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How to create a Multiboot USB?

A guide to the best ways to put multiple operating systems on a single flash drive.

Ventoy
Very easy

A revolutionary method. You install Ventoy on the flash drive once, and from then on you simply drag and drop .ISO files onto it like ordinary files.

Pros:

  • Fastest method
  • Mix different operating systems
  • No need to reformat after adding an ISO

Cons:

  • Needs UEFI/Legacy support in a specific way

Platform: Windows, Linux

Project website Download
YUMI (Your Universal Multiboot Installer)
Medium

A classic tool that lets you pick systems from a list while the flash drive is being created.

Pros:

  • Very stable
  • Large library of systems
  • Works great on older computers

Cons:

  • You must run the program again each time you add a new system

Platform: Windows, Linux

Download
WinSetupFromUSB
Medium

A specialist tool focused mainly on Windows installers (XP, 7, 8, 10, 11).

Pros:

  • Best for Windows systems
  • Supports very old standards

Cons:

  • Less intuitive for Linux systems

Platform: Windows

Download
Rufus (Single Boot/Manual)
Easy

Although Rufus is mainly meant for a single system, it can be used to prepare a base for more advanced methods.

Pros:

  • Reliable
  • Fast

Cons:

  • No native multiboot support

Platform: Windows

Download GitHub

What to put on the drive? ISO images and tools

A ready list of trusted images: operating systems, rescue tools, backup, partitioning and diagnostics. Copy the .ISO files onto a Ventoy drive or add them in YUMI / WinSetupFromUSB.

Windows 10 and 11

You can download Windows ISO images for free and legally straight from Microsoft, with no product key. A key is only needed to activate Windows after installation. The download link is valid for about 24 hours. Note: support for Windows 10 ended in October 2025.

  • Windows 11
    Official ISO (x64, multiple editions in one file, about 5–6 GB). On the page choose “Download Windows 11 Disk Image (ISO)”, pick a language and click Download.
    Download
  • Windows 10
    Official Windows 10 ISO page. On Windows it usually offers the Media Creation Tool; the direct ISO is shown when you open the page from Linux/macOS or with another device emulated in your browser.
    Download
  • Rufus
    Rufus can download an official Windows ISO itself: click the arrow next to the SELECT button and choose “DOWNLOAD”.
    Download

Popular Linux distributions

Most distributions work as a Live USB: you can boot and try them without installing. Choose the Desktop edition for 64-bit computers (amd64/x86_64).

  • Ubuntu
    The most popular distribution and a good starting point. LTS releases are supported for 5 years.
    Download
  • Linux Mint
    Friendly for people switching from Windows. The Cinnamon edition is the most popular.
    Download
  • Debian
    A stable, universal base for many other distributions. Pick the small “netinst” image or a Live image.
    Download
  • Fedora Workstation
    A modern, up-to-date distribution sponsored by Red Hat. Great for developers.
    Download
  • Arch Linux
    For advanced users: a minimal system built from scratch. Installed from the command line.
    Download
  • openSUSE
    A feature-rich distribution with the YaST tool. Available as Tumbleweed (rolling) and Leap (stable).
    Download
  • Manjaro
    An approachable Arch-based distribution with a graphical installer.
    Download
  • Pop!_OS
    Linux from hardware maker System76 with good NVIDIA support and convenient window tiling.
    Download
  • Kali Linux
    A distribution for penetration testing and security research. Use it lawfully only.
    Download

Rescue tools

Useful when the system won't boot, you need to reset a password, recover files or repair the bootloader.

  • Hiren's BootCD PE
    A toolkit based on Windows PE: data recovery, password reset, partitioning, diagnostics. It is a community project, not by the original author, and this site is that project's official source. The ISO is about 3 GB.
    Download
  • SystemRescue
    A lightweight Linux system for repair and data recovery (GParted, filesystem tools, networking). The image is about 900 MB.
    Download
  • Super Grub2 Disk
    Helps boot a system when GRUB or the MBR is broken, even without a working boot menu.
    Download
  • Ultimate Boot CD
    A classic set of diagnostic and repair tools. Rarely updated, so best suited to older computers.
    Download

Backup and disk cloning

Images for backing up whole disks and partitions and for moving a system to a new drive.

  • Clonezilla Live
    Fast disk and partition cloning and imaging that supports many filesystems. Text-mode interface that takes some getting used to.
    Download
  • Rescuezilla
    A graphical front end for Clonezilla: back up and restore in a few clicks. Images are compatible with Clonezilla.
    Download

Partitions and disks

Resize, create and delete partitions, copy data and repair the partition table without booting the installed system.

