Ventoy VS Open-Shell-Menu

Ventoy is an open-source tool to create a bootable USB drive for ISO/WIM/IMG/VHD(x)/EFI files. Using Ventoy, we can create live USB for multiple distros in one flash disk. This is a revolutionary feature compared to other tools, e.g., Etcher, Rufus, etc, that can only create one live USB at a time. This tool is so important. Don't call yourself a distro hopper if you don't know this tool.

I'm thinking you mean Ventoy? They say they can load vhd and img files, though I've only tried ISO's myself.

https://www.ventoy.net/

View on GitHub

I faced it too. There is a PR on the ventoy GitHub repository that fixes Proxmox boot.

https://github.com/ventoy/Ventoy/actions/runs/7088423200

> While this works, I find this method a bit tedious to use, at least compared to Ventoy [0].

I find ventoy more tedious, because you can't use it on your hard drive with a sane partitioning scheme.

The only reason is because of how the ventoy detection hardcode the partition boundaries in its checks, and it means Ventoy can only run with the partitions set in a way that may lead to alignment issues like write-amplification: I've detailed that in https://github.com/ventoy/Ventoy/issues/1342

Ideally I'd have a 10G partition after the EFI (or it could even be the EFI itself) with a few ISOs for rescue purposes + a UEFI entry to avoid having to use a bootable USB, but that's not possible with Ventoy unless I accept Ventoy choices of partition boundaries:

                (pMBR->PartTbl[0].StartSectorId != 2048 ||

I downloaded and made a bootable USB Ventoy (https://www.ventoy.net) with its Windows GUI app in my updated 64-bit W10 Pro PC. However, I couldn't seem to get VirtualBox v7.0.12 to boot it. I read VirtualBox can boot from bootable USB flash sticks so it should work. Am I missing something?

So, yes. The installer will need to install grub to that first partition. You can install ventoy to a usb drive, put a windows iso there and your q4os iso. In case you mess up big time, you can reinstall windows.

I've been very happy happy with https://github.com/Open-Shell/Open-Shell-Menu as a Start Menu replacement. If ads have rolled out to my Windows install, I wouldn't even notice.

Whenever I set up a new computer for older family members, despite it being windows 11, I always install open shell[1] and retro bar[2]. Between the two, I've made the operating system look very close to Windows XP visually, and they always appreciate it.

[1] https://github.com/Open-Shell/Open-Shell-Menu

[2] https://github.com/dremin/RetroBar

There's Open-Shell but it's not exactly a full WM replacement.

Hi yall, I used Open-Shell to change the icon.

There is also Open Shell, a free and open source tool which performs a similar function.

I wish so bad there is a port (a fork) of the Legacy Kickoff start menu for Windows: https://github.com/Open-Shell/Open-Shell-Menu/issues/1083

Classic Start Menu

I use Open Shell (fork of Classic Shell) as a replacement to original Start Menu. This gives me full control over what appears in start menu - no results from internet, animated tiles, etc (I am on Win 10 though, from what I read the Win 11 is supported, but not yet officially [1]). It could be a solution to the ads appearing in start menu.

[1] https://github.com/Open-Shell/Open-Shell-Menu/issues/1564

Looks like you're going for an XP theme. May I suggest using open-shell to skin the taskbar, start menu, and start button if you wanna take that extra step? You can also find the taskbar skin and start button here. Also, I would remove the search bar, task view button, and news & interest area of the taskbar just to bring things together. This is all just a suggestion, you don't have to if you don't want to.