Why does an .iso file look different in an ISO editor than it does if I mount it on a virtual drive and open it?

Question

What I mean is, when I open it in e.g. magicISO to edit, it lists like three subfolders, and also a .ds_store file a .symavqsfile file, .volumeicon.icns file, desktop DB, desktop DF, discinfo, etc, etc. If I mount it in Daemon Tools and look inside, it shows it as having an .exe, and some other completely different files.

What gives?

Answer 1

Some discs show different file systems to Mac OS X and Windows systems. It sounds like MagicISO is showing you the Mac OS X filesystem and Daemon Tools is showing you the Windows filesystem.

.DS_Store is a file used by Mac OS X, and filenames beginning with a dot generally indicate they were made by a program that behaves like a Unix program. Filenames ending with .exe indicate they were meant for Windows (or Mono, but usually Windows).