Multiple ISOs may be stored on a USB attached NVMe SSD. Multiple instances of an installed Linux distro coupled with a unique GPT UEFI ESP partition can also exist on this same USB SSD. In the end, any one of the ISOs or installed Linux distros can be booted as desired.
This “magic” happens when making use of the open source “Ventoy” solution:
The maintainer has requested the public to utilize the following download link:
Download and unzip into a free directory on a USB SSD
Install Ventoy on a second USB SSD
Install or Update Ventoy
Change ( sdX ) to use an appropriate USB drive letter such as ( sdc )
Options { -i | -I | -u }
-i install ventoy to sdX (fail if disk already installed with ventoy)
-I force install ventoy to sdX (no matter installed or not)
-u update ventoy in sdX - do not touch other partitions
-l list Ventoy information in sdX
sudo -s
ALL partitions and data will be lost during an "-I" INSTALL.
ALL partitions and data will be lost during an "-i" INSTALL.
Data partitions will have to be formatted and named
Mandatory partitions created on the USB SSD:
1st partition - VenToy_nn_ISOs - Store ISOs here
2nd partition - Ventoy partition - do NOT touch
Space for optional manually created partitions:
UEFI ESP partition(s) - should follow the Ventoy partition
OS partition(s)
Data partition(s)
Example 115 Gigabyte USB - L VtoyF_99_ISO_101
( date;./Ventoy2Disk.sh -i -g -r 105678 /dev/sdc;date )
( date;./Ventoy2Disk.sh -I -g -r 105678 /dev/sdc;date )
Example 894 Gigabyte USB - L VtoyK_99_ISO_894
( date;./Ventoy2Disk.sh -i -g -r 888000 /dev/sdc;date )
( date;./Ventoy2Disk.sh -I -g -r 888000 /dev/sdc;date )
Delete or Rename log.txt after initializing a USB stick
Windows users should create a bootable SystemRescue USB to gain access
to gparted. Use gparted to format and name the ISO parttion and to
create/format additional partitions as desired.
Tips below concern filesystem selection during a Linux install:
The anaconda installer will NOT install if the target partition contains a Linux OS. Blivet may be used to delete the partition but WILL allow you to delete a partition other than the one intended. It would be much safer to use the gparted partitioning utility to format the desired partition BEFORE attempting to install Linux.
Btrfs, the default filesystem for Fedora Workstion, is on a different level compared to Ext4. Ext4 is a “pure filesystem” while Btrfs has disk and volume management built-in. This wonderment is OVERKILL when Linux is installed on a USB SSD, If your use case does NOT require spanning the OS over multiple disks select the custom install option and change the selection of “btrfs filesystem” to “Standard Partitioning”. Overlooking this option may lead to angst later on.