Ventoy

Original Article ↗ Hacker News Discussion ↗

Ventoy is a free, open source tool that turns a USB drive or external SSD into a multi-boot device where you simply copy ISO files (Linux, Windows, BSD, rescue tools, etc.) and select them from a boot menu, while still using the drive for normal storage. Commenters praise how it simplifies installs, recovery, PXE/netboot setups, and distro-hopping compared to repeatedly reimaging USB sticks with tools like Rufus, though they note a few edge cases (e.g., some specific ISOs, odd UEFI/Secure Boot quirks, and niche partition-alignment concerns). Security and trust questions arise due to its Chinese origin, but its source code is available, and many see it as an indispensable part of their sysadmin or tinkering toolkit.

Overview & Core Idea

  • Ventoy is described as a USB bootloader that scans a drive for ISO (and some other image) files and presents them in a boot menu.
  • The USB remains usable as general storage; non-ISO files are ignored at boot.
  • Works with BIOS and UEFI, and supports many OSes: Linux distros, Windows, FreeBSD, some DOS variants, rescue/live environments, memtest, etc.

Use Cases & Benefits

  • Very popular for distro-hopping and testing multiple OSes without constantly reimaging USBs.
  • Widely used as a “Swiss army knife” for IT work: installers, rescue tools, partitioning, backup, antivirus, and hardware diagnostics on one stick or external SSD.
  • Praised for simplifying installs on hostile or quirky UEFI/Secure Boot hardware where normal ISOs fail to boot.
  • Helpful for keeping permanent multi-boot rescue / maintenance media and for gifting “plug-and-play” systems (e.g., game emulation setups).

Configuration & Advanced Features

  • JSON-based config can:
    • Restrict which folders are scanned.
    • Specify an explicit ISO list.
    • Set a default image (VTOY_DEFAULT_IMAGE) and default search root.
  • Can reserve extra space and create additional data partitions (e.g., ext4).
  • Supports persistence via loopback image files.
  • Can boot VHD images “on the metal,” leveraging native VHD boot on Windows.
  • A related tool, iVentoy, provides PXE/netboot from ISO libraries, with reports of easy success on Linux and some trouble on Windows.

Hardware, UEFI, and Secure Boot Issues

  • Some users report modern mass-market laptops making non-Windows boots difficult (Secure Boot quirks, self-healing BIOS, vendor lock-in), where Ventoy still boots reliably.
  • Others say they have no such problems and standard ISO-on-FAT32 sticks work fine.
  • Broader discussion touches on Secure Boot key revocations and complexity around chainloading and future incompatibilities.

Limitations & Pain Points

  • Does not work with some images (e.g., Steam Deck recovery, illumos-based ISOs, some Proxmox versions without patches).
  • Persistence cannot directly use the raw USB filesystem; users must resize loop files if they run out of space.
  • Some hardware refuses to boot from larger external SSDs/NVMe enclosures, though this is seen as a device quirk, not a Ventoy bug.
  • One commenter found older versions brittle; recent versions are generally reported as robust and easy to update.

Security, Trust, and Alternatives

  • Some concern expressed about trusting a bootloader project from abroad; others note it is open source and point to its Git repository.
  • For environments wary of Ventoy’s supply chain, alternatives mentioned include custom GRUB2 setups, hardware ISO-emulating enclosures (e.g., IODD), and other USB/PXE tools.