How to Burn an ISO to a DVD on Windows 10/11 (Step-by-Step Guide)

An ISO file, with the extension .iso, is an image file of a CD/DVD-ROM that is created from a CD-ROM using burning software or a CD-ROM imaging tool. CDs or DVDs can be bootable to DOS or other operating systems. Many users prefer to install or reinstall the Windows operating system from an installation disc created using an ISO file.

After you download the Windows 11 ISO file or the Windows 10 ISO image, you can burn it and create bootable installation media, either a DVD or a USB flash drive, or a virtual machine (for the .ISO file) to install the operating system.

Burning an ISO to a DVD isn't as simple as copying the file to the disc, because DVDs require a boot sector and other hidden operating system files to start up. Let's learn how to burn an ISO image to a blank DVD. We'll use the Windows 10 ISO as our example.

How to Burn a Windows 10 ISO to DVD, Step by Step

If you don't know how to download the Windows 10 ISO file, head over to the dedicated page for more information.

Hardware requirements to burn an ISO file to a DVD:

• Make sure you have a CD burner (internal or external). • Insert a blank CD into your disc drive. • If you want to make a Windows install, you'll need a blank DVD with at least 8 GB of space (and a DVD burner). • Use a blank USB or DVD, as the contents will be deleted. • If burning a DVD from an ISO and you get a message that the disc image is too big, you'll need dual-layer (DL) DVD media.

Step 1: Insert a blank DVD into your computer.

Step 2. Press Win + E to open File Explorer. Locate the ISO file.

Step 3. Right-click the ISO file and select “Burn disc image.”

Step 4. In the Windows Disc Image Burner window, click on Burn to disc, and then select the correct CD or DVD from the drop-down menu.

Step 5: Check the box for "Verify disc after burning" to make sure the ISO file was successfully and accurately burned to the disc.

Finally, click “Burn” to start the process. When it's done, you'll see a message that says “The image file was burned successfully to disc.”

Additional Tip: How to Recover Lost ISO Files on Windows 10/11

ISO files tend to be large, and can take a long time to download. Once you have it, though, you can use it over and over again. If you lose or accidentally delete your ISO file, you can use the Data Recovery Wizard tool to quickly get it back. This can save you a lot of time instead of having to download it again.

Data Recovery Wizard Pro is a renowned data recovery tool that excels in retrieving deleted, lost, damaged, or formatted data from various storage devices, such as HDDs, SSDs, USB flash drives, SD cards, and more. You can still effectively use this data recovery software to repair corrupted files, like fixing corrupted Excel, Word, PPT, or PDF documents, as well as restoring damaged photos and videos.

It only takes a few clicks to check out the following simple steps to recover lost data.

Step 1: Select the scanning location

Select the specific device or drive from where you had Shift+Deleted or permanently erased files by Emptying Recycle Bin. Click on the “Scan” button to retrieve the lost files.

Step 2: Check the results

The software will automatically start scanning everything on the selected drive. Once the scan is complete, select the "Deleted Files" and "Other Lost Files" folders in the left panel. Then, use the "Filter" feature or click the "Search for a File or Folder" button to quickly locate your deleted file.

Step 3: Recover the deleted file

Select the deleted files you want to restore and click “Preview.” Then, hit “Recover” to save them to another secure location or device.

Select the files and click “Recover”

For more information on burning ISOs to DVD on Windows/Mac

These are some common searches from other users on how to burn a Windows 10 or Windows 11 ISO file to a DVD.

How do I create a bootable DVD from an ISO file?

Simple steps to create a bootable DVD from an ISO file:

< strong > Step 1: < /strong>Insert the blank CD into your computer's CD drive. Right-click the ISO file and select “Burn disc image.”

Step 2: Select the correct burner from the Burner dropdown menu.

Step 3. Click "Burn." When it's done, eject the disc.

2. Does Windows 10 have a built-in ISO burning tool?

Windows 10 has an ISO burning tool called “Windows Disc Image Burner” built right in. It can help you burn an ISO file to a DVD, CD, or BD.

How to create a bootable DVD from an ISO file using WinISO?

WinISO is a professional third-party CD/DVD/Blu-ray disc image file tool that can burn an image file directly from a CD/DVD/Blu-ray drive, as well as extract, edit, and rename ISO files.

Step 1: Download and install WinISO.

Step 2: Run the program. Click on the "Boot" tab and choose "Set up a boot image."

Step 3: Download an ISO image and burn it to a DVD.

4. How to burn ISO to DVD on Mac?

1. Download the .iso file for your operating system or game on your Mac.

Step 2: Insert a blank CD or DVD into your Mac.

Step 3: Click on "Tools/Applications," and then run Disk Utility.

4. Click “File” and then “Open Disk Image.” Select the ISO image you want to burn. Click the “Burn” icon.

Step 5: In the "Choose an image to burn" window, select the .iso file you want to burn to your CD or DVD.

Step 6. Click the “Burn” button and wait for the process to complete.

Bottom line

When you want to burn an ISO file to a DVD or CD, you can't simply use Windows's copy function to do it. Instead, you have to properly burn the Windows 10 ISO file to the DVD the right way, as outlined above. After burning the ISO and creating your bootable installation media, you can then use it to install Windows 10 on another computer.

To restore any lost file, including downloaded ISO files on both Windows and Mac devices, the Data Recovery tool can come to your aid instantly, enabling you to retrieve data from HDD, SSD, USB flash drives, SD cards, thumb drives, and more internal or external storage mediums.