Can I boot MX25-ext4-win-with-EFI-combined_disk.raw-2026-10-17-0307.img with ventoy

title: Can I boot MX25-ext4-win-with-EFI-combined_disk.raw-2026-10-17-0307.img with ventoy - CONVERT
source: https://gemini.google.com/app/a839930adbf10348?utm_source=deepmind.google&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=gdm&utm_content=
author:
published:
created: 2026-10-17
description: Gemini conversation with 16 messages
tags:
  - virt-manager

Can I boot MX25-ext4-win-with-EFI-combined_disk.raw-2026-10-17-0307.img with ventoy - CONVERT

Gemini

No, Ventoy cannot directly boot raw disk image (.img or .raw) files containing a full OS installation with its own partition table and bootloader. Ventoy is designed to chainload installer/live ISOs, specific VHD/VDI files via plugins, or raw floppy/hard disk images using simple memory emulation (memdisk), which fails when booting a full Linux system expecting real block devices.

To boot your combined raw disk image on bare metal via a USB drive, use one of the following methods:

Method 1: Flash Directly to a Physical USB Drive (Recommended)

If you want to boot the MX25 system directly on physical hardware, write the image directly to a target USB flash drive or external SSD.

Data Loss Hazard

Writing an image directly to a USB drive will completely erase all existing data on that drive. Double-check your target device path before running dd.

Identify your target USB drive block device path (e.g., /dev/sdX or /dev/nvmeXn1):
```
lsblk
```

Write the raw image directly to the target USB drive:

sudo dd if=/media/nfs/nas/101/ROOT/fs1/BACKUPS/VM/images/MX25-ext4-win-with-EFI-combined_disk.raw-2026-10-17-0307.img of=/dev/sdX bs=4M status=progress conv=fsync

Boot directly from the USB drive in UEFI mode from your system's boot menu.

Method 2: Boot as a Virtual Machine via Virt-Manager

If your goal is to test or run the image without wiping a physical flash drive, pass the raw image directly to KVM/QEMU as the primary storage disk.

Launch virt-manager.
Select Create a new virtual machine -> Import existing disk image.
Set the OS path to /media/nfs/nas/101/ROOT/fs1/BACKUPS/VM/images/MX25-ext4-win-with-EFI-combined_disk.raw-2026-10-17-0307.img and set OS type to Debian / MX Linux.
Before finishing, check Customize configuration before install.
In the Overview section, ensure firmware is set to UEFI (OVMF) so it detects the EFI system partition inside the image.

Want to know how to convert this raw image into a format Ventoy can boot?

You

How can I convert this raw img to VHD so Ventoy can boot it using the vtoyboot plugin?

Gemini

To make a raw Linux disk image bootable in Ventoy, convert it to a fixed VHD format (.vhd or .vhdx), attach it to a virtual machine (or loop device), and run the vtoyboot script inside the running system. This injects Ventoy's hooks into the initramfs so it can locate and mount its root filesystem when chainloaded as a file.

Step 1: Convert.img to.vhd

Use qemu-img to convert your raw combined disk image into a fixed-size VHD file.

qemu-img convert -f raw -O vpc -o subformat=fixed MX25-ext4-win-with-EFI-combined_disk.raw-2026-10-17-0307.img MX25-bootable.vhd

Verification: Confirm the output file extension ends with .vhd (or append .vtoy as required by Ventoy, e.g., MX25-bootable.vhd.vtoy).

Step 2: Run vtoyboot Inside the System

The vtoyboot hook must be installed from inside the OS environment contained within the VHD so it can patch the Linux bootloader and initramfs.

Download the latest vtoyboot release script from the official Ventoy repository (e.g., vtoyboot-X.X.X.iso or archive).
Boot the converted MX25-bootable.vhd image inside virt-manager (QEMU/KVM) or VirtualBox using UEFI firmware mode.
Once booted into your MX25 desktop inside the VM, extract the vtoyboot package and execute the installation script as root:
```
sudo bash vtoyboot.sh
```
Shut down the virtual machine completely once the script finishes patching the boot environment.

Verification: The script will output vtoyboot process success in the terminal before exiting.

Step 3: Copy to Ventoy USB Drive

Rename your converted file to end in .vtoy so Ventoy identifies it for plugin boot (e.g., MX25-MX2525.vhd.vtoy).
Copy the .vhd.vtoy file directly onto your Ventoy USB partition.
Boot your target hardware from the Ventoy USB drive and select the .vhd.vtoy file from the Ventoy boot menu.

Want instructions on patching initramfs manually via chroot if the VM fails to boot?

You

Can I boot MX25-ext4-win-with-EFI-combined_disk.raw-2026-10-17-0307.img with ventoy if i convert it to qcow2

Gemini

No, Ventoy cannot directly boot qcow2 files either. Ventoy's file-mounting mechanisms (including its vtoyboot plugin) only support flat disk image structures like .vhd / .vhdx or raw .vtoy images.

The qcow2 format relies on dynamic sparse-allocation tables, copy-on-write clusters, and header metadata that require a full QEMU/KVM block driver layer to read. When Ventoy attempts to chainload a image on bare metal, the initial bootloader and kernel initramfs have no native QEMU block driver to navigate those qcow2 cluster maps, causing the boot process to fail immediately with a missing root device error.

