UIF File - The Complete Guide
The UIF Format
The UIF file extension stands for Universal Image Format. An UIF file contains a compressed disk image - basically it is an exact copy of a CD or a DVD. Just like the more common ISO filetype, the UIF format is typically used to create CD/DVD backups. The UIF file format also offers several advanced features that ISO doesn’t have, like the data compression I mentioned previously. The UIF image can also be encrypted and password protected, and it can be used to backup multi-session disks in a single file.
How To Open An UIF File
UIF is a proprietary file format used by the MagicISO software. At the moment it is the only tool that can open or extract UIF files. The full version of MagicISO costs money, but you can download a free trial that will be able top open UIF files just fine. You can get the trial from MagicISO.com. Once you’ve installed it, you can just double-click the UIF file to open it.
How To Convert UIF to ISO
Sometimes it’s very useful to convert the UIF image to the more popular ISO file type which is supported by most, if not all, CD/DVD tools. Luckily this can be done with the free trial of MagicISO (see above), but only for files that are under 300MB.
Update : Use my UIF to ISO converter GUI (freeware) to convert UIF files of any size.
Here are step-by-step instructions for converting UIF to ISO :
- Open the UIF file.
- Choose File -> Save as… from MagicISO menu. A “Save As…” dialog will appear.
- Choose “Standard ISO Image (*.ISO)” from the Format dropdown and enter the name for the new ISO file in the File Name textbox.
- Click Save and that’s it! Now just sit back & wait while the UIF is being converted.
Note : the above instructions apply to MagicISO 5.4, which is the newest version at the time of writing.
How To Burn UIF Files
When you need to burn UIF files to a CD/DVD you have several options :
- You can use MagicISO to do it. Click Tools -> Burn CD/DVD With ISO…, choose the UIF image file, set the desired options and click Burn it!. There’s also a short tutorial on MagicISO site on how to do this.
- You can convert the UIF file(s) to ISO (as described above) and use your favorite CD/DVD burning software to burn the disc. For example, ImgBurn is a popular freeware CD/DVD burning tool, though I personally prefer Nero.
How To Mount UIF Files
It is also possible to mount .uif files to a virtual CD/DVD drive. You will then be able to access the virtual disc as if it was a real CD/DVD. To do this you will need to install MagicDisc (freeware). Once you’ve done that, you can mount the UIF file by following these steps :
- Right-click the “MagicISO Virtual CD/DVD Manager” icon in the system tray.
- Select “Virtual CD/DVD-ROM”.
- Select a virtual drive. The drive names vary depending on your computer’s configuration. Generally it looks something like “J: No Media”.
- Choose “Mount…” from the submenu.
- In the new window select the .uif file you wish to mount and click “OK”.
You could also convert the UIF files to ISO and use a different CD/DVD emulator (e.g. DaemonTools) to mount them.
So, this is everything you need to know to get started using UIF files 
September 29th, 2008 at 1:21 am
Hmm, maybe try to mount them with something like Daemon Tools (google it) and see if that works?
September 29th, 2008 at 1:11 am
OK, sigh, I’ve been up all night and it just doesn’t want to work, i’m now pulling my hair out! The daa files and uif files are now iso but when I try and burn them as you mentioned, when the disk is finished theres nothing on the disk?!
Any ideas
Thanks
September 29th, 2008 at 12:21 am
Infact you maybe right! I just got my hands on the latest version v5.5, not only did it show the rar file to be actually a iso file, it also dealt with my other problem I was having with my daa files.
Thanks for your help White Shadow
Nice site, very helpful
September 28th, 2008 at 11:34 pm
Well, have you tried opening the RAR file? By the way, it might be possible that WinRAR has hogged the .iso extension to itself on your system and, while it shows up as a rar file, it actually is an iso file.
September 28th, 2008 at 11:08 pm
I’ve tried all of the above and nothing works, when I try to convert the UIF file to ISO it comes out the other end as a RAR file.
Any idea’s,
Thanks
September 22nd, 2008 at 10:40 am
use this link
http://aluigi.altervista.org/mytoolz.htm
The program you want this time around is called UIF2ISO, and it does a perfect job converting UIF files to ISO.
July 21st, 2008 at 9:30 am
Terima kasih banyak, a very clear, concise and helpful guide.
June 11th, 2008 at 12:27 am
i downloaded a ISO file and used daemon tools like u said and it doesnt work when i try to give it a drive letter. my normal CD drive isnt installed would that affect it installing on another drive? if not what can i do to give the virtual dvd/cd rom a drive letter?
June 5th, 2008 at 10:23 pm
I personally like the ISO format, which can be mounted by DaemonTools. You can convert UIF to ISO using this tool. If that doesn’t work your UIF file is probably fake or corrupted.
June 5th, 2008 at 10:11 pm
is there any anything else i can convert them to so i can play it?
June 5th, 2008 at 9:58 pm
Well, I’m out.
June 5th, 2008 at 9:17 pm
ive gt windows vista home premium, n it doesnt have any icon or owt for the mounted UIF i change the drive letter n nowt changes
June 5th, 2008 at 9:12 pm
Check “My Computer” (or whatever it’s called in your version of Windows). There should be an icon for the mounted UIF. See what you can find on that drive.
June 5th, 2008 at 9:00 pm
it is its meant to be a game. i mount it n nothing happens.
June 5th, 2008 at 8:57 pm
It depends. If it’s supposed to be something installable, you will need to mount it and then find the installer on the mounted disk.
June 5th, 2008 at 8:47 pm
what can i change UIF into so i can install it?
June 5th, 2008 at 7:28 pm
There’s probably a limit, but I don’t know how high it is.
June 5th, 2008 at 7:13 pm
i have alot of uif. files to mount, is there any restrictions to how many files i can mount?
March 19th, 2008 at 8:38 pm
Actually I belive the freeware magicdisc will also convert iso to uif and back with no size restriction, I used it for a while because of the compression.
March 17th, 2008 at 1:30 am
Cheers you are a legend.
March 16th, 2008 at 3:51 pm
You can find a lot of software to deal with this format on the web. a free one is: Active ISO Burner go to( download.com)
March 14th, 2008 at 2:34 pm
You’ve got to love these bullshit names. “Universal Image Format” - yeah real universal.
February 14th, 2008 at 9:50 am
This rare uif format is not worth the hassle. Great money maker! Great guide though but too much stuff to do to extract it.
February 5th, 2008 at 7:19 am
Thanks for the guide, a very helful one.
January 29th, 2008 at 2:36 pm
…Riiight, yeah, you could do that…
January 29th, 2008 at 1:04 pm
Download the full version on a torrent.
January 29th, 2008 at 1:36 am
Really? But the free version only works with files no bigger than 300 MB.
January 29th, 2008 at 1:11 am
Power ISO will convert UIF to ISO.
January 26th, 2008 at 2:56 pm
Thank you very much
December 16th, 2007 at 2:22 pm
I haven’t heard of any other tools that can do this. If you happen to find one, let me know so I can add it to this post.