The DAA File – Everything You Need To Know
What Is a DAA File
DAA files are yet another disk image file format, invented and used by PowerISO DVD software. This means that a .daa file contains an exact copy of a CD or a DVD – whether it be a movie, a game or simply a few gigabytes of accounting data (damn my perverted imagination). Disk images are used for a variety of purposes :
- Backup DVD movies and CD disks and copy DVD.
- Store DVD rips (politically correctly – “backups”).
- Use in virtual CD/DVD emulators.
- Burn DVD copy at a later date.
- Upload and download DVD disks on the Internet.
If you’re reading this, chances are you got (that is, downloaded) a .daa file somewhere (that is, BitTorrent or the like) and are wondering what to do with it. Read on.
Sometimes, when somebody wants to put a “backup” copy of a DVD film or some other stuff online, the .daa file format is used instead of the more popular disk image formats (like ISO, BIN, CUE) because it supports certain advanced features –
- Compression – a CD/DVD copy stored in .daa file format may be slightly smaller than a corresponding .iso file.
- Multiple volume splitting – this means that you get multiple smaller DAA files instead of one huge disk image.
- Encryption/passwords – I don’t think this one is terribly useful, but you can password-protect your disk images if you use the DAA file type.
On a side note, it’s possible to get all the aforementioned benefits of DAA files by simply archiving the ISO disk copy with WinRAR. This is why you may often see .rar files in BitTorrent downloads (additional information – how to deal with RAR files).
How To Open DAA Files
There’s actually only one alternative when it comes to opening DAA files.
There are two ways to deal with DAA files – you can either convert them to another file format (e.g. the widely supported ISO) and use the converted file, or use PowerISO (shareware) to open them. I’ll discuss both possibilities.
Converting DAA to ISO
Suzanne DeAngelillis has posted a wonderful tutorial on how to convert DAA files to ISO and/or burn them to CD/DVD using only freeware Windows applications. You can find the tutorial further below on this page.
I’ve also created a graphical interface for the daa2iso converter – my DAA converter GUI. It’s a simpler, easier alternative you can use if you’re not familiar with command-line tools or find the tutorial confusing.
If you’re using Linux, check out AcetoneISO – it can extract DAA files or convert them to ISO files. AcetoneISO is free, open source CD/DVD software that integrates with KDE.
Using PowerISO
To open a file with the .daa file extension on Windows you can also use PowerISO. After you’ve installed this program you can just double-click any .daa file (which will launch PowerISO and open the file) and extract any files contained in the disk image.
PowerISO can also “mount” DAA files with an internal virtual drive it creates. This means you don’t need to burn the DAA file to a disk before you can use it. You can just mount it and play the .daa file as if it was a real CD/DVD.
The .daa file format is proprietary and is not supported by any CD / DVD burning software I know of, except PowerISO. However, if you mount the DAA file with the virtual drive, you can probably copy/rip/do whatever you like with the virtual “disk” using whichever software you prefer.
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.DAA files !!!
only one program extracts these at the moment, yup, its PowerISO !! but its absolutely useless unless the archive is LESS THAN 300mb in size !!! any bigger and you cant use the free evaluation verion thats free to download…
i wont be rushing out a payment for a piece of software that im only likely to use once or twice regardless how good it is…
the company responsible needs to give its head a shake… ive only ever encountered one file so far in this format and when i tried to use poweriso it got so far & stopped – telling me i cant open my file ‘cos its over 300mb’ – IT SUXX !!! people should avoid using this ever !!!
result – un-install the piece of junk, delete the .DAA file & get the file in another format.
Yeah, well, can’t do anything about it :/ The format is proprietary, so PowerISO is likely to remain the only app that can open it.
Thanx. finally am clear about all this daa business!
There is a free unlimited linux app that can convert a .daa to a .iso. If you don’t use linux, or have it installed, you can use a live CD, or a virtual PC to run it temporarily.
Although this works, please encourage people not to use proprietary file formats for (perfectly legal) file sharing.
What’s it called? I did a bit of research prior to writing the post and didn’t find any free tools then. Give me a link & I’ll insert it into the post.
AcetoneISO
Freeware for linux
http://linux.softpedia.com/get/Multimedia/Audio/AcetoneISO-16724.shtml
· NEW FEATURE: ability to extract and browse ISO,MDF,BIN,IMG,DAA,NRG without mounting them
· NEW FEATURE: added support for mounting NRG images(if iso9660 standard)
· NEW FEATURE: added support for viewing an MDF/NRG dvd movie image (if iso9660 standard)
· NEW FEATURE: it is now possible to convert DAA/BIN/IMG files larger than 4gb
· CHANGE: added more images in filters of all gui features
· CHANGE: Removed bchunk,ccd2iso and replaced with poweriso
· CHANGE: creating an iso will now result in a more standard LEVEL 3
· FIX: creating an ISO from a cdrom is now more clear, added fake progbar from konsole
Okay, I’ve edited the post.
even though you can’t edit an image over 300mb with the trial, you can still mount and install from it.
