ISOs, DMGs, and Windows

Nicomachus · 11-01-2004, 02:56 AM

Hello everyone, my first post. Ok, I have a problem which seems to be common and also has a common "answer" but the problem is this answer does not work.

Here is the situation. I have dmg files I would like to convert to a standard ISO which can then be tranferred to a Windows machine and either burned as a normal ISO or mounted via using demontools or something like that.

Many people will, well just use this command:

hdiutil convert -format UDTO source -o destination

I don't know whether this makes an ISO or not, I have my doubts. Nevertheless, whenever I move this output file to a windows box the dreaded, evil, nonesensical resource-fork problem rears its ugly head. The file is totally unusable in Windows. I could actually make Nero burn this but would it does is just burn something on Windows which can ONLY be read on Mac OS, I don't really see the logic.

So, how do I convert a DMG, from a mac, into a STANDARD iso file and then how would I send this to a Windows computer without making some unusable file. I tried some program called "Resfork Killer" but it didn't do anything, it said "shredded resources" but the resources were nonetheless there. Has anyone else ever wanted to do this? If so, has anyone ever done this? I've searched on Google to no end, so if someone could help me I would greatly appreciate it.

-Oh ya, and if I have an image which is bootable, I would like it to also be bootable on a Mac when it is converted to ISO. This seems like a non-issue but I am amazed at how complicated it is.

Thanks

RacerX · 11-01-2004, 04:40 AM

Well, Mac disks (and disk images) are usually in HFS format. It sounds like your main problem is that Windows doesn't read HFS.

It might help to know what type of files you are trying to read here also.

As for keeping a bootable Mac disk bootable after converting it to ISO... part of being Mac bootable is the disk being in the HFS format. I really don't see a way around that one.

In the long run, if this is a big deal or something you do a lot, you might get a Windows helper program that lets Windows read HFS disks. As I recall there was a program for this (I think it was Dave, not too sure).

And I'm sure you've heard this one before, but if you are getting stuff as DMG files, the odds are pretty good that the contents were never meant for a Windows system.

bluehz · 11-01-2004, 07:51 AM

I make 5-10 .iso files a day and this works for me everytime.... actually its creating a hybrid CD - with a Mac and PC partition. Only the appropriate partition will show up depending on the machine that its mounted on.

hdiutil makehybrid -o "outputfile_name.iso" "input_directory"

or

hdiutil makehybrid -o "outputfile_name.iso" "input.dmg"

This will create an .iso from an existing .dmg file or create a new .iso from a directory of files.

basti_k · 11-01-2004, 08:00 AM

i'm using firestarter fx to convert (mounted) .dmg files to .iso format (to burn it w/ nero 6).

there's also an applescript to convert .dmg > .iso, but i don't know about it

greetz
basti

Zamael · 02-11-2005, 05:57 PM

http://vu1tur.eu.org/tools/ (dmg2iso.pl) win32 binary also avilable

ShavenYak · 02-14-2005, 09:32 AM

Perhaps it would be more helpful if we knew what the contents of these .dmg files were. As RacerX said, it's pretty rare to find something distributed as .dmg files which you would be able to open on a Windows system, even if it was in a Windows-readable file system.

I was able to use the dmg2iso program Zamael pointed to to take a .dmg file of an OS9 update from Apple, convert to .iso and burn it to CD on a Windows box, and load the update on a B&W G3 with no burner, so it at least does what it says it will do... but of course the output disc was unreadable on the Windows machine.

11-01-2004, 02:56 AM	#1
Nicomachus Prospect Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 1	ISOs, DMGs, and Windows Hello everyone, my first post. Ok, I have a problem which seems to be common and also has a common "answer" but the problem is this answer does not work. Here is the situation. I have dmg files I would like to convert to a standard ISO which can then be tranferred to a Windows machine and either burned as a normal ISO or mounted via using demontools or something like that. Many people will, well just use this command: hdiutil convert -format UDTO source -o destination I don't know whether this makes an ISO or not, I have my doubts. Nevertheless, whenever I move this output file to a windows box the dreaded, evil, nonesensical resource-fork problem rears its ugly head. The file is totally unusable in Windows. I could actually make Nero burn this but would it does is just burn something on Windows which can ONLY be read on Mac OS, I don't really see the logic. So, how do I convert a DMG, from a mac, into a STANDARD iso file and then how would I send this to a Windows computer without making some unusable file. I tried some program called "Resfork Killer" but it didn't do anything, it said "shredded resources" but the resources were nonetheless there. Has anyone else ever wanted to do this? If so, has anyone ever done this? I've searched on Google to no end, so if someone could help me I would greatly appreciate it. -Oh ya, and if I have an image which is bootable, I would like it to also be bootable on a Mac when it is converted to ISO. This seems like a non-issue but I am amazed at how complicated it is. Thanks

11-01-2004, 04:40 AM	#2
RacerX Triple-A Player Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Minneapolis, MN Posts: 212	Well, Mac disks (and disk images) are usually in HFS format. It sounds like your main problem is that Windows doesn't read HFS. It might help to know what type of files you are trying to read here also. As for keeping a bootable Mac disk bootable after converting it to ISO... part of being Mac bootable is the disk being in the HFS format. I really don't see a way around that one. In the long run, if this is a big deal or something you do a lot, you might get a Windows helper program that lets Windows read HFS disks. As I recall there was a program for this (I think it was Dave, not too sure). And I'm sure you've heard this one before, but if you are getting stuff as DMG files, the odds are pretty good that the contents were never meant for a Windows system.

11-01-2004, 07:51 AM	#3
bluehz MVP Join Date: Jan 2002 Posts: 1,562	I make 5-10 .iso files a day and this works for me everytime.... actually its creating a hybrid CD - with a Mac and PC partition. Only the appropriate partition will show up depending on the machine that its mounted on. hdiutil makehybrid -o "outputfile_name.iso" "input_directory" or hdiutil makehybrid -o "outputfile_name.iso" "input.dmg" This will create an .iso from an existing .dmg file or create a new .iso from a directory of files.

11-01-2004, 08:00 AM	#4
basti_k Triple-A Player Join Date: Jun 2003 Posts: 64	i'm using firestarter fx to convert (mounted) .dmg files to .iso format (to burn it w/ nero 6). there's also an applescript to convert .dmg > .iso, but i don't know about it greetz basti

02-11-2005, 05:57 PM	#5
Zamael Prospect Join Date: Feb 2005 Posts: 2	http://vu1tur.eu.org/tools/ (dmg2iso.pl) win32 binary also avilable

02-14-2005, 09:32 AM	#6
ShavenYak Major Leaguer Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 274	Perhaps it would be more helpful if we knew what the contents of these .dmg files were. As RacerX said, it's pretty rare to find something distributed as .dmg files which you would be able to open on a Windows system, even if it was in a Windows-readable file system. I was able to use the dmg2iso program Zamael pointed to to take a .dmg file of an OS9 update from Apple, convert to .iso and burn it to CD on a Windows box, and load the update on a B&W G3 with no burner, so it at least does what it says it will do... but of course the output disc was unreadable on the Windows machine.