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Random freezes, missing sound and display glitches usually trace back to one bad driver. Find and replace yours safely.Free scan · under a minuteOn an already installed Ventoy USB drive, adding an ISO is a normal file-copy operation: open the drive’s larger first partition and copy the ISO there. To remove one, delete that ISO from the same partition. You do not reinstall Ventoy or reformat the drive for ordinary additions and removals.
If a deleted ISO still appears in the Ventoy menu, check your operating system’s recycle bin and empty it. Ventoy searches folders recursively, so files can sit in the partition root or in subfolders.
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Understand the two partitions first
Ventoy normally creates two partitions when you install it. The larger first partition is the image-storage partition intended for ISO and other image files. The small partition named VTOYEFI contains Ventoy’s boot files.
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Put your ISO files on the large partition. Do not copy, rename, delete, or reformat files on VTOYEFI; changing that partition can damage the boot installation. The official disk-layout documentation explains the partition roles at ventoy.net/en/doc_disk_layout.html.
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Do not confuse installation with file management
The serious data-loss warning applies when Ventoy is first installed: the selected USB drive is formatted and its existing data is lost. Back up the drive and confirm its identity before installing Ventoy. After installation, copying or deleting an ISO on the large partition does not perform that destructive operation.
Check the current Ventoy release when appropriate
The Ventoy homepage displayed a version 1.1.18 release notice dated October 9, 2026, but release information can change. Check the current notice at ventoy.net/en/index.html if you are installing or troubleshooting a particular version. You normally do not need to update Ventoy merely to add or remove a file.
How to add an ISO to Ventoy
- Connect the Ventoy USB drive. Wait for your operating system to mount its partitions. In File Explorer, Finder, or your Linux file manager, identify the large partition by its size. The small
VTOYEFIvolume is not the destination. - Open the large first partition. This is the volume that holds your ISO collection and other ordinary files.
- Choose a location. You can copy the ISO into the partition’s root directory, or create a folder such as
Linux,Windows,Rescue, or a folder named for a project. Ventoy scans directories recursively, so a file several folders deep can still appear in the boot menu. - Copy the complete ISO. Use your operating system’s normal copy and paste operation, or drag the file into the destination folder. Wait until the copy finishes before ejecting the USB drive. A partially copied file is not a usable boot image.
- Eject the USB safely. Use the operating system’s Eject or Safely Remove command, then disconnect the drive after the system confirms it is safe.
- Boot from the drive. Start or restart the computer, select the USB device in its firmware boot menu, and wait for Ventoy’s menu. Ventoy lists discovered image files alphabetically.
The Ventoy getting-started guide describes the core operation plainly: “You just need to copy iso files to this partition.” Its instructions are at ventoy.net/en/doc_start.html.
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Root folder or subfolder?
Both locations work. The root is convenient for a small collection; folders are easier to manage when the drive contains many installers or recovery images. Ventoy’s recursive search means moving an ISO into a subfolder does not require a Ventoy reinstall or a special menu update.
What appears in the menu?
Ventoy searches the storage partition for image files and presents them in alphabetical order. Folder organization therefore affects where you find an item, while the file name determines its alphabetical position. Keep a consistent naming scheme if you maintain several releases of the same operating system, and avoid leaving incomplete duplicate copies on the drive.
How to remove an ISO from Ventoy
- Open the same large storage partition. Do not work inside
VTOYEFI. - Locate the ISO. Check the root and any folders where you store images. Use your file manager’s search if the collection is large.
- Delete the file. Move the ISO to the operating system’s recycle bin or trash, or use its permanent-delete command if you are certain you no longer need it.
- Empty the recycle bin if the menu still shows the image. Ventoy’s FAQ documents a case in which a deleted ISO remains listed because the operating system has not actually removed it; emptying the recycle bin resolves that state. See ventoy.net/en/faq.html.
- Eject the drive safely and test it. Boot Ventoy again. The deleted image should no longer be listed.
Deleting an ISO does not uninstall Ventoy, alter the boot partition, or require reformatting. It only frees the space occupied by that file after the operating system has truly removed it.
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Why a deleted ISO can still appear
The file is still in the recycle bin
This is the first check when the menu has not changed. Some operating systems move a removable-drive deletion into a recycle-bin directory instead of removing the data immediately. Empty the recycle bin or trash, safely eject the USB, and boot Ventoy again.
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Search the entire large partition, including subfolders. Ventoy searches recursively, so a second ISO with a similar name in another directory can produce an entry that looks like the deleted file.
The computer was not given a clean disconnect
If you removed the drive while a copy or deletion was still in progress, reconnect it, allow the file manager to finish any pending operation, and use Eject or Safely Remove before testing again. Do not interrupt an active write.
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When an ISO is not listed
Check the destination partition
Confirm that the file is on the large first partition, not on VTOYEFI and not on another USB drive that happens to be connected. Open the file manager and verify that the ISO’s full file size is present on the storage partition.
