Ventoy has a plugin to work with the debian autoinstaller. Unfortunately, Ubuntu 20 comes with a new auto install method (cloud-init), which works differently. At first, I wasn't able to get it to work with Ventoy, so I made an account to ask for help; in the time it took the account to get activated, I solved the problem however. So here's how to do it in case anyone else has the same problem.

A working auto installer needs two files, one `meta-data` and one `user-data`. These need to be on a partition that has `cidata` as the partition label.

These files can not be put into the same partition that has the iso files, because that partition is locked while the booted software is running.

So, to get it to work:

• When running Ventoy for the first time to install it on the USB drive, leave some space for a 3rd partition. On linux, that's `-r 16` to leave 16 MB at the end of the medium.
  
  Code:

  ventoy-1.0.36/Ventoy2Disk.sh -I /dev/sdX -r 16
• Create a new partition on the medium
  
  Code:

  fdisk /dev/sdX
n (new)
p (partition)
3 (partition number)
press return twice to confirm the sector numbers
t (type)
3 (partition number)
7 (vfat partition type)
w
• format it to vfat, and name it `cidata`.
  
  
  Code:

  mkfs.vfat -n cidata /dev/sdX3
• copy the ubuntu installer iso to the first partition, and your user-data and meta-data to the third partition
  

Hi,
Ventoy is already amazing as it is, and still keeps innovating to get even better.
So I would like to offer some suggestions for innovation in case they may be feasible and welcome… all aimed at helping Ventoy to fit in and integrate more with existing hdd usage, thereby making it even more useful and indispensable.
And at least it can offer some food for thought.

1.  Currently Ventoy can be installed on hdd and preserve some unused space after it, but it could be helpful to have option for allocating a specified amount for Ventoy use, and preserving whatever is remaining.

At the moment Ventoy overwrites the partition table for itself, oblivious to any existing contents, thereby losing bootable access to any remaining existing partitions which may have been deliberately preserved.
So to avoid losing existing partitions and their contents:

2.  Could Ventoy offer an option to detect existing partitions? and if so... 
3.  Could Ventoy have an option to install itself into the first partition to leave the remainder untouched?
4.  Or even better, could Ventoy have an option to select any chosen existing partition to install itself into?

Lastly, with the aim of integrating Ventoy into existing drives:

5.  Could Ventoy 'spoof' a version of windows (or linux) so that it could be recognised by subsequent installers (such as MX) and added to their grub menu? (the resulting menu entry could be changed later, eg: by grub customizer)
(this would allow other OS's to be installed after Ventoy without making Ventoy unbootable)

6.  Instead of always creating a new grub menu, perhaps Ventoy could have an option to add itself as an entry into an existing grub menu file if present?
(this would allow Ventoy to be safely installed AFTER other OS's)

7.  Ideally, could Ventoy offer 'discovery' of existing bootable partitions and add them into its Ventoy menu?
(this last feature would enable Ventoy to be added as a simple boot repair tool allowing non-booting OS's to be made bootable again from the Ventoy menu)

The ability to integrate with existing bootable drives, giving bootable access to all of Ventoy's ISO's as well as any previously installed bootable OS (or multiple OS's), would make Ventoy even more unique and powerful.


Thank you for your amazing creativity,
Robin.

I tested (live) Mageia 8 Live Plasma (based Mandriva) with Ventoy-1.0.36.
ISO: Mageia-8-Plasma-Live-x86_64.iso (3.4GB)
Download: download  /  download
Boot: Legacy/MBR, UEFI64 (Secure Boot -> Disabled)
Platform: Lenovo Z51-70 Intel i5-5200U AMD R9 graphic


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Of'coz - new and old distros, infos etc. always on https://distrowatch.com/

Attached Files

Thumbnail(s)
           

Hello All,
I have run several version of Ventoy on many drives with great success!  Love this project.
My brand new drive, OWC Envoy Pro FX (Thunderbot 3/USB-C) fails to work with Ventoy. I have tried many versions and they all fail in the same way.
I have tried 2 different computers, the LiveCD, and a Linux VM, which all fail in the same manner.

I have attached the log file for your assistance.

Thanks.

P.S. Log now added.

Attached Files

  log.txt (Size: 17.03 KB / Downloads: 3)

• 2021/02/27 --- 1.0.36 release
  

1. Experimental Linux GUI based on web browser. Notes
   
   
2. Align the partitions with 4KB by default when install Ventoy. (improvement for performance and Legacy BIOS compatibility)
   
   
3. Add a ? icon to identify secure boot option in Ventoy2Disk.exe.
   
   
4. Add Show All Devices option in Ventoy2Disk.exe.
   
   
5. Ventoy2Disk.exe doesn't check partition active flag anymore.
   
6. Optimization for Ventoy2Disk.sh
   
7. languages.ini update
   
8. Add support for nbd device in Ventoy2Disk.sh (PR #746)
   

Ventoy支持从VHD模式启动Windows，那么，如何制作Windows的VHD文件呢？
特别是，如何制作兼容Ventoy的VHD文件？

能否以Ventoy+WindowsVHD制作的移动硬盘，在不同的电脑上运行Windows10，打造一个私人随身系统呢？

Hi!
I recently found that the modem port inside my Lenovo T14 AMD can be used to host an NVMe drive, too, and decided to use it as an emergency drive containing several ISOs and the like in order to rescue anything if necessary - sysrescd, kali, ubuntu, ...

So I got me Ventoy 1.0.35 and unpacked the tar on my Linuxmint OS, fired up a terminal and ran 

Usually I only join forums if I run into problems seeking solutions. Once in a blue moon do I do this, which is join a forum to report full and complete success and to say thank you.
All ISO's I care about just worked right away(mixture of mbr, uefi, winpe, linux), something no other utility (except easy2boot which, really, uses ventoy) was able to achieve: multibootusb, Yumi, several others.
But that isn't why I'm posting. I'm posting because Ventoy is *elegant* and beautifully designed; in it's most basic form it's perfect for the most non-technical user, just put an ISO onto the visible drive, and it just works, nothing to run/execute! But then I looked at the "plugins" and they solved EVERY one of my "what if I have this more complex scenario?" needs: custom titles, order, theme, file overrides, uefi/mbr sensitization, on and on, all so easy to configure via json.

I have seen applications like Ventoy before and they all share one thing in common: their creator was a craftsman, loved his craft, and thus created beautiful things.
So: thank you Mr. Ventoy for an excellent utility !

Report of success with an ISO that isn't mentioned on the Ventoy compatibility list:
Macrium Rescue CD (linux version)

谁能告诉我关于插件命令两个插件的命令行一起用 比如说用全局的控制插件再用主题插件的话 只能启动一个 怎么办呢？？？