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Create a Multi-Boot Ventoy USB for Your Homelab

February 26, 2026

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In the blog Modern Bootable USB Drives: From dd to Ventoy we looked at why Ventoy is such a good fit for homelabs:

  • One USB, many ISOs.
  • Copy‑and‑paste instead of re‑imaging.
  • Works well with both BIOS and UEFI.

This tutorial shows how to turn a 32 GB (or larger) USB drive into a reusable Ventoy multi‑boot stick, and how to use it to boot things like Proxmox VE 9 on the Lenovo IBM System X3100 M4 Homelab Test Environment.

This guide focuses on Ventoy basics. For a concrete example of using Ventoy with Proxmox, see
Install Proxmox VE 9 on Lenovo IBM System X3100 M4.

1. What You Need

  • A USB flash drive (recommended: 32 GB USB 3.0 or larger).
  • A workstation (Linux or Windows) with:
    • Internet access.
    • Permission to write to USB devices.
  • One or more ISO files:
    • Proxmox VE 9 ISO.
    • Linux distro ISOs (Ubuntu, Debian, etc.).
    • Rescue or diagnostic tools.

Warning: Installing Ventoy on the USB will erase all existing data on that drive.
Make sure you select the correct device.

2. Download Ventoy

Go to the official Ventoy site:

  • https://www.ventoy.net/

Download the appropriate package:

  • On Windows: ventoy-x.y.z-windows.zip
  • On Linux: ventoy-x.y.z-linux.tar.gz

Unpack the archive somewhere convenient (e.g. C:\Tools\Ventoy on Windows, ~/tools/ventoy on Linux).

3. Install Ventoy on the USB Drive

3.1 On Windows (GUI)

  1. Plug in the USB drive.
  2. Run Ventoy2Disk.exe as Administrator.
  3. In the GUI:
    • Select your USB device in the Device dropdown.
    • Confirm the capacity matches what you expect (e.g. 28–29 GB for a 32 GB stick).
  4. Click Install:
    • Ventoy will warn you twice about wiping the drive.
    • Accept the prompts.
  5. When it finishes, you’ll have a Ventoy‑formatted USB with a data partition.

3.2 On Linux (CLI)

  1. Plug in the USB drive and identify the device:

    lsblk

    Look for something like /dev/sdX or /dev/sdY with the expected size.

  2. Extract Ventoy and run the installer:

    cd ~/tools/ventoy   # wherever you extracted it
sudo ./Ventoy2Disk.sh -i /dev/sdX

    Replace /dev/sdX with your actual USB device (no partition number like sdX1).

  3. Confirm when prompted that you want to overwrite the disk.

When Ventoy is installed, the USB will have:

  • A small Ventoy boot partition.
  • A larger data partition where your ISO files will live.

4. Add ISO Files to the Ventoy USB

Once Ventoy is on the USB, you don’t need to re‑run the installer unless you’re upgrading Ventoy itself.

To add ISOs:

  1. Mount/open the Ventoy USB volume in your file manager or terminal.
  2. Copy ISO files directly onto the drive, for example:
    • proxmox-ve_9.x-iso-installer.iso
    • ubuntu-24.04-live-server-amd64.iso
    • systemrescue-x.y.z.iso

You can organize them into folders if you prefer; Ventoy will still list them in its boot menu.

5. Booting from Ventoy on a Homelab Server

On the Lenovo IBM System X3100 M4 (or similar lab hardware):

  1. Plug the Ventoy USB into a USB port on the server.
  2. Power on and open the boot menu (F12, F11, or vendor‑specific key).
  3. Select the USB drive as the temporary boot device.
  4. When the Ventoy menu appears:
    • Use the arrow keys to choose an ISO (e.g. the Proxmox VE 9 installer).
    • Press Enter to boot that ISO.

From this point on, the server behaves as if it was booting from a dedicated single‑ISO USB drive—but you can always reboot and select another image without re‑imaging the stick.

6. Example: Proxmox VE 9 on the X3100 M4

To see Ventoy in action in a real scenario:

  • Use this tutorial to prepare Ventoy on a USB drive.
  • Copy the Proxmox VE 9 ISO to the Ventoy USB.
  • Follow Install Proxmox VE 9 on Lenovo IBM System X3100 M4 to:
    • Adjust BIOS on the X3100 M4.
    • Boot from Ventoy.
    • Select the Proxmox ISO.
    • Install with:
      • IP: 172.100.12.253
      • Hostname: node1.test.beingdevops.com

The same Ventoy USB can later be reused for:

  • Newer Proxmox versions.
  • Other Linux installers.
  • Rescue environments and tools.

7. Upgrading Ventoy (Optional)

Ventoy is actively developed. When a new release appears:

  1. Download the updated Ventoy package for your platform.

  2. Run the installer again with the upgrade flag:

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

  3. On Windows, open Ventoy2Disk.exe and click Update instead of Install.

In most cases, Ventoy can upgrade without deleting your existing ISO files, which is one of its key advantages.

8. Summary

By converting a single USB stick into a Ventoy multi‑boot drive, you get:

  • A portable toolbox for your homelab.
  • Faster iteration when installing or reinstalling Proxmox, Linux, and utilities.
  • Less time spent rewriting USBs and more time testing real infrastructure.

If you haven’t yet, pair this tutorial with:

Together, they form a complete narrative: why bootable USBs matter, which tool to choose, and exactly how to set up Ventoy for a homelab like yours.