Daemon Tools not working / not installing [DT issues fixed]

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Key notes

  • Disk emulation has pretty much always been synonymous with Daemon Tools.
  • Older versions however became incompatible with Windows. We deal with those issues and some other common ones in this guide. 
  • For other troubleshooters regarding faulty software, look in our PC Software Fixing Guides. 
  • If other PC-related issues are your concern, we have a much larger Fix section as well.

When Windows 10 was initially released, it created some sort of a gap between Microsoft’s operating systems. One of the most visible differences was the list of compatible apps and software.

Many older programs, that worked well on Windows 7 or older versions of the system, simply didn’t work in Windows 10. Years later, various updates to the OS improved this situation, though.

These compatibility differences can cause a lot of problems for users switching from one version of Windows to another. Incompatible programs usually do more damage to the system, than just not working.

They can prevent some Windows 10 features from working, conflict with other software or even cause installation fails of updates.

One of the most troublesome programs in Windows 10 is the world’s most popular image-mounting tool, Daemon Tools.

If you are running one of the latest Windows 10 versions, you definitely need to have at least version 5.0.1 of Daemon Tools installed for maximum compatibility.

If you’re running an outdated operating system, such as Windows 10 A, Daemon Tools version 4.47 or later is actually compatible and users should have no problems.

However, many users are still running older versions of Daemon Tools, and they’re experiencing very serious and annoying issues.

Namely, an outdated version of Daemon Tools can prevent you from installing updates, or even upgrading to Windows 10.

But what’s even a bigger problem is that users are not able to uninstall Daemon Tools in some cases, which pretty much leaves their hands tied.

Here’s what one user said on Microsoft’s forums, and a lot of people confirmed they have the same problem:

I have DAEMON tools on my computer and I just installed the updates on my OS.  DAEMON tools worked fine before the update but now I get a bubble saying it won’t work.  If I open My Computer where the virtual drives used to be listed it gives me the same error, “does not work on this version of windows click here to learn more”.  The OS also blocks the uninstall app, so virtual drives are stuck installed on the PC.

The following article also covers the following topics, so read it well:

  • Daemon Tools not enough space on drive
  • Daemon Tools corresponding cue file not found
  • Daemon Tools not installing
  • Daemon Tools lite installer not working
  • Failed to initialize Daemon Tools installer
  • Daemon Tools engine isn’t loaded

How do I fix common Daemon Tools issues?

1. Uninstall Daemon Tools with uninstaller software

Unfortunately, there’s no confirmed solution to work for everyone. Other users have reported that the Daemon Tools engine isn’t loaded.

The best solution involves uninstalling Daemon Tools using uninstaller software.

A professional removal tool allows you to clean your system from bloatware and other software. It’s more powerful than Windows 10’s default uninstalling tool, so you can give it a try.

Third-party uninstallers are capable of going past the incompatibilities between the older software that is installed and Windows.

They are also better suited to identify any software leftovers and perform a deeper and more exhaustive uninstall process and keep track of those changes. When you remove that piece of software, this kind of tool will know exactly what other files are no longer needed.

This way, the removal process is more thorough.

2. Manually run uninsat.exe

Another solution for uninstalling Daemon Tools from your computer is running the uninsat.exe command from the Daemon Tools folder. You can find this command in Daemon Tool’s installation directory.

If the solutions listed above don’t get the job done, you can try updating Daemon Tools to its latest version, and then uninstall it.

That way, you’ll replace an incompatible version of the software with a compatible one, and the problem could be solved. You can download the latest version of Daemon Tools from its official website.

Microsoft is probably aware of this problem, because users have been reporting it since last year, but the company hasn’t released any fix yet. So, users are forced to solve the issue on their own.

If you plan to install Daemon Tools on your Windows 10 computer, please make sure that you’re installing the latest version of the software.

As you can see, an outdated version of Daemon Tools can get you into trouble, so it’s better to avoid it.

3. Daemon Tools installation issues

Usually, the errors involve Daemon Tools not installing, or the system failing to initialize Daemon Tools installer. This also applies to the Daemon Tools Lite installer not working as well as the Pro version.

There are two things that you can do. First, make sure the .exe is downloaded from the official website and contains the latest version possible.

Secondly, make sure your .NET framework is updated accordingly. Visit the Microsoft .NET download page to make sure you have the latest version on your computer before trying to install Daemon Tools.

4. Daemon Tools corresponding cue file not found

  1. Go to the folder which contains the .cue file that issues this error.
  2. In that folder, you should see a .bin file and a .cue file. Note the name of the .bin file.
  3. Right-click on the .cue file and open with Notepad.
  4. Search for the .bin section in Notepad and you should see a different name. Replace it with the one from step 2.
  5. Save the changes and try again.

A very common error that is easily fixed. All you need to do is in the steps outlined above.

We hope that any issues you had have been solved using one of the solutions proposed. Leave us a comment below if there’s anything we missed or to let us know how well it worked out for you.

More about the topics: virtual drive, windows 10, Windows emulators