Testing operating systems, whether on a real computer or a virtual machine, can be a tedious task. Every time we want to change the system, or one of them, like Windows or Ubuntu, releases a new version, it is necessary to create a bootable USB from scratch, with the time that this entails. For this reason, whether we try many operating systems or if we like to always carry one with us, today we are going to talk about a tool that will undoubtedly change your lives: Ventoy.
Many times we have recommended you to use programs like Rufus. This tool allows us to download Windows and Linux ISO images and, at the same time, burn them to a bootable USB so that we can use said memory to start the computer from scratch. However, every time we want to change the system, we have to completely format the flash drive and record it again, with the time and work that this entails.
Ventoy is a somewhat different program. Instead of being a tool to burn ISO to USB, what this tool does is allow us to create a bootable USB with a bootloader . Once this bootable system has been created, we can use it to boot any operating system without the need to previously record it to USB.
How does it work
The operation of this program is very simple. All we need is an empty flash drive (since the data will be lost on the way) and download the program from here . Once downloaded, we run it and we can see a window like the following.
From it we can create the Ventoy USB. We must select the pendrive that we want to use, and also, from the settings, the type of partition table, if we want to use Secure Boot, and the file system that we are going to use. Click on “Install” and the program will take care of creating our bootable USB.
Once created, we no longer have to reformat it. Now, on the one hand, we will have the files of the Ventoy Live-CD system, and on the other hand free space to save the systems we want. It is enough to copy the ISO images of the systems that we want to boot, as is, to the flash drive so that Ventoy takes care that we can boot with them.
When starting the system with Ventoy, we will be able to see a list of all the systems that are copied in the memory. We select the one we want to use, press “Enter”, and it will automatically start normally, and with all its functions available.
When we want to delete a system, add another, or update an existing one, it will suffice to delete the old ISOs copied to the system and copy the new ISOs back to the flash drive, nothing more.
What systems can I boot with the USB
Currently Ventoy supports more than 1100 different operating systems without any problem. Among them, all versions of Windows , from 7 to the latest Windows 11. Also Unix systems, ChromeOS, and even alternative systems, such as VMware, Citrix or Xen.
And, of course, Linux. Ventoy guarantees operation with more than 90% of the distros registered in Distrowatch, being able to boot all popular systems without problems, such as Ubuntu, Debian, Mint, Fedora… and of course the rarest distros that we can find, making it a tool perfect for every experimenter.