I am trying to convert 2 large (1GB) direct-access-archive (i.e., DAA) files to an ISO image (and then to the standard NTSC DVD format) using 100% freeware on Windows XP.
I had never heard of DAA until today. DAA, as far as I can tell, is a proprietary compression format identified in Windows HexEdit freeware as starting with the hex characters “44 41 41 00 00 00 00 00” (reference
http://aluigi.altervista.org/mytoolz.htm ).
I’ve asked the USENET newsgroups for help in defining a Windows-based freeware solution for unpacking large (>> 300MB) DAA files and will leverage the results here should I find a viable all-Windows solution (see groups.google.com and google for my name in alt.comp.freeware, for example).
1. As stated prior, the “direct” approach is PowerISO on Windows; but that is freeware-limited to 300 Mbytes. PowerISO also works on Linux by the way. Here is an excellent step-by-step June 2007 PowerISO on Linux tutorial:
http://www.articlealley.com/article_170967_11.html
2. As stated prior, the “alternative” approach is to use AcetoneISO, which is only available on Linux (bummer). One could boot on a Windows machine to a Knoppix (i.e., Linux all-you-can-eat freeware) disc and then utilize AcetoneISO on a FAT32 mounted partition – but that’s a lot of work to just convert two files. It would likely work though to fill the requirement of Windows freeware to convert DAA files to ISO (and then to DVD via ImgBurn freeware or equivalent).
3. A third approach, not easily found by googling, might be to use the freeware Windows daa2iso conversion utility by Luigi Auriemma, kindly supplied at http://aluigi.altervista.org/mytoolz.htm
Since I’ve never even heard of the DAA format until today, may I ask you experts if there is any other viable Windows-based freeware solutions for converting two large (1 GB) DAA files to ISO and then to DVD?
Suzanne DeAngelillis
Ooops. The reference for the DAA identifying hex characters should have been http://filext.com/file-extension/DAA and not http://aluigi.altervista.org/mytoolz.htm in my last posting.
The http://aluigi.altervista.org/mytoolz.htm link was to propose a possible Windows & Linux alternative DAA2ISO solution which this audience would benefit from – and which they might help test for us.
Here is my log of how I attempted to convert a set of large DAA files (1GB) to ISO and then to DVD format and then to burn to a DVD disc using 100% Windows freeware.
0. I obtained Windows daa2iso freeware kindly supplied by Luigi Auriemma from http://aluigi.altervista.org/mytoolz.htm
1. I placed the Windows daa2iso executable in my Windows program files directory, e.g., c:\bin\daa2iso.exe
2. I placed the large DAA files in my temporary files directory:
e.g.,
c:\tmp\daa\part01.daa
c:\tmp\daa\part02.daa
c:\tmp\daa\part03.daa
etc.
3. I got help on the daa2iso syntax:
c:\bin\daa2iso.exe -h
Hmmm. This doesn’t say how to handle *multiple* daa files that comprise a single ISO archive. Not very helpful help. Let’s experiment a bit.
4. I ran the daa2iso Windows executable on a single DAA file:
c:\> c:\bin\daa2iso.exe c:\tmp\daa\part01.daa
Ummm. This didn’t work. It just spit back the help line:
> DAA2ISO 0.1
> by Luigi Auriemma
> e-mail: aluigi@autistici.org
> web: aluigi.org
> Usage: daa2iso.exe
5. I tried running on a single DAA specifying a single ISO output file:
c:\> c:\bin\daa2iso.exe part01.daa part01.iso
> – open part01.daa
> – create part01.iso
> – multi volume file
> 000% … 001% … 002% … 003% … 004% … 005% … 006% … etc.
> open part01.d00
> Error: No such file or directory
Drat. I wish the help had specified how to handle multiple input files!
5. I tried running on multiple DAA files specifying a single ISO output file:
c:\> c:\bin\daa2iso.exe part0?.daa partx.iso
> – open part01.daa
> – create part01.iso
> – multi volume file
> 000% … 001% … 002% … 003% … 004% … 005% … 006% … etc.
> open part01.d00
> Error: No such file or directory
Ouch. This ruined part02.daa. I should have worked on a copy!
6. I’m going to download another part02.daa to replace the ruined one.
Can someone who knows the daa2iso.exe syntax help me?
The problem is the help line shows only how to convert a single DAA file to a single ISO. But, I have a multi-part set of DAA files.
QUESTION: What is the daa2iso.exe syntax, on Windows, to convert multiple DAA files to a single ISO image on disk?