Check the file and its copy
Ventoy looks for image files. Make sure the file has an ISO extension and that the copy completed without an error. If you placed it in a deeply nested folder, temporarily copy a known-good image to the partition root as a simple visibility test; the recursive search should also find the original location.
Reboot the Ventoy menu
Routine file management does not include a separate database-refresh command. Safely eject the drive, boot it again, and let Ventoy scan the storage partition at startup. If the entry still does not appear, recopy the image and investigate the file system or the image itself rather than reinstalling Ventoy immediately.
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When an ISO appears but will not boot
Being listed is not a guarantee that every ISO will boot on every computer. Ventoy’s FAQ recommends checking whether the image is corrupted and following the project’s checksum instructions when an image fails. Verify the downloaded file against the checksum supplied by its publisher, then recopy a verified image if necessary.
Ventoy’s homepage says the project has tested more than 1,400 image files. That is a project claim, not an independent benchmark or a promise that a particular ISO, firmware configuration, or computer will work. Treat compatibility as image- and hardware-dependent.
Separate image problems from USB problems
- If several known-good images boot but one does not, concentrate on that image’s integrity and publisher instructions.
- If no image boots, confirm that the computer is actually starting from the Ventoy USB and that you selected the correct firmware boot entry.
- If the USB was recently reinstalled, check that the installation targeted the intended drive; the initial installation formats the selected device.
Choosing a file system during Ventoy setup
Most people should keep the file system already created on the installed drive. File-system selection matters during setup or an intentional reformat, not when you are simply adding or removing ISO files.
| File-system choice | What the documentation establishes | Practical implication |
|---|---|---|
| exFAT | Ventoy uses exFAT by default. The disk-layout documentation describes it as having better compatibility across Windows, Linux, and Mac. | A sensible default when the same USB must be managed from more than one desktop operating system. |
| XFS | The documentation warns that XFS is unavailable in Windows and cannot be used to install Windows. | Do not choose it if Windows access or Windows installation media is part of your workflow. |
| ext file systems | The documentation gives the same Windows limitation for ext file systems: they are unavailable in Windows and cannot be used to install Windows. | Use only when your operating-system requirements deliberately accept that limitation. |
Ventoy’s FAQ states that supported reformatting requires a cluster size of at least 2048. That setting is relevant only if you intentionally reformat through Ventoy’s supported options; it is not a step in ordinary ISO copying or deletion.
Do you ever need to reinstall or reformat?
For normal file management, no. Copying an ISO to the large partition adds it; deleting the ISO removes it. Reinstallation or reformatting is a separate maintenance decision and can erase the drive’s contents.
Quick Recap
| Task | What changes | What you should do |
|---|---|---|
| Add an ISO | One image file is copied to the storage partition. | Copy it, wait for completion, safely eject, and boot Ventoy. |
| Remove an ISO | One image file is deleted from the storage partition. | Delete it, empty the recycle bin if necessary, safely eject, and test. |
| Change the file system | The partition is reformatted and existing data can be lost. | Back up the drive, confirm the target, and choose this only for a deliberate compatibility or maintenance reason. |
| Install Ventoy on a new drive | The selected drive is formatted during installation. | Back up its contents and verify the device before starting. |
A reliable workflow for a multi-ISO Ventoy drive
- Create a small folder structure on the large partition that matches how you use the images.
- Copy one ISO at a time and wait for each operation to finish.
- Keep enough free space for the largest image you expect to add; the available capacity is the capacity of your particular USB drive and file system.
- After a major change, safely eject the drive and boot it once to confirm that the menu contains the intended entries.
- When retiring an image, delete it from the storage partition and empty the recycle bin before checking the menu.
- For any image that fails to boot, verify its checksum before changing Ventoy’s partitions or reinstalling the tool.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Copying to
VTOYEFI: use the large first partition instead. - Reformatting to solve a missing menu entry: first check the file location, copy completion, and recycle bin; reformatting can erase all stored images.
- Assuming a menu entry proves the ISO is valid: verify the image when booting fails.
- Disconnecting during a write: wait for the copy or deletion to complete and use the operating system’s safe-eject control.
- Leaving old copies in subfolders: Ventoy searches recursively, so duplicates can remain visible even after you delete one file.
- Using an incompatible file system for your computers: XFS and ext file systems are specifically documented as unavailable in Windows and unsuitable for installing Windows.
Quick checklist
- Large first partition: destination for ISO files.
VTOYEFI: leave it unchanged.- Add: copy the ISO to the root or any subfolder.
- Remove: delete the ISO from the large partition.
- Still listed: empty the operating system’s recycle bin, then test again.
- Won’t boot: verify the ISO checksum and remember that compatibility is not guaranteed for every image or computer.
- Installing or reformatting: back up first because the selected drive can be erased.
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