[issue]: Installing Ventoy into existing ESP #272

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opened 2025-10-14 18:14:52 -06:00 by navan · 0 comments

navan commented

2025-10-14 18:14:52 -06:00

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Originally created by @reikred on 2/5/2025

Official FAQ

I have checked the official FAQ.

Ventoy Version

1.100.00

What about latest release

Yes. I have tried the latest release, but the bug still exist.

Try alternative boot mode

Yes. I have tried them, but the bug still exist.

BIOS Mode

UEFI Mode

Partition Style

GPT

Disk Capacity

1TB

Disk Manufacturer

Crucial

Image file checksum (if applicable)

None

Image file download link (if applicable)

No response

What happened?

What do I have to do to install Ventoy into an existing ESP, say /dev/sda1, and use some other partition, say /dev/sdaX, as the ISO storage location? From what I have read this does not seem to be a standard feature (yet), but is there a real technical reason why not? My use case is that I have an NVMe SSD inside my desktop PC, and I would like to use it for regular EFI boot, as well as having Ventoy as one of the EFI boot options, for use with some live/rescue ISOs that I can use if any of the regular operating systems (linux, windows, macOS, whatnot) go bad and need repair.

For starters, /dev/sda1 needs to be much larger than 32MB (and be fat32 not fat16), and it should not have to be the 2nd partition on the disk, as Ventoy currently appears to demand. And Ventoy should co-exist peacefully with whatever other EFI stuff is on sda1 already.

What is the cause of the currently very restrictive layout of partitions that VENTOY demands, and the restriction on co-existence with other EFI-bootable operating systems?

*Originally created by @reikred on 2/5/2025* ### Official FAQ - [x] I have checked the official FAQ. ### Ventoy Version 1.100.00 ### What about latest release Yes. I have tried the latest release, but the bug still exist. ### Try alternative boot mode Yes. I have tried them, but the bug still exist. ### BIOS Mode UEFI Mode ### Partition Style GPT ### Disk Capacity 1TB ### Disk Manufacturer Crucial ### Image file checksum (if applicable) None ### Image file download link (if applicable) _No response_ ### What happened? What do I have to do to install Ventoy into an existing ESP, say /dev/sda1, and use some other partition, say /dev/sdaX, as the ISO storage location? From what I have read this does not seem to be a standard feature (yet), but is there a real technical reason why not? My use case is that I have an NVMe SSD inside my desktop PC, and I would like to use it for regular EFI boot, as well as having Ventoy as one of the EFI boot options, for use with some live/rescue ISOs that I can use if any of the regular operating systems (linux, windows, macOS, whatnot) go bad and need repair. For starters, /dev/sda1 needs to be much larger than 32MB (and be fat32 not fat16), and it should not have to be the 2nd partition on the disk, as Ventoy currently appears to demand. And Ventoy should co-exist peacefully with whatever other EFI stuff is on sda1 already. What is the cause of the currently very restrictive layout of partitions that VENTOY demands, and the restriction on co-existence with other EFI-bootable operating systems?