DMG is a file used on Macintosh Operating System X. It is a Disk Image File on the Operating System X which stores disk images differently.

.DMG is an extension to Disk Image Files for Apple Computers and basically these are compressed files. Macintosh OS X Disk Copy Disk Image File best describes this file format “.DMG”. A DMG file is similar to virtual DVD or hard drive in which it sums up documents, images, software, and other files. Disk Image is safe as well as convenient for transferring files as well.

Macintosh is an Operating System where these files behave as a real disk. They can be created with Disk Copy and burnt to CD, normally as other files. On Windows, dmg2iso program converts .DMG file to an .ISO file.

Files can then be burnt to a CD, easily and can be read by using an .ISO file reader. dmg2iso program is nothing but a command line utility which will convert .DMG files to ISO files very easily. Once ISO is loaded, we can either burn it with almost any CD burning application, or mount that image as a drive with tools like Daemon Tools, Virtual CD to name a few.

Command Syntax used

“dmg2iso file.daa file.iso”

Path on the Macintosh Operating System

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

MIME Type

application/x-dmlco

Usually MIME type listings contain the name of a program or a type of file as the foremost text in the MIME type.

IsoBuster is also a program where we can open .DMG files. After opening these files by using the EXTRACT command we can convert it into ISO files. Generally DMG files can be password protected and are not mountable on other softwares.

DMG files do not have any physical medium for storage but they can be simply burnt to a CD or sent over the Internet. Firstly we should mount the disk image on the system and then Mac OS X will load the disk image placing a new drive icon in the upper left-hand sidebar of the Finder on the desktop.

When we burn a disc from the disk image, the burned disc will have the similar format as the disk image. The easiest way to burn .DMG file is to, just drag and burn. This allows to burn files for different scenarios. To un-mount the DMG files open the “Finder” and click the eject icon. This can also be done by clicking on the icon and pressing “CMD+E”. Regularly upgrade the OS 10.3 Panther to take maximum advantage of the updated disk utility application.

DMG files are not necessary to keep in the system but if you want to reinstall them you can store them as well. There is no need for original CD to haul around as it resides on the hard drive also.

DMG files come in different formats and that is why it needs special software to mount all these files with dissimilar format like TransMac. .DMG file type is mainly used by the ORACLE Export utility and Import utility.

Different file formats for DMG

•HFS

•HFS+

•UFS

•Pro DOS

•Linux

•Fat32

Online Info

Online Information is also available on .DMG files. Several files and links to these files are easily obtainable on different websites. dmg2iso program and related softwares can also be installed from the internet directly.