Boot Multiple ISO from USB (MultiBoot USB)

How to create a Multiboot USB Flash Drive that you can use to Boot Multiple ISO Files from USB. Please note that you might need a 8GB-16GB or larger USB flash device to be able to support every bootable ISO entry. I will update and add more Bootable ISO files to the list as I find the time to test them. You can also contact me to submit working Bootable ISO entries for inclusion.

MultiBoot USB Menu (Simply select an ISO to boot from USB)

MultiBootISOs USB Creator

Basic Essentials to create a Multi ISO Boot USB Flash Drive

  • Fat32 Formatted Flash Drive (NOT Superfloppy)
  • PC that can boot from USB-HDD or in some cases USB-ZIP
  • Windows XP/Vista/7 host to create the Bootable USB
  • MultiBootISOs-USB-Creator.exe
  • Your select ISO Files

IMPORTANT: Starting at version 2.0, the tool copies your select ISO to the drive and adds the menu entry (in order) based on the Distro you choose to install each time the tool is run. This enables each user to create a custom Multiboot UFD containing only the Distributions chosen.

NOTES: ISO Downloadeds are stored in an ISOFILES Directory created where the tool is run. Any matching ISOs placed there will be autodetected.

MultiBootISOs-2.1.2.3.exe – September 3, 2010 – Changelog:

Now uses fbinst.exe to paritition and format the drive and then embed grldr when MultibootISOs is first run on the chosen drive. Added System Rescue CD and Trinity Rescue Kit.

How to Boot Multiple ISO Files from USB

Download MultiBootISOs Download MultiBootISOs

MD5: 327A9CAED6AC64DD32C166BFD5B73803

  1. Run MultiBootISOs-2.1.2.3.exe following the onscreen instructions
  2. * Run the tool again to Add More ISOs/Distributions to your Drive
  3. Restart your PC setting it to boot from the USB device
  4. Select the ISO you want to Boot from the Menu and enjoy!

That's all there is to it. You should now be booting your favorite ISO files from your Multi-Boot USB device!

MultiBootISOs can create a UFD containing one or all of the following:

Known Issues:

Some antivirus utilities may detect a Boot Sector Virus on the fbinst partitioned USB Drive due to the fact that fbinst.exe installs a hidden sector for storing grldr and fb.cfg menu. In some cases, you may even need to disable your antivirus when running the tool for the first time or it will not properly set up the USB drive. I am currently looking into other alternatives.

Additional Notes:

You can boot Ubuntu or an Ubuntu based remix with persistence by using our Casper-RW Creator script to create a Casper-RW file on your USB device. Only "ONE Distro" can use casper persistence

If you don't have a floppy drive and get fd0 errors while booting, simply add floppy.allowed_drive_mask=0 to the kernel line for that menu entry. Although the best fix is to disable floppy in BIOS.

To load Ophcrack tables when booted in this fashion, the tables folder needs to exist at the root of the USB device. Example E:\tables\vista_free. Download Tables from the Official site and unzip to your USB.

Boot Errors: While trying to run an ISO from USB, If you get a Boot error saying:

Error 60: File for drive emulation must be in one contiguous disk area

You'll need to defragment your ISO using one of the following tools:

contig -  Command line tool to defragment ISO files.

wincontig – GUI tool to defragment ISO files.

For information on how to try other ISO's, see the "CDROM emulation (virtualization) section" in the official GRUB4DOS Readme file. Additionally, Here is another good third party guide that explains how things work.

If you successfully boot from a Linux Based ISO that isn't listed, let me know and I will add it to the list.

Posted under: USB Creator Tools

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