A single USB  drive can hold Windows installers, Linux distributions, recovery environments and other bootable images without having to format the drive every time you want to add a new ISO.

That is what makes Ventoy useful. Instead of “burning” an ISO directly to a USB drive, you install Ventoy once and then copy ISO, WIM, IMG or other supported image files to the drive. When the computer boots from it, Ventoy presents a menu containing the available images. (Ventoy)

The current Ventoy release listed on its official website is Ventoy 1.1.17, released on July 24, 2026. The official Windows package is available from Ventoy’s download page, with SourceForge listed as the download mirror. (Ventoy)

What You Need Before Starting

Prepare the following:

• A USB flash drive or portable SSD
• A Windows computer
• An internet connection
• The Ventoy package for Windows
• One or more ISO files, such as Windows 11, Ubuntu or another supported operating system

Important: Installing Ventoy on a USB drive will erase the existing data on that drive. Back up anything important before proceeding.

A portable SSD can also be used instead of a conventional flash drive. Ventoy officially supports installation on USB drives and can boot multiple image types from the same device. (Ventoy)

Step 1: Download Ventoy From the Official Website

Open your browser and visit:

Download the latest Windows ZIP package listed on the official Ventoy download page. At the time of publication, the package is ventoy-1.1.17-windows.zip. (Ventoy)

Ventoy provides SourceForge as one of its official download locations, so make sure you are downloading the package from the official project page or its linked mirror.

Do not use random third-party download sites for the installer.

Step 2: Extract the Ventoy ZIP File

After downloading the ZIP file, right-click it in File Explorer and select Extract All.

Open the extracted folder.

The Windows package contains the Ventoy installation utility, including Ventoy2Disk.exe, which is the graphical tool used to install Ventoy on the USB drive. (Ventoy)

You can keep the extracted folder on your Desktop or another convenient location.

Step 3: Connect the USB Drive and Open Ventoy2Disk

Connect your USB flash drive or portable SSD to the computer.

Inside the extracted Ventoy folder, double-click:

Ventoy2Disk.exe

If Windows asks for administrator permission, approve the prompt.

The Ventoy application will display available USB devices. Select the drive you intend to use.

Check the drive carefully before installing.

Selecting the wrong disk can result in permanent data loss.

Ventoy normally lists USB drives in the device selection interface specifically to reduce the risk of accidentally selecting an internal disk. The application also has a setting to show additional devices when necessary. (Ventoy)

Step 4: Install Ventoy on the USB Drive

With the correct drive selected, click Install.

Ventoy will warn you that the device will be formatted and its existing data will be lost. Confirm the operation.

Depending on the version and interface, you may receive additional confirmation prompts.

Wait until Ventoy reports that the installation has completed successfully.

At this point, the USB drive has been prepared as a Ventoy boot device.

Step 5: Copy ISO Files to the Ventoy Drive

This is where Ventoy becomes much more convenient than traditional USB-burning tools.

Open the newly prepared Ventoy drive in File Explorer.

Now simply copy your ISO files onto it.

For example:

Windows11.iso
Ubuntu.iso
LinuxMint.iso
RescueTool.iso

You do not normally need to extract the ISO files first. Ventoy is designed to boot supported image files directly from the storage device. (Ventoy)

You can also organize the files into folders. Ventoy supports browsing image files in different folders and provides a boot menu for selecting them. (Ventoy)

Step 6: Boot the Computer From the USB Drive

Leave the Ventoy USB connected and restart the computer.

Open the computer’s UEFI/BIOS boot menu. The exact key depends on the manufacturer and model; common keys include F2, F12, Delete and Esc.

Instead of permanently changing the boot order, many computers allow you to select the USB drive from a one-time boot menu.

Choose the Ventoy USB device.

The computer should then load the Ventoy interface.

Step 7: Choose an Operating System From the Ventoy Menu

Once Ventoy starts, you should see a list of the ISO files stored on the drive.

Use the keyboard to select an image and press Enter.

For example, you might see:

Windows11.iso
Ubuntu.iso
LinuxMint.iso

Select the desired image and follow the boot options displayed by Ventoy.

This means a single USB device can function as a portable collection of operating-system installers and recovery tools rather than being limited to one bootable image.

Step 8: Use Ventoy’s Navigation Features

Ventoy includes additional menu functions that can make a large multiboot drive easier to navigate.

For example, F3 can switch the menu into TreeView mode, which is useful when your ISO files are organized into folders. Ventoy also provides additional tools through its boot menu, depending on the current version and configuration. (Ventoy)

If you have several Windows, Linux and recovery images stored on the same drive, organizing them into folders can make the menu much easier to manage.

Step 9: Customize the Ventoy Menu With VentoyPlugson

Ventoy also includes a configuration utility called VentoyPlugson.

It can be used to manage Ventoy’s configuration and plugins through a local web interface. Ventoy’s official documentation recommends VentoyPlugson as a graphical configuration tool for the global-control plugin. (Ventoy)

Launch the appropriate Plugson executable from the Ventoy package and start its local configuration service.

Your browser will open a local configuration page.

From there, supported plugins can be configured without manually editing the JSON configuration file.

