MDF File is a media descriptor file which is created by burning software such as Alcohol 120% to create a CD Image file. This format is easily stored on the hard disk as an image of the CD/DVD even when the sectors are corrupt or defective. MDF is

A format used commonly by Alcohol 120% , which is a burner to save the data or create an image of the media file by ripping the disc in this format.

MDF file are various files which can denote Microsoft MS SQL, Media Descriptor or MDF Image file. The .MDF file format is often used to denote the copied DVD or CD on the hard disk. This format is used when the exact replica of the copyrighted DVD or CD by ripping the disc. These MDF Files can be easily converted to ISO for using or viewing the video or image files.

Various softwares such as mdf2iso and ISO Analyzer tool are used for converting these files to ISO format. Magic ISO is also a popular and freeware tool which can support this format and convert them to be readable. This software can not edit the files but only convert them leaving limited functionality and use of the file. If the user likes to edit the file he can purchase the paid version of the Magic ISO software for the same.

MDF file is basically a format wherein data is stored as a disk image for a CD/ DVD by the related software. The data that is saved in the image file is saved in different format than the actual data. Actual data is in MDF File.

Opening MDF Files

The computer treats all MDF files as a CD or DVD. This is an image. Special software is required to open these files. These files can be easily opened on all operating systems such as Windows and Macintosh. Several softwares like Alcohol 120% and Daemon tools can be used for this purpose. These softwares can be easily downloaded from the internet. However to activate all the features one shall require paid version to be purchased. Magic ISO other than the above is also a great tool to open these files. It creates, opens and easily converts MDF to ISO file. One can also edit, extract, mount and burn these ISO files easily by using this software.

MDF and other files - Difference

MDF files are dissimilar to other image files like BIN and ISO files. MDF files are created by editor softwares which create image of CD/ DVD on the disc. These files are then used by other editors to edit. MDF Files are exact replica of the proprietary CD/ DVD which are stored as images and softwares like Magic ISO are used to read the file and mount them for converting to readable format.

MDF Files are created with another file which is .MDS. This file stores the header information and is read by the convertor software to convert the file to ISO File format.

Benefits of creating .MDF Files

The major benefit of creating .MDF File is to store the exact copy of any copyrighted CD/ DVD on the disk. This enables the user to view, edit ad convert the files to ISO format.

There is lot of information available on the internet for MDF files and its conversion techniques. Various software which converts the file to ISO format is freely available on the internet. This software has limited functionality and is not able to edit the files. To do so, one needs to purchase the full version of the software. By purchasing the full version of the converter software one can not only convert but also edit huge media files and copy them to any disk or CD/DVD.

So, the next time you need to convert your media files to image format use .MDF File format.