  • GParted Live
    A graphical partition editor in Live form. Resizes, moves and copies partitions and supports most filesystems.
    Download
  • SystemRescue
    Includes GParted and console tools (parted, fdisk, ntfs-3g, testdisk) for working with disks and recovering data.
    Download
  • Hiren's BootCD PE
    Includes graphical partition managers for Windows and data recovery tools.
    Download

Hardware diagnostics

Check RAM and drives and track down faults when the computer freezes or reboots.

  • MemTest86+
    An open-source RAM test. Runs without an operating system. Let it finish at least one full pass.
    Download
  • MemTest86 (PassMark)
    A commercial RAM tester from PassMark that is free in its basic edition. Supports UEFI and Secure Boot.
    Download
  • HDAT2
    Diagnostics for hard drives and SSDs (SMART, surface test, error reading).
    Download
  • Ultimate Boot CD
    Contains many tools for testing the CPU, memory and drives, including drive manufacturers' utilities.
    Download

USB drive not working? How to fix it

After creating a bootable drive (Linux, a Windows installer, an ISO image, Ventoy) the system often shows only a small part of the capacity, displays odd partitions or refuses to format it. The most effective fix is to completely wipe the partition structure and create it again.

Typical symptoms
  • The drive shows a tiny capacity (e.g. 32 GB shown as 50 MB).
  • Windows says “Windows was unable to complete the format” or shows several strange partitions.
  • The disk is visible in Disk Management but has no drive letter or no “Format” option.

Windows: Diskpart

A built-in command-line tool that wipes the partition table and lets you create it from scratch.

  1. Plug in the drive and close any windows that use it.
  2. Press Win, type cmd, right-click Command Prompt and choose Run as administrator.
  3. Start the tool: diskpart
  4. List the disks: list disk. Recognise your drive by its size (the Size column), e.g. “Disk 2”.
  5. Select the drive: select disk 2 (type your own drive's number!). Check your choice with detail disk.
  6. If the disk is write-protected: attributes disk clear readonly
  7. Remove all partitions: clean. To thoroughly zero the whole drive (takes a long time) use clean all.
  8. Create a new partition: create partition primary
  9. Format it: format fs=fat32 quick. For large files or drives over 32 GB use format fs=exfat quick or format fs=ntfs quick.
  10. Assign a drive letter: assign, then leave the tool: exit.

Linux:

These steps only need tools available in most distributions (lsblk, wipefs, parted, mkfs). Run them with sudo.

  1. Plug in the drive and list the disks: lsblk -o NAME,SIZE,MODEL,TRAN. A USB drive usually has transport usb and a name like /dev/sdb. /dev/sda is most often the system disk!
  2. Unmount all partitions of the drive: sudo umount /dev/sdb* (you can ignore messages about partitions that are not mounted).
  3. Remove filesystem and partition table signatures: sudo wipefs --all /dev/sdb
  4. To be safe, zero the beginning of the drive: sudo dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/sdb bs=1M count=100
  5. Create a new table and partition: sudo parted -s /dev/sdb mklabel msdos sudo parted -s /dev/sdb mkpart primary 1MiB 100%
  6. Format the partition: sudo mkfs.vfat -F 32 -n PENDRIVE /dev/sdb1. Instead of FAT32 you can use sudo mkfs.exfat /dev/sdb1 or sudo mkfs.ext4 /dev/sdb1.
  7. Flush data and eject safely: sync && sudo eject /dev/sdb
Prefer a graphical interface? In Disks (GNOME Disks) select the drive, choose “Format Disk…” from the menu and set Partitioning: Compatible with all systems and devices (MBR). You can also use GParted: Device → Create Partition Table.
If that doesn't help
  • The drive does not appear in list disk / lsblk: try another USB port (ideally directly on the computer, not a hub) and another cable or computer.
  • You get write errors or the drive turns read-only: it may have a write-protect switch, or the memory chip is damaged.
  • The capacity is still wrong after clean: the drive may be a counterfeit with fake capacity. Test it with F3 (Linux/macOS) or H2testw (Windows).
  • If nothing works, try Rufus: select the drive, set the MBR scheme and FAT32 or exFAT, then click START.

Summary - which one to choose?

Method Main use case Difficulty
Ventoy Everyone (the most convenient) Very low
YUMI For fans of classic tools Medium
WinSetupFromUSB Repairing/installing Windows Medium
Rufus A drive with a single system Low