Create a Multiboot Linux USB with Ventoy (MultiCD Replacement)

Updated: 28 September 2026 · Applies to: Ventoy 1.1 on any Linux (also Windows), for USB drives of 8 GB or more

MultiCD was a script that combined several Linux live CDs into one bootable image. It is no longer developed. Today the standard tool for a multiboot USB stick is Ventoy: you prepare the stick once, then simply copy ISO files onto it, and Ventoy shows a menu to boot any of them. It supports BIOS and UEFI (including Secure Boot) and hundreds of distributions. The current release is 1.1.17 (July 2026).

Before you start

• Installing Ventoy erases the USB stick. Copy anything important off it first.
• Find the stick's device name with lsblk (for example /dev/sdb) and check it twice: the wrong name would erase another disk.

Install Ventoy on the stick (Linux)

1. Download the Linux archive (ventoy-1.1.17-linux.tar.gz) from Ventoy's official GitHub releases page and unpack it:

   tar xzf ventoy-1.1.17-linux.tar.gz
   cd ventoy-1.1.17

2. Install Ventoy on the stick (-i installs; add -g to use a GPT partition table, and -s for Secure Boot support):

   sudo ./Ventoy2Disk.sh -i /dev/sdb

   Confirm twice when asked.
3. The stick now has a large data partition labelled "Ventoy", which your desktop usually mounts automatically.

Add operating systems

Copy ISO files onto the Ventoy partition, for example the installers of AlmaLinux, Ubuntu and a rescue system:

cp almalinux.iso ubuntu.iso rescue.iso /media/$USER/Ventoy/
sync

Boot the computer from the stick, and Ventoy lists every ISO it finds. To add or remove systems later, just copy or delete files; there is no need to reinstall Ventoy.

Update Ventoy later

sudo ./Ventoy2Disk.sh -u /dev/sdb

-u updates the boot part and keeps your ISO files.

Secure Boot

With Secure Boot on, the first boot from a Ventoy stick shows a blue screen asking you to enrol Ventoy's key once ("Enroll key from disk"). Follow Ventoy's instructions for that step, or switch Secure Boot off temporarily.

To copy an ISO off a stick that was written the classic way (one ISO per stick), see how to create an ISO from a bootable USB drive.

Official documentation: Ventoy documentation and Ventoy releases.