how to upload an ISO onto the free tier azure virtual machine

For starters, note that Azure does not support booting from ISO like traditional hypervisors (e.g., VMware, Hyper-V). Azure VMs are created from managed images or marketplace images.

That said, if you're trying to upload an ISO to the VM for installation purposes (e.g., software) — not for booting — here's how to do it:

Option 1: Upload ISO to Azure Storage and mount inside VM

1. Upload ISO to Azure Storage account:
   • Create a Storage Account and a Blob Container (e.g., myisos).
   • Use Azure Portal, Azure CLI, or Azure Storage Explorer to upload the ISO:

          az storage blob upload \
            --account-name <storage_account> \
            --container-name myisos \
            --name myimage.iso \
            --file ./myimage.iso
     

2. Generate a SAS URL (Shared Access Signature):
   • From the portal or CLI:

          az storage blob generate-sas \
            --account-name <storage_account> \
            --container-name myisos \
            --name myimage.iso \
            --permissions r \
            --expiry 2025-06-01 \
            --output tsv
     

   • Combine with blob URL to form a full URL: https://<account>.blob.core.windows.net/myisos/myimage.iso?<SAS_TOKEN>
3. Download ISO on the VM:
   • RDP/SSH into the VM.
   • Run:
     • Windows:

              Invoke-WebRequest -Uri "<URL>" -OutFile "C:\Users\<username>\Downloads\myimage.iso"
       

     • Linux:

              wget "<URL>" -O ~/myimage.iso
       

4. Mount ISO:
   • Windows: Right-click → Mount.
   • Linux: Create a mount point and mount:

          sudo mkdir /mnt/iso
          sudo mount -o loop ~/myimage.iso /mnt/iso
     

Keep in mind that booting from ISO is not supported in Azure for general-purpose VMs. For this, you’d need to:

• Use a custom image built from the ISO in Hyper-V or on-prem, then upload as a VHD.
• Use Azure Image Builder.

If the above response helps answer your question, remember to "Accept Answer" so that others in the community facing similar issues can easily find the solution. Your contribution is highly appreciated.

hth

Marcin

Hi Leon Kannie
Based on your query, uploading an ISO file requires the steps outlined by Marcin Policht. Please review it once. I’ve also added some additional information to elaborate further for your understanding

Upload ISO to VM
To create a custom Windows image for Azure, start by creating a fixed-size VHD in Hyper-V and use it to build a virtual machine. Mount a Windows ISO on the VM, install the OS, and configure it as needed. If using Windows Server 2019 Standard, ensure the BIOS boot order prioritizes IDE.

Once setup is complete, run Sysprep to generalize the VM, which prepares it for reuse. After the VM shuts down, upload the VHD to Azure Blob Storage. You can then create a custom image in Azure and use it to deploy new virtual machines.

Please refer to below document for more information
Prepare generalized image from ISO to deploy
Workflow
Prerequisites

Please let me know if you have any further query just ping me comment will help you as needed.!