Aloha!
Not so long ago, I came across one rather interesting utility - Ventoy. It is designed to create universal bootable USB sticks: Legacy + UEFI (moreover, this is done in it as simply as possible, literally in 2 steps!).
After testing it for a couple of weeks, I found for myself that the tool really deserves attention (which is why this note appeared).
I will note also that I have tested Ventoy so far only on a dozen PCs and laptops (the sample is not very large) - everything worked everywhere, as they say out of the box (except for a laptop from HP: it had to disable Secure Boot in the BIOS, although there were no problems with this on other devices ...).
Now about the case ...
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The easiest way to create multiboot media
STEP 1
As with creating any bootable USB flash drive, we need installationISO images with Windows OS. Because we will use Ventoy - can download multiple ISOs at once, like Windows 10, Windows 8, LiveCD, etc. 👇 (their number is limited by the size of your flash drive👌)
ISO file
👉 To help!
LiveCD for Windows disaster recovery - my selection
How to download an ISO image from Windows 10 [officially and legally]
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STEP 2
Then you should download 👉 the Ventoy utility (link to the developer's site). It does not need to be installed, it is enough to unpack the archive and run it.
Next you need:
- connect a USB flash drive / disk to the USB port (important: while working with a USB flash drive - all data on it will be deleted!);
- start Ventoy;
- In chapter "Option" recommend to enable support "Secure Boot" (all new PCs have it);
- specify the flash drive and click on the button "Install" ... After 15-30 sec. the flash drive will be prepared (but not ready yet!).
Ventoy - write a bootable USB stick
Now just copy all bootable ISO files that you need (from Windows / Linux, etc.) to the prepared USB flash drive.
There is one caveat: file names must be in Latin (no Russian characters and spaces). Generally, it is better to make the name max. short, no special characters. Examples below 👇
Copying ISO files from the OS to the prepared USB flash drive
I will note the main advantage of this method: you can copy other ISOs to the flash drive at any time and delete those that you no longer need from it! And this is without any formatting and other complex perturbations (you will not need to enter Ventoy again!).
Isn't it convenient? 👌 ...
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STEP 3
Now I will show with an example how it all looks in practice ...
You can boot from a USB flash drive prepared in Ventoy, just like any other - just go to the Boot Menu, or by changing the corresponding. parameters in BIOS. See example below. 👇
👉 To help!
How to boot from a USB stick or external HDD - for beginners (step by step)
Boot from a USB stick from Ventoy
Next, you will see a universal menu with a list of all ISOs that you added to the USB flash drive (in my case, 3 images: Windows 8, 10, and LiveCD 👇). You just need to select the desired ISO and press Enter.
Ventoy - loading works (note the title!)
After that, a typical installation of Windows OS (for example) will begin. No unique add-ons action is no longer required. I tested it on several PCs, Windows 7/8/10 - everything is installed quite quickly and without problems (it is better to write ISO with Windows 7 with built-in drivers for USB 3.0!).
Windows 8 setup test
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STEP 4: the alternative
Since the Ventoy tool is still new, it is possible that "difficulties" may arise on some devices ... Therefore, just in case, I give other alternative options for creating bootable media. 👇
👉 To help!
1) How to create a multiboot USB flash drive (disk) with several Windows (for computers / laptops running under UEFI)
2) How to create a bootable Windows 10 USB flash drive under UEFI or BIOS in Rufus (new 3.x version) [instruction]
3) A selection of programs for creating bootable USB flash drives with Windows
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🐤 Video instruction
You can also watch the entire process of preparing and testing a flash drive (in more detail) in a short video. Link below ...
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Additions on the topic - will not hurt! 👌
All the best!
👋
