Creating multiboot-capable USB sticks
Conclusions
The three tools described in this article create multiboot capable USB volumes reliably and easily. The user interfaces are largely self-explanatory, and the operating strategies for creating the removable media very similar. Differences are only noticeable in the details. Not all candidates let you test the multiboot media or downloaded images, and the way they handle persistent storage areas is awkward in some places. If you're looking for a USB multiboot utility, it is a good idea to consider the options and think about which features you really need. Table 1 shows a summary of important features.
Table 1
Multiboot Systems for USB Flash Storage
| MultiBootUSB | MultiSystem | Ventoy |
|
|---|---|---|---|
| License |
GPLv2 |
GPLv3 |
GPLv3 |
| Functions |
|||
| Detect USB devices |
yes |
yes |
yes |
| Delete images from USB devices |
yes |
yes |
yes |
| Format USB devices |
no |
yes |
no |
| Persistent storage support |
yes |
yes |
yes |
| Adjust size of persistent storage |
yes |
yes |
yes |
| Create simple bootable USB medium |
yes |
no |
no |
| Edit Grub boot manager |
yes |
yes |
yes |
| Automatic image download |
no |
yes |
no |
| Test routines |
|||
| Test multiboot-capable USB sticks |
yes |
yes |
no |
| Test indivdiual images |
yes |
yes |
no |
| Variants |
|||
| Browser-based variant |
no |
no |
yes |
| Live CD |
no |
no |
yes |
Infos
- Ventoy: https://www.ventoy.net
- Ventoy Secure Boot: https://www.ventoy.net/en/doc_secure.html
- Ventoy download: https://www.ventoy.net/en/download.html
- MultiBootUSB: https://sourceforge.net/projects/multibootusb/
- MultiSystem: http://liveusb.info/dotclear/
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