Step 10: Rename ISO Entries With Menu Alias

A multiboot drive can quickly become difficult to read if ISO filenames are long and technical.

Ventoy provides a Menu Alias Plugin that can display a more readable name for an image without changing the actual filename.

For example, instead of displaying:

linuxmint-22.1-cinnamon-64bit.iso

you could configure the menu to show:

Linux Mint

This is particularly useful when several versions of the same operating system are stored on one drive.

Step 11: Understand Secure Boot Before Your First Boot

Secure Boot is one of the most important parts of a modern Ventoy setup.

Ventoy supports Secure Boot, but the process can vary depending on the computer’s UEFI firmware. Ventoy’s official documentation says Secure Boot support is available and explains that the first boot may require enrollment of a Ventoy key. On some systems, an additional Microsoft 3rd Party UEFI CA option may also need to be enabled. (Ventoy)

Ventoy’s current documentation also notes an important change for Ventoy 1.1.13 and later: a new key needs to be enrolled because of the UEFI CA 2023 change. (Ventoy)

Therefore, do not assume that an older Ventoy Secure Boot tutorial will match the current interface.

Step 12: Enroll the Ventoy Secure Boot Key When Required

If Secure Boot is enabled and the system displays Ventoy’s key-management screen during the first boot, follow the instructions shown by Ventoy.

The process can involve selecting:

Enroll key from disk

and then choosing the Ventoy EFI partition and the certificate file provided by Ventoy.

The exact screen varies between firmware implementations, so follow the options presented by your computer.

Ventoy states that the Secure Boot enrollment procedure normally only needs to be performed once for each computer. (Ventoy)

If Secure Boot cannot be made to work correctly on a particular machine, Ventoy’s documentation says disabling Secure Boot may be necessary as a fallback. (Ventoy)

Step 13: Test the USB With a Linux Live Environment

A good way to test your multiboot drive is to boot a Linux distribution in Live mode.

For example, select an Ubuntu ISO from the Ventoy menu and choose its normal boot option.

A Live Linux environment can run from the USB drive without requiring you to install Linux to the computer’s internal storage.

This makes the setup useful for testing hardware, accessing files and troubleshooting a computer that cannot boot normally.

Ventoy maintains lists of tested images, including multiple Windows images, although compatibility can vary between specific releases and hardware. (Ventoy)

Step 14: Boot a Windows 11 ISO

Windows 11 can also be stored on the same Ventoy drive.

Copy the Windows 11 ISO to the USB drive, boot from Ventoy and select the ISO.

The Windows installer should then load just as it would from another properly prepared installation medium.

This eliminates the need to recreate the USB from scratch whenever you want to replace one Windows ISO with another. Ventoy’s official site describes direct booting of supported Windows and other operating-system images. (Ventoy)

Step 15: Install Windows 11 on Unsupported Hardware With Caution

Ventoy includes a global-control option named:

VTOY_WIN11_BYPASS_CHECK

Its official documentation says setting this option to 1 bypasses Windows 11 hardware checks for supported standard Windows 11 ISO files. Ventoy documents that the mechanism can bypass checks including TPM, Secure Boot, RAM and CPU checks during installation. (Ventoy)

However, this does not mean that unsupported hardware suddenly becomes officially supported by Microsoft.

Microsoft’s Windows 11 requirements still define the supported hardware baseline, including requirements such as TPM 2.0, UEFI firmware and Secure Boot capability. Using a bypass changes the installation process; it does not change Microsoft’s published requirements.

For that reason, bypassing hardware checks should be treated as an advanced option rather than the default installation method.

Why Ventoy Is Useful

The biggest advantage of Ventoy is the way it separates the boot environment from the actual image files.

With many traditional USB creation methods, replacing the operating system image requires writing the new image to the entire drive again.

With Ventoy, you install Ventoy once and then manage the images as ordinary files. The official project describes support for multiple image types and the ability to copy many files to different folders and boot them from a menu. (Ventoy)

That makes Ventoy particularly useful for technicians, IT students, system administrators and anyone who frequently installs or repairs computers.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Selecting the wrong disk: The initial installation erases the selected USB drive, so verify the device before clicking Install.

Extracting ISO files unnecessarily: Ventoy is designed to boot supported image files directly.

Using outdated Secure Boot instructions: Current Ventoy releases have changed parts of the Secure Boot process, including the key enrollment procedure. (Ventoy)

Assuming every ISO will work: Ventoy supports a large range of operating systems, but compatibility is not identical for every image and every computer.

Treating the Windows 11 bypass as official support: A bypass can circumvent installation checks, but it does not make unsupported hardware officially supported.

Final Takeaway

Ventoy turns a USB drive into a flexible multiboot toolkit. Install Ventoy once, copy multiple ISO files to the drive, and select the system you need from the boot menu.

The process is straightforward: download Ventoy from the official site, install it on the USB drive, copy your ISO files, boot the computer from USB and select an image.

For people who regularly install Windows, test Linux distributions or troubleshoot computers, that simple workflow can save a considerable amount of time.

The most important precautions are equally simple: back up the USB drive before installing Ventoy, verify the correct device, use official ISO files, and treat Secure Boot and Windows 11 hardware bypasses as advanced configuration rather than something to enable blindly.