One nice thing about Ventoy is that you can still use the USB stick as a regular drive for other files — it doesn’t interfere with the ISOs you can boot from
Ventoy: Create bootable USB drive for ISO/WIM/IMG/VHD(x)/EFI Files
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Re: Ventoy: Create bootable USB drive for ISO/WIM/IMG/VHD(x)/EFI Files
#52The lot of (partially scary) binary blobs is still an unsolved issue: https://github.com/ventoy/Ventoy/issues/3224
I am actually happy reading that though. As in it's literally the authors of the tool stating "hey we have a lot of binary blob drivers, what can we do to replace these?". He then audits them and links to build instructions.
As in yeah there's precompiled binaries in this. But it's audited and each binary itself has a link to build instructions. What they are not doing is actually building everything from scratch in their build process. Ok that's a pain to do and i get it. But... i don't see anyone slipping in an unaccounted for binary here right? If every binary itself has a "here's how to build this from scratch" documentation and source it seems ok to me.
Re: Ventoy: Create bootable USB drive for ISO/WIM/IMG/VHD(x)/EFI Files
#53The only issue with Ventoy is it doesn't work with secure boot turned on. Otherwise its excellent.
It works as long as you okay with their key provisioning https://www.ventoy.net/en/doc_secure.html
Re: Ventoy: Create bootable USB drive for ISO/WIM/IMG/VHD(x)/EFI Files
#54In perfect world, Microsoft would help to create this tool. Nope, they don't have time for this. Too much work om security through obscurity, making crap SW which eats RAM like hamburgers and disabling local accounts...
I think that’s a really unfair portrayal of Microsoft’s product management. They spend a lot of time— even more than on some of the things you listed — creating GUI frameworks to ignore, injecting creepy analytics for their war on privacy, obfuscating those analytics and stymieing users efforts to avoid them, and figuring out terrifying new definitions for the word experience.
Re: Ventoy: Create bootable USB drive for ISO/WIM/IMG/VHD(x)/EFI Files
#55The lot of (partially scary) binary blobs is still an unsolved issue: https://github.com/ventoy/Ventoy/issues/3224
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All of it is built from source, it's just that the current build process is not easy to audit. The build by definition needs to happen on multiple platforms or cross compiled, a root cert needs to be setup in the windows installer at boot time, and so on.
I agree that this is not an ideal way to boot an ISO, but the general public is unlikely to ever need a multiboot USB stick. I like this project enough to perhaps contribute.
Re: Ventoy: Create bootable USB drive for ISO/WIM/IMG/VHD(x)/EFI Files
#56The nice thing about Ventoy—and I didn’t fully appreciate this until I used it—is how simple it makes bootable USBs. You just drag and drop ISO images onto the drive, and it can hold as many as will fit. When you boot from the Ventoy USB, you just pick the image you want to install or run—no re-flashing, no fuss. It’s honestly wild how convenient it is. Ventoy was the only method that worked for me when I needed to i…
It's truly special. I haven't seen that before. It doesn't work always, with all OS' though, but when it does - it's great.
Re: Ventoy: Create bootable USB drive for ISO/WIM/IMG/VHD(x)/EFI Files
#57Earlier quoted context omitted.
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I don't see the linked issue as a valid reason to stop using Ventoy, especially since the repo you linked is for a different piece of software made by the same people. Do we have any evidence of Ventoy itself being in any way malicious?
I think it's a valid reason unless you view "this person can't be trusted follow safe practices on Project A so it makes sense to assume they also won't follow safe practices on Project B" as invalid logic.
Re: Ventoy: Create bootable USB drive for ISO/WIM/IMG/VHD(x)/EFI Files
#58Earlier quoted context omitted.
For Windows and FROM Windows. I swear the most recommended way of creating a bootable Windows USB on Linux changes every year, and usually doesn't work. I keep an old Windows laptop just so I can create bootable Windows usbs, whenever needed.
Making custom Windows install media is insanely painful, even from Windows. I went through the process of creating non-interactive install media for Windows once, and was astonished at how awful it is compared to building custom Linux live media. (Not least of all because of the churn in the XML you have to maintain that basically represents clicking through all the installer menus.)
WAIK? I created a customized Windows install image as a 19 year old intern and presented it to the rest of the IT team...
Re: Ventoy: Create bootable USB drive for ISO/WIM/IMG/VHD(x)/EFI Files
#59The lot of (partially scary) binary blobs is still an unsolved issue: https://github.com/ventoy/Ventoy/issues/3224
I am actually happy reading that though. As in it's literally the authors of the tool stating "hey we have a lot of binary blob drivers, what can we do to replace these?". He then audits them and links to build instructions. As in yeah there's precompiled binaries in this. But it's audited and each binary itself has a link to build instructions. What they are not doing is actually building everything from scratch in…
And crucially, since each blob is from an open source project with build instructions, it seems like you can build Ventoy completely from source if you really want.
Re: Ventoy: Create bootable USB drive for ISO/WIM/IMG/VHD(x)/EFI Files
#60Earlier quoted context omitted.
Making custom Windows install media is insanely painful, even from Windows. I went through the process of creating non-interactive install media for Windows once, and was astonished at how awful it is compared to building custom Linux live media. (Not least of all because of the churn in the XML you have to maintain that basically represents clicking through all the installer menus.)
WAIK? I created a customized Windows install image as a 19 year old intern and presented it to the rest of the IT team...
It depends on what customizations you'd like to use.
I've also had a very hard time creating an automated install media for an appliance for windows iot... Worst was the (LLM generated?) powershell scripts in the documentation that didn't work at all.