Have you found some NRG files but do not know how to browse their contents? Don’t worry: NRG files are CD and DVD image files that are generated using Nero, a famous burning software, and can be used with many software. I beg your pardon? None of the programs you use seem to support them? In that case, you could try to bypass the problem by turning them into common ISO files, and then burn or mount them with any suitable software.
How about it? Yes, I know, it’s not the most elegant solution in this world, but luckily there are some free programs that take the user out of any embarrassment by allowing you to convert NRG to ISO extremely easily and quickly. They have a very good success rate (unfortunately they are not foolproof) and are compatible with both Windows and macOS. Alternatively, if this solution is not successful, you could consider extracting or mounting NRG files directly, using other solutions (which, if you want, I’ll tell you about later in this guide).
Are you ready to get in on the action? Are you? Great. I’d suggest then that we put away the chit-chat and start getting busy immediately. Sit back, take a few minutes of your free time, and focus on reading everything below. I’m sure that, in the end, you’ll be happy and satisfied with what you’ve learned. What do you say, shall we bet?
How to convert NRG to ISO on PC
Are you using a PC with Windows installed and would like to understand how to convert NRG to ISO? Then go ahead and read on: below, in fact, you’ll find what I believe to be the best solutions for this purpose.
NRG to ISO
NRG to ISO is the first application I feel like recommending to you. It is very light, completely free and, to work, does not require any installation process: just ideal for those who, like you, want to find out how to convert NRG to ISO without wasting too much time.
To download NRG to ISO to your PC, connect to the program’s website and click on the Download link on the right, under the heading Latest Version. Then, extract the ZIP file into a folder of your choice and run the .exe file inside.
When you see the software window on your desktop, click the Open button next to the NRG File heading and select the NRG file you want to convert, then click the Convert button and wait for the conversion process to start and finish. The final file will be saved in the same location as the original one.
PowerISO
Should the program I recommended earlier fail in its mission, you can try PowerISO, a commercial software that allows you to manage CD and DVD image files in 360 degrees. You have to pay for it (it costs $29.95), but it is available in a free trial version whose only limitation is that it cannot process images heavier than 300 MB.
To download PowerISO to your PC, go to the program’s website and click on Download PowerISO v6.1 (64-bit) (if you are using 64-bit Windows) or Download PowerISO v6.1 (32-bit) (if you are using 32-bit Windows).
Once the download is complete, open the .exe file and, in the window that appears on your desktop, press the Yes, Agree and Install buttons. Next, click on the Next button and then on the Finish button to finish the setup.
At this point, all you have to do is launch PowerISO, calling it up via the shortcut added to the desktop or via the Start menu and, once the software window appears on the screen, click on the Continue Trial button to use the free trial version of the program.
Next, click the Tools menu at the top left and select the Convert option from it. In the next window that opens, click the yellow folder icon under the Source Files heading, choose the NRG file you want to convert to ISO and make sure that the ISO Standard Image File option is selected in the Image File Format drop-down list (otherwise you can select it yourself).
Finally, click the OK button to start the file conversion process. The final image will be saved in the same location as the original one.
AnyToISO
Another program you can use to accomplish the task in this guide is AnyToISO, a software that lets you convert ISO files to any other image file format and vice versa. It also allows you to create CDs, DVDs and Blu-Rays from these files. It’s pretty easy to use and it’s paid for (it costs €22.95), but you can download it in a free trial version that runs for a limited time.
To download it to your computer, go to the program’s website, click on the Free Download button and then on Download for Windows.
After the download is finished, open the .exe file and click the Yes button in the window that opens on the desktop. Then click the Next button, check the I accept the terms of the license agreement box and click the Next button three times in a row, then the Install button and finally the Finish button.
Now that you see the software window on your screen, make sure that the Convert/extract ISO files tab is selected (if not, you can do it yourself), then click the Open image button next to the Source image file item and select the NRG file you want to convert to ISO.
To finish, click the Convert button and wait for the process to be completed. The resulting ISO file will be saved in the same location as the source file.
How to convert NRG to ISO on Mac
Are you using macOS and would like to know how to convert NRG files to ISO on the apple operating system? Then use the resources you find listed below: they are all super easy to use, you have absolutely nothing to worry about.
Terminal
The first of the tools that I suggest you try to convert NRG files to ISO format on Mac is the Terminal, the tool included in all Macs to interact with the system from the command line. To use it for your purpose, you just need to start it and issue a special command.
To be precise, the first step you have to take is to call up the Terminal by clicking on its icon (the one with the black window with the line of code) found in the More folder of Launchpad. Alternatively, you can open the Terminal via Spotlight, Siri or by calling it from the Applications folder of macOS.
