X-ISO - Disc Image Converter & Burner

A comprehensive cross-platform disc image conversion and audio CD ripping utility with metadata support.

Features

Core Functionality

• Convert Multiple Disc Image Formats: DMG, BIN, NRG, CUE, MDS, IMG, ISO, ISZ, UDF, CDI, DAO, TAO, and more
• Burn to Optical Media: CD, DVD, and Blu-ray disc burning with verification
• Virtual Drive Management: Mount and unmount ISO images as virtual drives
• Audio CD Ripping: Full support for extracting audio CDs with automatic metadata lookup
• Audio Conversion: Convert between multiple audio formats (MP3, WAV, FLAC, AAC, OGG, M4A, WMA, OPUS, APE)

Advanced Features

• Automatic Metadata Retrieval: Album info, artist names, and track titles from GnuDB
• High-Quality Audio Extraction: 320kbps MP3, lossless FLAC, and other format support
• Organized File Structure: Auto-creates Artist/Album folder hierarchy
• Multi-Format Audio Support: 9+ audio format conversions
• USB Drive Imaging: Create and manage USB drive images
• Bootable USB Creation: Create bootable USB drives with MBR/GPT support
• Disc Copying: Copy physical discs with verification
• Disc Image Creation: Create images from physical media
• Disc Verification: Verify disc integrity
• Audio Ripper: Extract audio tracks from CDs with metadata

System Requirements

Minimum Requirements

• OS: Linux (Linux Mint, Ubuntu, Debian, Fedora, etc.) or Windows
• Python: 3.6 or higher
• RAM: 2GB minimum
• Storage: 100MB free space for application + storage for images/audio

Required External Tools

Linux

# Fedora/RHEL
sudo dnf install cdparanoia ffmpeg

# Ubuntu/Debian/Linux Mint
sudo apt-get install cdparanoia ffmpeg

# Arch
sudo pacman -S cdparanoia ffmpeg

Windows

• Download and install FFmpeg
• Download and install cdparanoia (optional, for CD audio extraction)
• Add both to system PATH

Python Version

• Python 3.6+ (3.8+ recommended)
• tkinter (usually included with Python)

Installation

Linux (Linux Mint, Ubuntu, Debian)

1. Clone or download the project

   git clone https://github.com/david-spies/x-iso.git
   cd x-iso

2. Install system dependencies

   sudo apt-get update
   sudo apt-get install python3 python3-tk cdparanoia ffmpeg

3. Install Python dependencies (optional, for enhanced features)

   pip3 install -r requirements.txt

4. Run the application

   python3 X-ISO.py

Windows

1. Download the project files

2. Install Python 3.8+ from python.org

   • Make sure to check "Add Python to PATH" during installation

3. Install FFmpeg

   • Download from ffmpeg.org
   • Extract and add to system PATH

4. Install Python dependencies (optional)

   pip install -r requirements.txt

5. Run the application

   python X-ISO.py

Usage Guide

Converting Disc Images

1. Launch X-ISO and go to the "Convert" tab
2. Click "Browse..." under "Source Image File"
3. Select your image file (DMG, BIN, NRG, etc.)
4. Set output filename with ".iso" extension
5. Click "Convert to ISO"
6. Wait for completion - progress bar shows status
7. Success message appears when conversion is complete

Ripping Audio CDs

1. Insert an audio CD into your CD drive
2. Go to Tools > Rip Audio CD
3. Click "Read CD" to detect tracks
4. Metadata automatically retrieves album, artist, and track names from GnuDB
5. Select tracks to rip (default: all selected)
6. Choose output format (MP3, FLAC, WAV, etc.)
7. Select output folder
8. Click "Start Ripping"
9. Files are organized as: Artist/Album/Track Number - Title.mp3

Converting Audio Files

1. Go to Tools > Audio Converter
2. Click "Add Files..." to select audio files
3. Choose output format (MP3, FLAC, WMA, etc.)
4. Select quality/bitrate
5. Choose output folder
6. Click "Start Conversion"

