this post was submitted on 15 May 2024
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Every time I search for a USB key, I end up finding the ones flashed with OS ISOs! I don't have a normal key anymore lol (sh.itjust.works)
submitted 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
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[–] stargazingpenguin 131 points 6 months ago (12 children)

Check out Ventoy! Unless you need a single ISO on the drive, it's just something you install to it and then copy and paste ISOs to the folder on it. No flashing needed, it runs them for you. I've got 128GB drives almost filled with every ISO I could possibly want.

[–] [email protected] 49 points 6 months ago (3 children)

Also worth mentioning you can copy more files on it afterwards and it works as normal storage too.

[–] [email protected] 54 points 6 months ago (2 children)

Also worth noting, you should create file named .ventoyignore in the directories with other files. Otherwise Ventoy searches everything which slows it down.

[–] stargazingpenguin 11 points 6 months ago

I'm going to do that, I didn't realize that was possible! Thanks!

[–] [email protected] 5 points 6 months ago

I personally just set the index depth to 0 in the config so it only searches the root directory for bootable files

[–] [email protected] 8 points 6 months ago (1 children)

Note that some devices aren't able to correctly mount the second partition.

I guess this is because the first partition is used to boot ventoy, while the second partition holds data and some devices (e.g. printers) won't mount the second partition.

PS: I nearly wasn't able to hold a presentation because of this, luckily a second stick/phone/copy on web storage saved me, iirc.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 6 months ago

This only ever really applies to devices without UIs or otherwise embedded OSs, and personally I wouldn’t trust a drive with more than a handful of files in such a device anyway.

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[–] [email protected] 20 points 6 months ago (1 children)

Wow this seems amazing, I could test so many things lol! Thanks for solving my problem :)

[–] stargazingpenguin 3 points 6 months ago

Glad to help!

[–] [email protected] 12 points 6 months ago (1 children)

I need this, my local dollar store sells 32GB USB2 key for $5, I have one for MX, MX-AHS, MX32bits, antix, etc I have multiple 32GB keys with just 1 or 2 GB used, I will check this ventoy!

[–] stargazingpenguin 10 points 6 months ago

It would definitely be worth checking out, I wiped all of my individual sticks after I started using it. Also, I don't know if the speed would make much difference in your use case, but SanDisk 32GB USB3.0 drives are usually less than $8.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 6 months ago (3 children)

But then I'd have to buy one big drive instead of just reusing one from the box of 1-4 GB jobbos

[–] stargazingpenguin 3 points 6 months ago

Sounds like the regular way still works for you then! I've given away most of my smaller drives, I'm pretty sure I don't have anything smaller than 32GB right now.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 6 months ago (1 children)

Those small USB drives are too slow anyway, often limited to USB 2.0 interfaces or slow flash modules. I've switched over to an SSD specifically because of how slow booting and installation is from a standard 10-year-old USB stick.

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[–] [email protected] 7 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago) (2 children)

I have a durable metal ventoy usb on my keys with portable apps basically a walking IT dept, I mean I am a solo IT/Dev and I'm pretty basic so..hmmm

[–] [email protected] 5 points 6 months ago

Solo IT/Dev? I'm so sorry.

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[–] [email protected] 3 points 6 months ago (3 children)

Does it work for Raspberry Pi images?

[–] possiblylinux127 3 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago) (1 children)

Unlikely, as it doesn't support ARM to my knowledge

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[–] [email protected] 3 points 6 months ago

For rpi images i think the best option would be PINN; but it's not a 1:1 equivalent since every time you add an image it needs to wipe partitions and start from zero.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 6 months ago

You typically image directly onto the SD card for a Raspberry Pi, not off a bootable drive.

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[–] [email protected] 43 points 6 months ago (7 children)

Thought that said "Kalt" for a moment lmao

[–] [email protected] 18 points 6 months ago (1 children)

Finde ich kühl

[–] [email protected] 3 points 6 months ago

Ja

[–] [email protected] 12 points 6 months ago

Same here. Like “Cold! Look elsewhere…” 🤣

[–] [email protected] 3 points 6 months ago (1 children)

The linux kalt.