Once the Terminal window appears on the screen, type the following command, taking care to replace the paths and names of the two files with the actual paths and names of the images to be processed. Then, press the Enter key on your keyboard.
dd if=/Users/tuonome/Desktop/image.nrg of=/Users/tuonome/Desktop/image.iso bs=512 skip=600
Note that this procedure slightly modifies the NRG file by removing 600 bytes from the image and saves it with an ISO extension. Also, it only works on CD and DVD images written on a single session.
If you’re not satisfied with the use of the Terminal, or if you’re having problems using it, you can convert NRG to ISO using AnyToISO: the program I told you about in the previous lines in its Windows version. It is also available for macOS and, also in this case, its operation is very simple.
To download the software on your Mac, visit its official website and click first on the Free Download button and then, on the newly displayed page, on the Download for macOS button.
Once downloaded, extract the ZIP archive to any location on your computer, drag the program’s icon (the one with the software’s logo) contained within it to the Applications folder of macOS, right-click on it and select Open from the context menu, in order to launch AnyToISO while circumventing the restrictions imposed by Apple on applications from non-certified developers (this should only be done on first startup).
Now that you see the main window of AnyToISO on your desktop, the steps you have to take to convert your NRG files into ISO images are practically the same as those you see on Windows.
How to burn or mount ISO files
Following the instructions I gave you in the previous lines, you managed to convert your NRG files into ISO images and now you’d like to understand how to burn them to disk or how to mount them? In the first case, I refer you to read my specific guide on how to burn ISO, while in the second case I suggest you consult my post on how to mount ISO files.
How to extract NRG files
You’re not interested in converting NRG files to ISO images, but you simply want to understand how to access their content by extracting them? Then go ahead and read on: below you can find some software suitable for this purpose.
IsoBuster (Windows)
If you’re using a Windows PC to extract the contents of NRG-format image files, you can turn to IsoBuster, a popular program for recovering data from damaged CDs and DVDs and performing a variety of operations related to ISO files (as well as other image file types). You’ll have to pay for it (it costs $39.95), but it is available in a free trial version that allows you to test all its features for a period of 30 days.
To download the trial version of IsoBuster to your computer, go to the program’s website and click the Download IsoBuster button. After the download is complete, open the .exe file and in the window that appears on your desktop, click the Yes, OK, Next (four times in a row), Install, Finish and Yes buttons to complete the setup.
At this point, click the Close button to close the window asking you to register your copy of the program, click the Yes button to enable automatic update checking, select the File menu (top left corner) and choose the Open image file option from it, then select the NRG file you wish to extract.
Once this is done, at the bottom of the window, on the left, you will find the structure of the partitions that make up the image file, while on the right you can see the files and folders that are part of each of them. Then drag and drop the elements you are interested in out of the software window and drop them in the position you prefer.
The Unarchiver (macOS)
If you are using macOS, you can rely on The Unarchiver to extract NRG files: it is an application that allows you to extract the contents of all major compressed archive formats (e.g. ZIP, RAR and 7Z) and also supports certain types of image files, such as ISO and NRG. It should be noted that it automatically sets itself as the default software to carry out this operation.
To download it to your Mac, visit the relevant section of the Mac App Store, click the View button in the Mac App Store and, in the window that opens, click the Get/Install button. If necessary, authorize the download by entering your Apple ID password or Touch ID (if the Mac you’re using supports this technology).
Once the download and installation procedure is complete, double-click on the NRG image that you couldn’t open before and – if all goes well – The Unarchiver should extract its content into a folder of your choice. Alternatively, right-click on the file you’re interested in and select Open with > The Unarchiver from the context menu.
How to mount NRG files
At this point, you should be able to convert NRG files to ISO in one way or another, or at least extract their contents into a folder. If, however, you need to mount NRG files in a virtual drive without converting it to ISO first, you have to turn to specific solutions, such as WinCDEmu.
This is a program that allows you to “mount” NRG files (as well as many other types of image files) to virtual drives, so that you can browse their contents and copy them to your PC. It is an open source tool available on Windows for free.
To download WinCDEmu on Windows, visit the program’s website and click on the Download button twice in a row. Once the download is complete, open the .exe file and click on the Yes, Install and OK buttons in the window that appears on your desktop. Then open the Windows Start menu and select the WinCDEmu Settings program in order to configure the Italian language.
Now, to mount the NRG file, right-click on it and, in the context menu, choose the Select a drive and mount image item. In the box that appears, press the OK button to open the File Explorer screen that will show you the contents of the NRG file. To “unmount” the disk image, instead, in File Explorer right-click on the virtual disk drive and choose Eject from the context menu.