Ventoy – Bootable USB Solution

Overview

Ventoy is a revolutionary open-source tool for creating bootable USB drives that has fundamentally transformed how IT professionals, system administrators, and technology enthusiasts work with operating system installations and live environments. Unlike traditional bootable USB tools that require reformatting your drive for each ISO file, Ventoy creates a special bootable partition that allows you to simply copy ISO files directly to the drive and boot from any of them without extraction or additional processing.

Since its release in 2020, Ventoy has rapidly become the definitive solution for multi-boot USB creation, supporting over 1000 different ISO files including Windows installation media, Linux distributions, WinPE environments, and various utility disks. The tool has eliminated the tedious and time-consuming process of reformatting USB drives every time you need to boot a different operating system or utility.

What makes Ventoy truly extraordinary is its elegant simplicity: install Ventoy once on your USB drive, then simply drag and drop as many ISO files as your drive can accommodate. At boot time, Ventoy presents an intuitive menu allowing you to select which ISO to boot. No extraction, no reformatting, no special procedures required – just copy files and boot. This approach has made Ventoy indispensable for anyone who works with multiple operating systems.

Key Features

Unlimited Multi-Boot Capability

Boot multiple operating systems from a single USB drive:

• Unlimited ISOs: Add as many ISO files as your drive storage allows
• Mixed Operating Systems: Combine Windows, Linux, and utilities on one drive
• No Reformatting: Add or remove ISOs anytime by simple file operations
• Boot Menu: Clean graphical interface to select which ISO to boot
• Folder Organization: Organize ISOs in subfolders for better management

Extensive Compatibility

Ventoy supports virtually all bootable ISO images:

• Windows: All versions from Vista to Windows 11, Server editions, WinPE/WinRE
• Linux: Ubuntu, Fedora, Debian, Arch, Mint, openSUSE, and 600+ other distributions
• Utilities: Clonezilla, GParted, SystemRescue, Hiren’s BootCD, Ultimate Boot CD
• Antivirus: Kaspersky, ESET, Avira, Bitdefender, Norton rescue disks
• Virtualization: VMware ESXi, Proxmox VE, XenServer, oVirt
• Network: pfSense, OPNsense, OpenWrt, various network appliances
• Chromium: ChromeOS Flex and other Chromium-based systems

Universal Boot Mode Support

Works with all modern and legacy boot systems:

• Legacy BIOS: Traditional MBR boot for older systems
• UEFI x64: Modern 64-bit UEFI boot support
• UEFI IA32: 32-bit UEFI for older tablets and systems
• UEFI ARM64: Support for ARM-based systems
• Secure Boot: Full Secure Boot compatibility when properly configured

Linux Persistence Support

Save changes across reboots in Linux live sessions:

• Create persistent storage partitions for supported distributions
• Changes and installed software survive system reboots
• Multiple persistence configurations supported
• Works with Ubuntu, Mint, Kali, MX Linux, and many others
• Configurable persistence file sizes

Advanced Boot Features

• Memdisk Mode: Load entire ISO into RAM before booting for faster operation
• Tree View Mode: Display ISOs organized by folder structure
• Auto Installation: Support for Windows unattended installation answer files
• VHD/VHDX Boot: Boot from virtual hard disk files
• WIM Boot: Boot Windows directly from WIM files
• IMG Boot: Support for raw disk image files

System Requirements

USB Drive Requirements

• Minimum Size: 4GB (larger recommended for multiple ISOs)
• Interface: USB 2.0 supported, USB 3.0 recommended for speed
• Format: Drive will be reformatted during Ventoy installation
• Type: Standard USB flash drives, external SSDs, and hard drives supported

Host System Requirements

• Windows: Windows 7 or later for the installation tool
• Linux: Any modern Linux distribution with GUI or terminal
• Boot Target: Any x86, x64, or ARM64 system with USB boot capability

Installation Process

Windows Installation

1. Download Ventoy from the official ventoy.net website
2. Extract the downloaded ZIP archive to any folder
3. Connect your USB drive (WARNING: all data will be erased)
4. Run Ventoy2Disk.exe with administrator privileges
5. Select your USB drive from the device dropdown menu
6. Choose partition style (MBR for maximum compatibility or GPT for large drives)
7. Click Install and confirm the data loss warning
8. Wait for installation to complete (usually under a minute)

Linux Installation

1. Download and extract the Ventoy package
2. Open terminal in the extracted directory
3. Identify your USB device with lsblk command
4. Run: sudo sh Ventoy2Disk.sh -i /dev/sdX (replace sdX with your device)
5. Confirm installation when prompted
6. Wait for completion message

Adding ISO Files

1. After installation, USB drive appears with a partition labeled “Ventoy”
2. Open the Ventoy partition in your file manager
3. Copy ISO files directly to the drive (no extraction needed)
4. Organize ISOs in folders if desired (Ventoy preserves folder structure)
5. Safely eject the USB drive when finished