Burning Discs

1. Go to Tools > Burn or click "Burn" tab
2. Select image file to burn
3. Choose target drive (CD-RW, DVD-RW, Blu-ray)
4. Set burn options:
   • Verify data after burning
   • Finalize disc
   • Write speed
5. Click "Burn Disc"

Creating Bootable USB

1. Go to Tools > Create Bootable USB
2. Select ISO image file
3. Choose target USB drive (⚠️ Warning: data will be erased!)
4. Select partition scheme:
   • MBR (BIOS/UEFI compatibility)
   • GPT (UEFI only)
5. Choose file system (FAT32, NTFS, exFAT)
6. Click "Create Bootable USB"

Virtual Drive Management

1. Go to Tools > Virtual Drive
2. Click "Browse..." to select ISO image
3. Click "Mount" to mount as virtual drive
4. Select mounted drive and click "Unmount" to eject

Supported Formats

Image Formats (Conversion)

• Apple: DMG
• Binary: BIN
• Nero: NRG
• CUE/BIN: CUE
• Media Descriptor: MDS
• Raw: IMG, DAO, TAO
• Universal: UDF
• DiscJuggler: CDI
• ISO: ISO, ISZ
• Others: VCD, TOAST, CIF, CCD, PCD

Audio Formats (Ripping & Conversion)

Input: CD Audio (CDDA) Output: MP3, WAV, FLAC, AAC, OGG, M4A, WMA, OPUS, APE

Metadata Support

The application automatically retrieves metadata from GnuDB (replacement for FreeDB) when ripping CDs:

• Album title
• Artist name
• Release year
• Individual track titles

Metadata is embedded in ripped audio files with proper ID3 tags.

Troubleshooting

"cdparanoia not found"

Solution: Install cdparanoia

# Linux
sudo apt-get install cdparanoia

# Windows: Use FFmpeg only (cdparanoia is optional)

"ffmpeg not found"

Solution: Install FFmpeg

# Linux
sudo apt-get install ffmpeg

# Windows: Download from ffmpeg.org

CD not detected

• Check that CD drive is accessible
• Verify CD is inserted correctly
• Try different CD drive if available
• Check system permissions for CD drive access

No metadata found for CD

• CD may not be in GnuDB database
• Check internet connection (required for GnuDB lookup)
• Metadata will still be available for standard CDs (track numbers and durations)

Conversion fails

• Ensure source file is readable
• Check output folder has write permissions
• Verify sufficient disk space
• Check console output for detailed error messages

Audio quality issues

• Use higher bitrate settings (320kbps for MP3)
• Use lossless formats (FLAC, WAV) for archival
• Ensure source audio is high quality

File Organization

When ripping CDs, files are automatically organized:

Output Folder/
└── Artist Name/
    └── Album Title/
        ├── 01 - Track Title.mp3
        ├── 02 - Another Track.mp3
        └── ...

Configuration

All settings are saved in the application and persist between sessions:

• Recent file paths
• Preferred output formats
• Quality settings
• Output folders

Performance Tips

1. Use SSD for output: Faster writing for large images
2. Close other applications: More system resources for conversion
3. Use lossless formats: Better for archival (FLAC, WAV)
4. High bitrate audio: 320kbps MP3 or FLAC for best quality

Limitations

• Windows Media Player integration limited on Linux
• Some proprietary disc formats may not be supported
• Network-based CD drives have limited support
• Real-time audio streaming not supported

Requirements Summary

Essential

• Python 3.6+
• tkinter
• FFmpeg

Optional (for CD audio extraction)

• cdparanoia

Optional (for enhanced metadata)

• python-discid
• musicbrainzngs

License

MIT License - Feel free to use, modify, and distribute

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please submit issues and pull requests.

Support

For issues and feature requests, please visit the project repository or contact support.

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Version: 1.8
Last Updated: June 5, 2026
Platform: Cross-Platform (Linux, Windows)
Python Version: 3.6+