How to create a multiboot USB drive

kimpl13 Comments

One of the most useful things a user can have in his arsenal is a multiboot USB drive. When your computer boots from such a bootable USB drive or stick, it will present you with a boot menu and allow you to select a choice. Multibooting can be very useful for a number of occasions: repairing Windows and Linux installations, repairing the MBR and hard disk problems, testing hardware, making backups, trying out a new operating system and even securely erasing your data. This tutorial will show you how to create a multiboot USB drive. These are the things you will need to get started:

A USB flash drive or a USB external hard drive. Capacity should be above 2GB, the larger it is the more options you have. (Optional) RMPrepUSB. This is a very useful tool to partition and format your USB drive. If your drive capacity is above 32GB, you will face problems using Windows to partition your drive as FAT32. RMPrepUSB can create FAT32 partitions up to 2TB. Software to create the multiboot USB. You have three options here. Xboot, SARDU and MultiBootISOs USB Creator. Xboot and SARDU are our first choice here as they have additional features. ISO images of the tools and operating systems that you would like to include. All the above programs have a list of images that you can use. You should start with these and add your own selections later. You need to configure your BIOS settings to boot from USB. This is done by entering BIOS settings and changing the boot priority so that the first option is to boot from USB drive. Now you are ready to start creating your multiboot USB drive:

1. Start by partitioning and formatting the drive as FAT32 (NTFS will not work with some distributions). If you use RMPrepUSB as we recommend, then choose your drive, select syslinux as boot loader and click on prepare drive. After going through some warnings, your

drive will be ready. If you encounter an error then try using the clean option first.

2. Run Xboot and either drag & drop ISO images on Xboot or use the FileDownload option to download images that work with Xboot. When you drag & drop images, Xboot will automatically recognize them if they are on its list. If not, then try using a similar distribution (for example Linux Mint will work as Ubuntu) or use GRUB4DOS emulation. There are distributions that are not currently compatible with Xboot. In this case you should try using

SARDU or MultiBootISOs USB Creator. Here is a list of recommended distributions and software to include:
o

A Linux distribution such as SliTaz. o Gparted (partition manager) o Kaspersky Antivirus Rescue Disk o Hirens Boot CD (a wide collection of useful tools add it using GRUB4DOS emulation) o ReDo Backup (backup and recovery) o Dariks Boot and Nuke (if you need to securely wipe your data) o MSDaRT or ERD (for Microsoft Windows recovery) 3. After finishing with the selection of ISO images, click Create USB and Xboot will start creating the multiboot usb drive.

4. When its done you can test the installation with QEMU emulator. 5. If everything has gone according to plan, reboot your machine and choose to boot from your USB drive. You will see a boot menu and you can then choose what you want to boot. Congratulations! You have now created a multiboot usb drive. Twitter 3Google+ 1 Pin It Share 0Buffer0 Best task manager: System Explorer Alternative search engines that protect privacy

Written by kimpl 13 Comments 1. Pingback: Advanced Tor network usage: relays, hidden services and more | Bitcoin Linux Guide

2.

kalaiOctober 17, 2011 at 8:51 am

I used the the Amnesic Incognito Live System (TAILS) by burning as a live live, when I boot from the cd , this linux version tries to connect internet by tor network. for me I have to connect to my internet service provider with a normal browser like firefox or opera etc., so I could able to use firefox for log in and then disabling firefox and launch to tor network . firstly could I able to install Amnesic Incognito Live System (TAILS) in my hard disk can I burn a live cd by incorporating a browser like firefox ,opera your guidance will be very helpful Reply

3.

ngelDecember 29, 2011 at 8:44 pm

What if I want to update one of the OSs in the flash drive? Reply

kimplDecember 31, 2011 at 8:56 pm

Unfortunately you would have to reinstall the OS in the flash drive. Reply

4.

AbdallahFebruary 3, 2012 at 7:06 pm

Hey, A great program indeed. I got a question, Im following step by step. but when i boot it says: Grub4dos 0.4.5b 2010-11-24, Mem:637K/3069/0M, End: 34D588 [ Minimal BASH-like lineediting is supported. for the first word, TAB lists possible command completions. Anywhere else TAB lists the possible completions of a device/filename. grub> Thats it! then i dont know how to fix this i saw alot of threads but no luck. Reply

kimplFebruary 4, 2012 at 5:11 pm

Hi Abdallah! What OS/tool are you trying to use? If its not in the supported list then it might not load properly as in your case. Reply

5.

BartMarch 25, 2012 at 5:04 pm

Hmm, looks like Ive got an USB stick that is a pain in the but. Ive tried YUMI, SARDU, UNetbootin and now XBoot and still cant get a computer to boot from my Kingston DataTraveler R500 (32GB) Unlike other USB sticks, the R500 is not listed under HDDs in the BIOS boot menu, but selecting USB-HDD doesnt work either, disk boot failure, insert system disk and press enter, boot error on a different computer. I do have seen text on the screen (after the POST) on one of the computers saying theres an USB mass storage device present, following by the brand/type of the R500, but still cant boot from it. While both those computers are able to boot from USB. QEMU seems to work though, any idea what Im doing wrong here? Reply

BartMarch 25, 2012 at 9:19 pm

Solved it, although Im not sure what was actually the cause of the problem. Earlier this evening I got a hunch, I used HP USB Disk Storage Format Tool 2.2.3 to do another format, instead of doing that through My Computer in XP. Then I had YUMI do its thing again, and guess what, now the R500 USB stick is recognized and multiboot is working

Im guessing theres something different between a format done by Windows and done by HP USB Disk Storage Format Tool 2.2.3, does anyone happen to know what? Reply

6.

JienMay 1, 2012 at 8:47 am

I am using XBOOT , but creating USB time it gives a Fatal Error Reply

kimplMay 1, 2012 at 3:48 pm

We would need more information to help you. Alternatively, you can try using SARDU which we have added above in our list of programs. Reply

7.

EduardMay 29, 2012 at 10:20 am

Hello there, I really love XBoot. I made a stick with very good tools for PC diagnostics and recovery. But I have a problem adding to the list OS, like win xp/win7. The setup starts but the windows cant find any drivers. I tested it with the win7. Any ideas/suggestions? Cheers

Reply

kimplMay 30, 2012 at 4:50 pm

Hi! If I understand correctly you want to include a Win7 setup image in your multiboot USB. I dont think this is supported by XBoot. You can try using one of the other tools like Sardu. One thing that works is a Windows Recovery image but thats a different thing. Let us know if you make it work! Reply

Carlos LimaFebruary 25, 2013 at 3:34 am

Hi Eduard, the best for OS is the Universal USB Installer never gives a problem cheers Reply

8.

SteveSiMarch 18, 2013 at 3:04 pm

Try Easy2Boot new V1 BETA. Just copy any linux ISO to the \mainmenu folder and boot it. Nearly 100% of all linux ISOs just work! Reply