HOWTO: Convert an ISO file to DMG file

Description

When using your Mac you have so much at your fingertips that it really makes you wonder how you ever used Windows.

Maybe you didn’t use Windows! But most of us have at one time or another.

This very short article give you two different ways to convert an ISO file to a DMG file using your Mac, OS X and no additional software to download. It’s built right into OS X.

Steps:

Option 1 – Using Disk Utility

OS X’s Disk Utility is a powerful tool. Be cautious when using this as you could easily wipe out data on some of your disks if you’re not careful!

1. Open Finder and then open Disk Utility by clicking Go > Utilities > Disk Utility
2. When Disk Utility opens, click the Convert icon on the toolbar
3. When prompted, browse to the ISO file you would like to convert, select it and click the Convert button
4. Now you will be prompted for a name.  Ensure you give it a name with the extension .dmg
5. Select Compressed from the Image format dropdown box and click Save
6. Depending on the size of your file, you’ll soon have a DMG file version of your ISO file!

Option 2 – Using Terminal

From the lovely graphics of Disk Utility to the plain and simple command line of Terminal…

1. Open Finder and then open Terminal by clicking Go > Terminal
2. Type the following command but replace the filenames and paths with your own:

hdiutil convert /path/filename.iso -format UDRW -o /path/filename.dmg

3. Wait a few minutes (or few hours) depending on the size of your ISO and you will be returned to the terminal prompt when it’s finished.