Using Ventoy

Booting from Ventoy USB

1. Insert the Ventoy USB into the target computer
2. Power on and access the boot menu (typically F12, F2, F8, or Del key)
3. Select the USB drive from the boot device list
4. Ventoy’s graphical menu appears showing all available ISOs
5. Use arrow keys to select the desired ISO and press Enter
6. The selected ISO boots exactly as if it were written to a dedicated USB

Boot Options

• Press Tab on any ISO entry to access additional boot options
• Choose between normal boot and memdisk mode
• Select specific boot parameters if available
• Access Ventoy’s tools menu for utilities

Organizing Your ISO Collection

• Create folders like “Windows,” “Linux,” “Utilities,” “Antivirus”
• Ventoy displays folder structure in the boot menu
• Use descriptive filenames for easy identification
• Keep frequently used ISOs at the top level for quick access

Advanced Configuration

Custom Themes

Personalize Ventoy’s appearance:

• Download themes from the Ventoy community or create your own
• Place theme files in the ventoy folder on your USB
• Edit ventoy.json to activate custom themes
• Customize colors, fonts, backgrounds, and menu layout

Persistence Configuration

Set up persistent storage for Linux distributions:

1. Create a persistence file using Ventoy’s included CreatePersistentImg tool
2. Name the file according to the distribution (e.g., ubuntu.dat)
3. Place the persistence file in the ventoy folder
4. Configure persistence mapping in ventoy.json
5. Boot the Linux ISO – changes will be saved to the persistence file

Auto Installation

Configure unattended Windows installation:

1. Create an unattend.xml answer file for Windows
2. Configure the mapping in ventoy.json
3. Windows installation proceeds without user interaction
4. Perfect for deploying Windows across multiple machines

Ventoy Plugin System

Extend functionality with plugins:

• Global control plugin for boot parameters
• Menu class plugin for ISO categorization
• Auto install plugin for automated deployments
• Persistence plugin for Linux live environments
• Password plugin for USB drive protection

Comparison with Alternative Tools

Ventoy vs Rufus

• Multi-boot: Ventoy supports unlimited ISOs; Rufus handles one at a time
• Workflow: Ventoy uses simple copy; Rufus must write each ISO
• Speed: Adding ISOs much faster with Ventoy
• Compatibility: Both offer excellent boot compatibility
• Use Case: Ventoy for collections; Rufus for single dedicated USBs

Ventoy vs YUMI

• Simplicity: Ventoy is simpler (just copy ISO files)
• Updates: Ventoy more actively developed and maintained
• Compatibility: Ventoy supports more ISO files out of the box
• Interface: Both offer graphical interfaces

Ventoy vs Etcher

• Multi-boot: Ventoy multi-boot; Etcher single ISO only
• Primary Use: Etcher focused on SD cards; Ventoy on USB drives
• Platform: Both cross-platform (Windows, Linux, macOS)
• Simplicity: Etcher simpler for single images; Ventoy wins for collections

Professional Use Cases

IT Support Technicians

Carry every diagnostic tool, installation media, and rescue disk on a single USB drive. Quickly boot any tool needed for troubleshooting without carrying multiple drives or reformatting.

System Administrators

Deploy multiple Windows and Linux versions across different hardware. Maintain a complete toolkit for server provisioning, recovery, and maintenance operations.

Linux Distribution Testers

Try dozens of Linux distributions without reformatting. Keep current and older versions available for comparison testing and compatibility verification.

Data Recovery Specialists

Maintain multiple recovery tools ready for any situation. Boot different rescue environments to recover data from failing drives or corrupted systems.

Educational Environments

Provide students with bootable environments for learning system administration, cybersecurity, or programming without modifying lab computers.

Troubleshooting Common Issues

ISO Not Appearing in Menu

• Verify ISO file is not corrupted (check hash if available)
• Ensure ISO is in root or subfolder of Ventoy partition
• Check if ISO is in Ventoy’s compatibility list
• Try updating to latest Ventoy version

Boot Failures

• Try different boot mode (Legacy BIOS vs UEFI)
• Disable Secure Boot temporarily in BIOS settings
• Test with memdisk mode for problematic ISOs
• Verify USB drive is not failing

Conclusion

Ventoy has revolutionized bootable USB creation by eliminating the reformatting cycle that plagued previous solutions. Its ability to boot unlimited ISO files from a single drive makes it an indispensable tool for IT professionals, system administrators, and anyone who works with multiple operating systems. The elegant simplicity of copying files combined with robust compatibility across thousands of ISOs has earned Ventoy its place as the definitive multi-boot USB solution. With active development and a growing community, Ventoy continues to improve and expand its already impressive capabilities.