Why have I wasted time flashing USB drives to install Windows (and Linux) on PCs when I could have been doing this all along?
You mean to tell me there's been this incredible tool sat there this whole time that could have made life much simpler and have spent much less on USB flash drives?!

Recent updates
Update: I've been made aware of some potential security issues that have been raised in the past with Ventoy on GitHub, and encourage anyone using tools to do their own research and make sure they're happy to proceed. You should always check the validity of any ISOs you're using for an OS, too, to minimize your own risks. Like many things, don't go downloading software from any old place on the Internet.
The savior, thy name is Ventoy. Apologies in advance to everyone who has known about this incredibly useful tool, this post isn't for you. This post is for everyone else who, like me, has been wasting their time flashing USB bootable installers onto flash drives to install Windows 11 or Linux onto various pieces of hardware.
There's absolutely no need for it, at least in a personal environment, and having discovered how game changing Ventoy is in this situation I quite literally want to shout it from the rooftops.
OK, so just what is Ventoy?
Ventoy is a tool that you install to a USB flash drive that allows you to have a bootable install media for multiple different operating systems in one place. You don't have to have a drive for Windows 11, and a drive for Ubuntu, a drive for Proxmox, and so on. You can drop all of those ISO files onto one single drive and never have to worry about running it through something like Rufus or Balena Etcher.
It's open source, free to use, and after the initial setup, it's simply dragging and dropping files onto a USB drive just as you might do with photos or documents. It really is that easy.
The support is astonishing, too. Per the website, over 1,200 different image files have been verified as working with Ventoy, and this includes Windows.
How to use Ventoy to install different operating systems
There's a one time setup for Ventoy and all you need is to download the client from the website and grab a USB flash drive. Ventoy comes as a .zip package, and inside are various versions of the app, including for ARM64 if you have a Snapdragon-powered laptop.
Run the version for the machine you're on, not the ISO files you're going to be using, that's important. Plug your USB drive into your PC and click install. That's literally all there is to it. Keep the app around, though, because it's how you can update to newer versions. It's also worth noting that to use Secure Boot, you need to enable it yourself, it won't be on by default.
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All you need to do now is simply drag and drop the image files for the different operating systems you want to use onto the USB drive. No flashing, no other tools, just drag and drop.
Now, when you go to install one of these operating systems on a PC, you'll boot from USB as you would normally. But instead of going into, say, the Windows 11 installer, you'll see the Ventoy boot screen as shown further up this post.
Choose the one you want, hit enter, and you're into the installation process.
It's so simple, but so powerful, and I really can't believe I didn't know about this sooner. Instead of keeping up to half a dozen flash drives around for image files, all I need now is one. Ventoy is the one you need.
Richard Devine is a Managing Editor at Windows Central with over a decade of experience. A former Project Manager and long-term tech addict, he joined Mobile Nations in 2011 and has been found on Android Central and iMore as well as Windows Central. Currently, you'll find him steering the site's coverage of all manner of PC hardware and reviews. Find him on Mastodon at mstdn.social/@richdevine
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mes-uk Fun times...allow me to give a bonus step, Ventoy is just the starting point – now, add a Pi Zero. I use a Pi Zero as a USB flash drive, utilising gadget mode to serve both as storage and as an Ethernet connection simultaneously. Imagine a 512GB (or larger) flash drive that also provides USB connectivity. I've housed the whole setup in a keychain-style case with an integrated USB adaptor.Reply
It's pretty great, and went from a dust collector to something really useful. -
HITS This tool has had a recent (the last year or so) list of questionable / safety concerns raised. If I were you, I would quickly add some kind of note at the top about how the UEFI key that's added to the system to use SecureBoot is potentially VERY dangerous. Or about the blobs in the code that are unable to be verified easily. Or that the developer has yet to respond to a host of questions as this is his spare time project. Or that he's based in China, and could be compelled by the govt to add backdoors, etc (not saying that is the case, but it's possible).Reply
I have no doubt that this has been an amazing tool in the arsenal of IT guys for a while now, but in its current state, and with the XZ Utils Backdoor, I don't think it's safe to use.
Head to the GitHub page and go to issue #132. The comments in this section will hopefully help explain the problem. Not saying it's unsafe, but I definitely won't be using it until the Developer responds. -
Jestzer As HITS has mentioned, this software is not to be trusted, no matter how convenient it is.Reply -
TheBeav111 Lmao love the update at the top: "don't waste your time reading this article do your own research"Reply -
TheBeav111
Wtf it says I'm a new member .... My account is so old the PW is only 6 lower case letters lmao...TheBeav111 said:Lmao love the update at the top: "don't waste your time reading this article do your own research" -
HITS I'll take it. Hopefully it'll help keep people from jumping in the deep end that can't swim :) Thanks Richard!Reply -
gregzeng TX. This has been mentioned many times in my comments in the reader's part of Distrowatch, over the decades. PCLOS is the only Linux operating system that includes Ventoy in its repositories.Reply -
FatalKeystroke iodd makes some portable drives and drive cases that are a dream come true for this. I have one that I keep a 2tb drive in loaded with basically every ISO I've ever used as well as a ton of portable apps for different OS's and a few images of live Linux distros I can boot into for various uses. You just organize the files using a specific structure and it just behaves like a regular external drive. Highly suggest looking into it if you like the idea behind the article, I've never seen a better solution. (Points to the guy that brought up using a Pi, their device uses the same idea without the Ethernet but a lower barrier of entry besides price)Reply -
Windows user fan Nah Rufus ain't even that bad and it is easier for me. It is fast and always did the jobReply -
Sim2er
I have an iodd also, I think it was recommended by a bootloader developer as the only way to keep secure boot secure and get this functionality. Some of the best money i ever spent was getting that drive.FatalKeystroke said:iodd makes some portable drives and drive cases that are a dream come true for this. I have one that I keep a 2tb drive in loaded with basically every ISO I've ever used as well as a ton of portable apps for different OS's and a few images of live Linux distros I can boot into for various uses. You just organize the files using a specific structure and it just behaves like a regular external drive. Highly suggest looking into it if you like the idea behind the article, I've never seen a better solution. (Points to the guy that brought up using a Pi, their device uses the same idea without the Ethernet but a lower barrier of entry besides price)