Hi all,
Thanks very much for let me know about this stupid DAA file, I have a file in my system. and i am finding it very difficult with it, Me and my friends are looking for a convertor but found No results. Hi Suzanne could you plz keep me posted on your research my E-mail ID: nanda_dravid@yahoo.co.in……thanks nandu
Hey Suzanne,
It looks like you know a bit more about this than I do 😉
Anyway, on your 5th point it looks like daa2iso is expecting the next part of the multipart-archive to be named part01.d00 – so why not try renaming the part2.daa to that? You’d probably need to rename other parts apropriately.
I looked at the source code of daa2iso (included in the .zip) and I found it doesn’t let you specify multiple DAA files in the command, just one .daa and one .iso. Multipart handling is supposed to be automatic.
Luigi Auriemma kindly replied to my emails (on Christmas eve no less) and answered all my questions sufficient for me to write up a simple tutorial which I will post in the next message for all to benefit from.
Based on my circumstances, Luigi kindly modified his code tonight (from version 0.1 to version 0.1.1) to allow any file name. Previously dvd2iso was looking only for files named as PowerISO would name them, e.g.,
foo.part01.daa
foo.part02.daa
foo.part03.daa
…
or
foo.part001.daa
foo.part002.daa
foo.part003.daa
…
or
foo.d01
foo.d02
foo.d03
…
Now, Luigi’s excellent dvd2iso freeware windows conversion utility will accept any name, e.g.,
foo01.daa
foo02.daa
foo03.daa
etc.
Likewise, Luigi fixed my second problem, the accidental file-overwrite, which occurs under the circumstances I mailed him. So now the dvd2iso program is safer even when you have badly named files and when you run the command incorrectly.
It’s still a good idea to make a back up of your DAA files and work off that backup. Just make sure you back it up correctly.
My third problem was that my backup accidentally omitted the last file, which, when I added it back, solved the error I reported above with a missing daa file.
In summary, thanks to everyone – we now have a simple to follow windows freeware-based tutorial for converting DAA files to DVD (with an intermediate ISO step in between).
I’ll post that tutorial in the next append because this one is kind’a long.
Ciao,
Suzanne DeAngelillis
I had posted the tutorial last night but for some reason it didn’t take so I repost now (I also sent this by email to Nandu who requested it above).
Suzanne DeAngelillis
As far as I know, below is the only freeware tutorial on the Internet which shows how to convert DAA archives to DVD when the original DAA files are larger than 300 kb.
QUESTION (previously not answered on the Internet as far as we can tell):
How do I convert large DAA files to DVD on Windows using freeware?
ANSWER (thanks mostly to Bjorn S., Jim S., & Luigi Auriemma):
0. Download Luigi Auriemma’s Windows freeware daa-conversion utility:
http://aluigi.altervista.org/mytoolz.htm
This contains a zip file with source code & a Windows binary:
http://aluigi.altervista.org/mytoolz/daa2iso.zip
1. Point Luigi’s dvd2iso to the *first* file in your DAA archive:
c:\> daa2iso filename.part01.daa output.iso
This will convert single or multi-part DAA files to a single ISO.
A single output.iso file image will be the result.
2. You can burn that ISO image to DVD using Windows ImgBurn freeware:
http://www.imgburn.com
This will get you a playable DVD.
3. Or you can unpack that ISO image using Windows IZArc freeware:
http://www.izarc.org
This will result in the original files that were in the DAA archive.
ALTERNATE SOFTWARE (not necessarily freeware nor Windows):
PowerISO (not freeware, especially for large DAA files):
http://www.poweriso.com/poweriso-1.1.tar.gz
AcetoneISO (this is freeware, just not windows, works only on Linux):
http://linux.softpedia.com/get/Multimedia/Audio/AcetoneISO-16724.shtml
REFERENCES (none of which currently outline the simple solution above):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Direct_Access_Archive
http://filext.com/file-extension/DAA
http://w-shadow.com/blog/2007/09/07/the-daa-file-everything-you-need-to-know
http://www.articlealley.com/article_170967_11.html
http://aluigi.altervista.org/mytoolz.htm
I don’t know why, but, I’ve posted the tutorial *twice* and it won’t take. Sorry. Maybe Nandu can post it (I sent it to him).
Or someone can post it from the USENET newsgroups (I posted it there also). It’s in alt.comp.freeware, among others.
Hmm, maybe it exceeds the maximum comment length or something.
Anyway, you could always email it to me as well (whiteshadow [at] w-shadow [dot] com), I’d gladly post it.
Edit : looks like the tutorial was caught by the automated spam filter. I’ve de-spammed it and updated the post accordingly 🙂
Merry Christmas!
Thank you White Shadow for hosting this excellent page (all your comments were dead-on accurate as to what my problems were).
Happy Holidays to all!
hey!, good job with the tutorial…..one question though,
how do you do this:
“1. Point Luigi’s dvd2iso to the *first* file in your DAA archive:
c:\> daa2iso filename.part01.daa output.iso”?????
You’re supposed to type that in the command prompt (Start -> Run… -> cmd). If you’re not familiar with using command-line apps, here’s a beginners guide.