Storing installation CD’s as folders

In the ancient times when all the installation fits in a CD, I used to stored in a folder of the hard disk; maybe in another machine, or maybe in the same I as installing. I could call the software directly from the folder or alias the folder with a drive letter.

I’ve tried to do the same with Win XP and 2K installlation (ala .CAB files), but I didn’t find a way. Can anybody help me?

Thanks in advance