So you’ve just downloaded a program, game, or other media from the internet and discover that it is formatted as a .UIF file. When you try to run it, Windows doesn’t know what to do with it and asks you for some help in deciding which program to use to open this unknown .UIF file, luckily you’ve come to the right place. Before we proceed I want you to be aware about some stuff that could affect you with a UIF file.
1. Ensure you trust the source of this file. At times people maliciously insert viruses and other files that may damage and compromise your PC’s security.
2. In order for you to use these files you have to go through several steps before you can even view the contents.
Now that we got that out of the way we can proceed with getting the contents out of the UIF file into something your computer will udnerstand. The how-to below will list step-by-step what it is that you need to do in order to use these files.
If you have any comments, post them below or if you need help visit our forum and post your question there.
Note: Before proceeding with the method below, if you have a file that is over 300MB then you might want to check out a new how-to I posted to convert UIF files to ISO’s with a free application.
Decompressing the UIF File
1. If you do not have MagicISO or MagicDisc please download and install the programs.
You will need these two programs to decompress [MagicISO]the UIF file and then mount it[MagicDisc]. MagicISO is trial software with a 300MB limit, anything below 300MB you don’t need to buy the software, as for MagicDisc it is free.
MagicISO Download – MagicDisc Download
2. Alright assuming you have installed these programs, launch MagicISO.
3. Click on Tools > Decompress UIF Image…
4. Browse to the directory where the UIF file resides, then select a directory where you would like to place the decompressed ISO file. Click Decompress.
5. Once the decompression process has completed you can now either mount the ISO file onto a virtual drive [MagicDisc] and/or burn it using your favorite program.
For purposes of this tutorial we will only cover the mounting of the ISO file.
Mounting the ISO File
1. Right-click on the MagicDisc icon on your taskbar. Click on Virtual CD/DVD-ROM > "Drive Letter:" No Media > Mount…
2. Locate your decompressed ISO file, click Open
3. You should now be able to go to your Virtual drive and browse the contents of your CD/DVD.
In case you wanted to burn your ISO, simply follow your CD/DVD burning software instructions on how to burn ISO’s or you can drop me a line and I’ll be happy to help you.
Further Reading
So why use UIF files?
UIF files offer the same advantages of creating ISO’s and other CD/DVD images with the addition of providing compression and encryption of your files. UIF’s are ideal for transferring large files over peer2peer networks, encrypting important files, and reducing the size of CD images you create.
Article posted on 02 2nd, 2008
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What I need is a program to open a UIF file,comments will not open the file for me.
Send the program here:joseortiz9@verizon.net
@Jose A. Ortiz; There are links to the download on this page. Please let me know if this is what you’re looking for.
How to burn it to a cd ?
Thnx
@H: 2 Questions;
1. Do you have a burner?
2. Do you have software to burn the files onto a CD?
Let me know. Thanks.
Great help and easy to follow instructions. Thank you so much.
@Terri – I’m glad you found it useful. Thanks for the feedback.
can you open an uif file without burning it to a disk? my netbook has no dvd or cd drive …
@Mike – Yes you can, you should use the link below to read about this application that will allow you to mount UIF files. The steps to mount the files should be the same as for VHD files.
http://www.gilsmethod.com/how-to-mount-vhd-files-without-virtual-pc
Let me know if it helps.
Thank you soooo much!! This was of great help! Very complete and clear tutorial!
MagicISO’s 300MB limit is a bit rediculous, for those of you who wish to burn an image >300MB, check out this program: http://www.softpedia.com/get/System/File-Management/UIF2ISO.shtml
It’s a command line tool that will convert UIF files to ISO files, getting around the 300MB limit enforced by magiciso.
thanks man………….realy helped me a lot
If you decompress a UIF file, wouldn't that become a ISO file? Your graphic shows that after you decompress, you then mount the UIF file to your CD/DVD. This seems unclear. I thought you should do this with the ISO instead. Will you please clarify? Thanks in advance.
Astralis you are correct, the screenshot shows a UIF file, but it should be an ISO file. I apologize for the confusion and will update as soon as I get a chance. Thanks for catching the mistake.
wonderful guidance! worked like magic! Kudos! thank you a lot.
[...] want to pay the $40 or so that MagicISO costs, then I have a solution for you. I wrote an article a couple of months back detailing how to convert UIF files with MagicISO, however as others pointed [...]
Thank you for your tutorial and you're welcome.