them, at least) which had a 32-bit file size limit. I switched to a HFS+ file system on the same drive and all was well.

This worked great! Fast too! I converted a 2.6 GB unconpressed dmg to iso on my 1.83GHz intel core duo w/ 1GB RAM in 2minutes, 54 seconds. The avg convert speed was 16.5MB/sec

I just wasted an hour of my life that I will never get back reading all or most of the comments to this article.

I really really fear those morons who took the time to actually comment here when they clearly have no idea that this is macosxhints.com. This is not a Windows and not a Linux blog. It is for Mac OS X, hence the name of the site.

All you idiots with Windows or Mandriva, that took the time to ask the worlds dumbest questions about why hdiutil is not found on your system - please do the world a favor and kill yourselves. The longer you go on living the slower this world will progress.

I'm sure this will get flagged as abusive, but I just had to say something before the world's IQ gets any lower.

This is mainly directed to oldr4ver, but it's also for all the other cranky people I've seen posting recently.

Not everyone is a "fanboy", dedicated to just Microsoft, or just Apple, or just Anything. Some of us like to use more than one computer and when we do, we often throw many operating systems into the mix. That's why we end up with problems like having to read Apple's DMG format on a foreign system.

And, yes, some people are newbies, but you don't have to insult them for asking questions on the "wrong" forum. How does that help the "IQ of the world"? I understand that you're mad at everyone for wasting your time by forcing you to read posts that you find idiotic. Congratulations, your petty-poopy tirade just extended the thread of idiocy.

There are so many better ways you could have handled this. May I demonstrate?

For example, you could gently point the newbies to where they can find more expert (and perhaps friendlier) advice. "Sorry, I don't know much about GNU/Linux, but I hear the folks at forums.debian.net are real nice."

Or, if you have the knowledge, you could share it with them, for example, "Well, in GNU/Linux, Apple's DMG files should automatically be readable from your desktop when you double-click on them. If not, run this command: sudo mount -t hfsplus -o loop thisisthefile.dmg /mnt, and it'll show up."

If you can't do either of those, the next best thing is to say nothing. That right, even though you see somebody who's such a noob that they don't even know who to ask for help, the correct action is to just let them be. Someday, you'll try something new (or at least I hope you will) and you'll appreciate it when people don't pounce on you for your mistakes.

--Bugsy

This seems silly. All you do is mount the DMG and use Disk Utility to convert it to a CDR. That's the same as an ISO. For that matter, download ISOBuster and the Windows system can expand the DMG itself.
http://www.isobuster.com/isobusterdownload.php