Arsenal Image Mounter

Arsenal Image Mounter is a disk-imaging utility aimed at investigators and administrators who need images presented as full disks rather than simple mounted volumes. It suits digital forensics and incident-response work best, especially when BitLocker handling or forensic NTFS access matters. The free tier is unusually capable; the paid tier is justified mainly by virtual-machine, remote-disk and advanced forensic workflows.

Overview

AIM mounts disk-image contents as complete disks in Windows, allowing applications to use disk-specific behavior that volume-only mounting can miss. It also mounts virtual-disk and optical-image files and permits temporary writes. Free Mode includes command-line executables and PowerShell modules, making it practical for scripted examination as well as graphical work.

Professional Mode extends the tool into investigation and lab infrastructure: it can start virtual machines from images, physical disks or remote disks, generate Recon Reports for triage, and reveal NTFS metadata, slack space and unallocated space through its file-system-driver bypass mode. That is a meaningful step beyond ordinary virtual-drive software, but it is specialized rather than a general desktop convenience utility.

Key features

Broad image handling: The FAQ covers raw and DMG images and several virtual-machine disk formats. AFF4 requires libaff4; E01, limited Ex01 and S01 support require libewf, so those formats depend on the relevant libraries being present.

BitLocker operations: Free Mode can identify, unlock, decrypt, and disable or suspend BitLocker-protected volumes. This makes the free edition useful for recovery and examination without buying the forensic feature set.

Virtual-machine launch: Professional Mode can boot environments from disk images, physical disks and remotely connected disks. Choose it when an image must be run, not merely inspected.

Forensic access: Recon Reports support triage, while driver-bypass mode exposes NTFS structures that ordinary mounting may hide. These capabilities target evidence examination rather than casual file access.

Remote disks: Professional Mode connects over a network through AIM Remote Agent, useful for centralized or off-machine investigations.

Automation: Free Mode's CLI tools and PowerShell modules support repeatable workflows and operational scripting.

Pricing

Free Mode: $0.00 USD, free. It includes disk-image mounting, temporary write support, BitLocker tools, CLI executables and PowerShell modules. For mounting, decryption and scripted access, this is the sensible starting point.

1 Year Plan: $907 a year (about $75 per month), with email support. It is purchased annually and offers no discount, so it suits teams needing Professional Mode for a single year without a longer commitment.

3 Year Plan: $2,448 a year (about $68 per month), with email support, purchased every three years. Locked-in pricing and a 9% saving make it preferable when continued use is predictable.

5 Year Plan: $3,840 a year (about $64 per month), with email support, purchased every five years. The 14% saving lowers the effective annual cost for established forensic programs willing to commit long term. Paid plans add Professional Mode's virtual-machine, remote-disk and advanced forensic functions; the published paid entry point is $907.00.

Platforms

AIM is primarily a Windows application. Arsenal recommends Windows 10 version 1703 or later, Windows 11, or Windows Server 2016/2019 x64 with.NET 10, running on bare metal for full functionality. Hypervisors and other environments are not recommended or supported, even if some functionality may work there.

Arsenal also documents an AIM Linux CLI and offline license activation on Linux. Offline activation uses a license file exchanged through an internet-connected workstation, which is practical for isolated evidence systems. Antivirus software may flag the tools because of obfuscation; exclusions or temporary disabling may be required.

Who it's for

Choose AIM if you examine forensic images, handle BitLocker volumes, need NTFS slack and unallocated-space visibility, or must launch virtual machines from evidence. Incident-response teams benefit from the scripting interfaces and remote-disk connection. It is a poor fit for someone who only wants to browse ISO files or create a few desktop virtual drives, because Professional Mode is expensive and the recommended setup is specifically bare-metal Windows.

Pros and cons

Pros

Free Mode delivers full-disk mounting, temporary writes, BitLocker operations and automation tools at no cost.

Professional Mode combines VM launching, remote disks and forensic triage in one workflow.

Driver-bypass access can expose NTFS metadata, slack and unallocated space.

Offline activation supports disconnected environments.

Cons

Professional licensing starts at $907.00 per year, with savings requiring three- or five-year commitments.

Full functionality depends on a recommended bare-metal Windows setup; hypervisor use is unsupported.

Some image formats depend on external libraries, and antivirus exclusions may be necessary.

Linux support is centered on the CLI rather than the Windows-focused core experience.

Alternatives

For a wider selection of virtual-drive tools, see Virtual Drive Software.

RaiDrive is the better choice for general network-drive access across Linux and Windows, with a free plan and free trial.

NetDrive fits users who need Android, iOS, macOS and Windows coverage and a seven-day trial rather than forensic imaging features.

Alcohol 52% is a simpler Windows option for optical-image use, including a 15-day trial and free edition restricted against business use.

gBurner Virtual Drive suits basic mounting at no cost, supporting up to 16 virtual drives; its Pro edition is a one-time $39.95 purchase.

ExpanDrive is aimed at cloud services and protocols, with a free personal plan rather than forensic disk analysis.

libguestfs is a free open-source library and toolset for users who prefer an API- and command-line-oriented approach.

OSFClone is a free self-booting disk-imaging utility for Linux and Windows.

DAEMON Tools Lite offers basic Windows imaging free, with a $29.99 lifetime personal edition.

Verdict

Arsenal Image Mounter is the right choice for forensic and incident-response professionals who need full-disk image presentation, BitLocker handling and, in Professional Mode, evidence-aware NTFS access, remote disks and virtual-machine launch. Start with Free Mode unless those advanced workflows are essential. Look elsewhere for inexpensive everyday virtual-drive mounting, broad consumer-platform support or deployments that must run inside a hypervisor.