Ventoy is an open-source tool that transforms a USB drive into a versatile multiboot device for Linux, Windows, and other operating systems. Users can drag and drop multiple ISO files onto the drive without needing to reformat it each time. The tool supports over 1,100 tested ISOs and offers extensive compatibility across various formats.
Ventoy revolutionizes the process of creating bootable USB drives by allowing users to install a custom bootloader on a USB stick, which creates a blank partition for storing multiple ISO files. As described in the article, this eliminates the need for repeated formatting, enabling a single USB drive to handle installations for Ubuntu, Windows 11, Kali Linux, and diagnostic tools simultaneously.
The tool's advantages include native multiboot functionality, where users copy ISOs directly to the data partition—formatted as exFAT by default—and Ventoy scans recursively for files in folders or subfolders. Upon booting, a menu appears with keyboard navigation, built-in search, and features like F2 for local file explorer, F4 for settings, F5 to refresh the list, Ctrl+r for reboot, and Ctrl+h to stop.
Installation is straightforward. Prerequisites are a USB drive of at least 8 GB, administrative privileges, and about five minutes. For Windows, users download ventoy-x.x.xx-windows.zip, extract it, run Ventoy2Disk.exe as administrator, select the USB, and install, noting that all data on the drive will be erased. On Linux, identify the USB with lsblk or fdisk -l before proceeding.
Pro tips highlight that updates can be applied without losing files on the data partition, and Ventoy includes workarounds for Windows 11 to bypass hardware requirements. The drive remains usable as normal storage for documents and photos. Advanced users can customize via VentoyPlugson, supporting JSON configurations for themes, auto-selection, resolution, and scripts.
Practical use cases include system administrators carrying Windows Server 2025, Linux distros, and recovery tools; Linux enthusiasts testing distributions like Fedora, Arch, and Manjaro; and IT technicians using Hirens BootCD PE, SystemRescue, and Malwarebytes for repairs.
Limitations involve potentially disabling Secure Boot on some systems, preferences for Legacy versus UEFI modes with rare ISOs, and recommending larger USB sizes for multiple large Windows ISOs. Overall, Ventoy is praised as an essential, open-source solution for efficient system installations.