Why Ventoy Is Worth It for Booting ISOs

If you’ve already started Windows or tested a Linux distribution from USB, you know the routine: Take an ISO, run Rufus or and Cheche, Format, Write, Wait. A week later, do you want to try another distribution? Back to the box at the box. This cycle often pushed me to explore new distributions.

Then I found Ventoy, and I didn’t look back.

The problem with boostable USBs

For a certain time, the flashing USB discs worked well for me, but once I started testing several Linux distros and experimenting more, it was then that the problems have become clear.

• Constant reformatting: Whenever I wanted to use a new ISO, I had to erase the entire reader. Now, what happens if I wanted to return to the old distribution? Train the reader again.

• An ISO per USB: the size of my flash discs did not matter (whether 128 GB or 64 GB). I could only use one ISO at a time, so the rest of the storage has not been used.

• Lost time: I would be excited to try a new distribution, but instead of coming to what I wanted, I had to wait for the ISO copy. This expectation often looked like an eternity, and sometimes the copy process failed, forcing me to start again. Finally, the joy of experimentation has turned into frustration.

So I used the purchase of several USB readers. It resolved one or two, but the process was still in disorder. I had to remember the correct flash reader for each distribution, then the formatting of the flash reader was always painful.

The Ventoy solution

Fan

Balena Etchher is great, just like Rufus. They both do work. But, my new favorite way to install Linux is to use Ventoy, which is a free and open-source utility to create a startable USB. And the best part, you can store several ISO in a single flash reader, something that I have been wanting for a long time. But how did I meet Ventoy?

In short, it was not intentional; I just heard about Ventoy while traveling Internet and I decided to check it. At first, I did not know that you could copy several ISO to a single flash reader with Ventoy. It was a discovery that I made over time when I thought: “If I can copy an ISO, why not more?” It was at this point that I discovered the true Ventoy value, and I would have liked to know earlier.

So how does Ventoy work? The idea of ​​having several isos side by side on a single USB seemed confusing – or even impossible – because everything I knew was the “One ISO by reader” rule.

Here is what is happening under the hood:

• Instead of flashing an ISO, you first install Ventoy on your USB stick. After that, just copy ISO files like any other file.

• When you install Ventoy on a USB stick, it creates two partitions: a small start -up partition which contains the Ventoy start -up charger and a large data partition where you can freely copy your ISO files.

• The start -up charger (based on GRUB2) is what makes magic possible. When your computer starts from the Ventoy USB, the start -up charger analyzes the data partition for supported image files.

• Once you have chosen an ISO from the Ventoy start menu, the tool dynamically maps this ISO in memory or presents it to the system as a virtual device. From the point of view of the operating system, it is as if it had been started from a dedicated and properly flashed USB.

What does experience look like?

Corbin Davenport / Geek.

The use of Ventoy is refreshing and simple. Imagine plug in your USB, see a list of each ISO you have stored: Ubuntu, Windows, Fedora or even Living Tools. Just press the Arrow keys and choose the ISO you want to start. No waiting, no re-lacming, no second motto. The best part? You can continue to add or delete the ISO at any time. Slide them and place them like normal files, and they will appear in the starting menu the next time you use the reader.

For me, the experience has gone from “UGH, I need to reflage my USB again” to “let me copy this ISO and restart”. It is faster, cleaner and seems how much the media should have worked.

Why do I only use Ventoy now

After going to Ventoy, I cannot imagine going back to the old way to blink. For someone who likes distribution jump and experimentation, it makes the test of new systems effortlessly. In addition to that, Ventoy works through bios and UEFI systems, so I don’t have to worry about compatibility problems. What really seals the agreement is that it is not limited to Linux; It manages the windows and many other types of isos as well.

Another reason that makes Ventoy my favorite tool is ease of use. The Ventoy configuration to start several Linux distros is quite simple. You have just downloaded the installation program to the official website, run the installer and that’s it, your USB is now fed by Ventoy. From now on, slide and simply place the ISO on USB and normal files. When you start from USB, Ventoy will show you a menu of all the ISOs you have added.

The flashing USB discs several times had its place, but for me, it feels outdated now. Ventoy has completely changed the way I manage the start -up supports. Once you try it, you will probably wonder, just as I did, why you spent so much time flashing training in the first place.