Sorry gnu/linux/kalt

[–] [email protected] 3 points 6 months ago

Too late, ten million gnus are converging on your location /s

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[–] [email protected] 30 points 6 months ago (3 children)

I got a 128GB dual connector usb-c/usb-a drive, and installed ventoy on it. I have my normal files and for my ISOs I simply put them in the ventoy folder. It works really well.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 6 months ago

I started using Ventoy as of my last distro hop and wonder what kept me from using it sooner.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 6 months ago

Used it in a pinch once, and realized how incredibly awesome it is. Now, it’s my go-to.

Haven’t tried data and files on same stick, but…. Now I want to.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 6 months ago

I have an nvme enclosure with a 256 gig drive in it, I think I partitioned a quarter of it for ventoy, rest is for regular storage. It's really nice to have if I do family support, have any iso I need and any utility I might need on top of that. Is it overkill for my needs? Yeah, but it's nice to have and I didn't go for anything fancy, just a cheap crucial drive.

[–] [email protected] 26 points 6 months ago (4 children)

Why is everyone suggesting ventoy and stuff and no one is telling you to just reformat drives you no longer need? Or are they all live OSs in use? Am I missing something?

[–] [email protected] 9 points 6 months ago

I mean, they clearly already know how to do a fresh image of a live OS on a USB key. But the number of keys involved sounds like they don't know you only need one.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 6 months ago

We like data hoarding ;) !

[–] [email protected] 4 points 6 months ago (4 children)

Correct answer, pxe boot your iso and transcend the need for boot usb sticks

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[–] stargazingpenguin 2 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago)

I know my use case isn't the standard for everyone, but at this moment I have six different Linux distros in use. I keep my most commonly used ISOs on a Ventoy so I can easily install an OS on a machine I'm rehabilitating, or maybe just because I want a change of pace. I could write the ISO I want to the drive every time I want to change something, but it's a waste of time when I can have 15 or 20 of them ready to go on one drive. It's just my particular use case, I'm sure others have other reasons they prefer it.

[–] [email protected] 22 points 6 months ago

You might want to try Ventoy and have it all on one USB.

[–] possiblylinux127 20 points 6 months ago (1 children)

Ventroy

[–] [email protected] 9 points 6 months ago

Ventoy with 20% trojan possibility

[–] [email protected] 13 points 6 months ago

Ventoy, as everyone else says, is your friend here.

Though I saw something similar in a video recently which I'm gonna call out for completeness, the IODD devices that let you change the image on the fly:

http://en.iodd.kr/wiki/index.php/Main_Page

Obviously not as cheap as a usb stick and ventoy, but a pretty cool alternative for those with the additional use cases

[–] [email protected] 12 points 6 months ago (5 children)

It’s a shame these never took off. I’d love for my various USB drives to have displays that show their labels and maybe even contents.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 6 months ago

I used to have some with e-ink displays that showed how full they were, but I always wished I could use them to show a label instead.

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[–] [email protected] 6 points 6 months ago (1 children)

Wait until you discover ventoy

[–] [email protected] 3 points 6 months ago (1 children)

I've tried three times and it's never worked for me :/

[–] [email protected] 2 points 6 months ago

I tried the hybrid that works under UEFI and legacy BIOS. It didn't work on at least one system. Did you try UEFI only?

[–] [email protected] 4 points 6 months ago (3 children)

What’s a use of USB sticks anyway outside of booting operating systems? They perform worse (or on par at best) than modern wifi adapters

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[–] [email protected] 4 points 6 months ago (1 children)

Hector... This is an intervention!

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[–] [email protected] 3 points 6 months ago

This is why I switched to labelling USB sticks with two-character codes, and I keep a file that lists the current content of each stick.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 6 months ago

I've not tried netboot yet but that might also be a cool option for people who like to install new ISOs often. Ventoy gang for life, tho

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