Why Fixed VHD Works

When you convert to a fixed-size VHD (using qemu-img convert -f raw -O vpc -o subformat=fixed), the output file contains a contiguous raw disk image with a simple 512-byte VHD footer attached at the very end. This flat structure allows Ventoy and vtoyboot to map physical disk sectors directly to the virtual partition table inside the file.

If You Already Have a.qcow2 File

If you have already converted your raw image to qcow2 and need to make it Ventoy-compatible, convert it directly to a fixed VHD:

qemu-img convert -f qcow2 -O vpc -o subformat=fixed MX25-combined.qcow2 MX25-bootable.vhd.vtoy

Once converted:

Boot the MX25-bootable.vhd.vtoy image inside virt-manager or VirtualBox in UEFI mode.
Run the vtoyboot.sh script inside the running MX25 environment to patch its initramfs.
Copy the .vhd.vtoy file onto your Ventoy USB drive.

Want instructions on mounting and running vtoyboot inside a chroot instead of a VM?

You

How can I chroot into the image to run vtoyboot without booting it in a virtual machine?

Gemini

You can run vtoyboot directly on your host system without booting a virtual machine by mounting the EFI partition and Linux root partition from the combined raw image onto loop devices, mounting the API virtual filesystems (/dev, /proc, /sys), and entering a chroot environment.

Prerequisites & Dependencies

Ensure loop device tools and EFI mounting utilities are installed on your system:

sudo apt update && sudo apt install -y loop-setup kpartx

Critical Safety Warning

Double-check all loop device assignments before mounting or executing commands. Modifying system files inside a chroot environment as root alters the image permanently.

Step 1: Set Up Loop Devices

Attach the raw disk image to a loop device and create partition mappings:

Map the raw image to loop devices:

sudo losetup -Pf --show MX25-ext4-win-with-EFI-combined_disk.raw-2026-10-17-0307.img

(Assuming output is /dev/loop0)

Verify that the partition mappings were created:
```
lsblk /dev/loop0
```
Verification: You should see partition nodes such as /dev/loop0p1 (EFI System Partition) and /dev/loop0p2 (Root Linux partition).

Step 2: Mount Target Filesystems

Create a directory structure to mount the root and EFI partitions along with the necessary system mounts:

# Create mount points
sudo mkdir -p /mnt/mx25

# Mount the Linux root partition (adjust partition number if needed)
sudo mount /dev/loop0p2 /mnt/mx25

# Mount the EFI partition inside the root mount
sudo mount /dev/loop0p1 /mnt/mx25/boot/efi

# Bind virtual API filesystems required for initramfs generation
for dir in /dev /dev/pts /proc /sys /run; do
    sudo mount --bind $dir /mnt/mx25$dir
done

Verification: Run ls /mnt/mx25/etc to verify that the root filesystem is visible.

Step 3: Download and Unpack vtoyboot

Download the vtoyboot package onto your host machine and place it inside the chroot environment directory:

cd /tmp
wget https://github.com/ventoy/vtoyboot/releases/download/v1.0.3/vtoyboot-1.0.3.tar.gz
sudo tar -xvf vtoyboot-1.0.3.tar.gz -C /mnt/mx25/tmp/

Step 4: Chroot and Execute vtoyboot

Enter the target system environment and run the patching script:

Chroot into the mounted filesystem:
```
sudo chroot /mnt/mx25 /bin/bash
```
Execute the setup script inside the chroot:
```
cd /tmp/vtoyboot-1.0.3
bash vtoyboot.sh
```
Verification: Look for vtoyboot process success printed at the end of the execution output.
Exit the chroot shell:
```
exit
```

Step 5: Clean Up Mounts and Loop Devices

Unmount all virtual and physical partition structures in reverse order and detach the loop device:

# Unmount API virtual filesystems and partitions
sudo umount /mnt/mx25/boot/efi
sudo umount -R /mnt/mx25

# Detach loop devices
sudo losetup -d /dev/loop0

Verification: Run losetup -a to verify that /dev/loop0 has been cleared.

Step 6: Convert Raw Disk to VHD Format

Once the image's initramfs is patched with vtoyboot, convert the raw image file to a fixed-size VHD format for Ventoy:

qemu-img convert -f raw -O vpc -o subformat=fixed MX25-ext4-win-with-EFI-combined_disk.raw-2026-10-17-0307.img MX25-bootable.vhd.vtoy

Copy MX25-bootable.vhd.vtoy directly to your Ventoy USB drive to boot it.

Want instructions on how to automate this loop mount and chroot sequence using a script?

You

Can you write a bash script to automate mounting, chrooting vtoyboot, and unmounting this raw image?

Gemini

Here is a fully automated Bash script designed to set up the loop mounts, copy and execute vtoyboot inside a chroot environment, and cleanly dismantle all mounts and loop devices afterward.

Save this script as run_vtoyboot.sh, make it executable with chmod +x run_vtoyboot.sh, and run it using sudo.

#!/usr/bin/env bash
#
# run_vtoyboot.sh - Automates vtoyboot injection into a raw disk image via loop/chroot.
#

set -euo pipefail

# ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Configuration Parameters
# ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
RAW_IMAGE="MX25-ext4-win-with-EFI-combined_disk.raw-2026-10-17-0307.img"
VTOYBOOT_URL="https://github.com/ventoy/vtoyboot/releases/download/v1.0.3/vtoyboot-1.0.3.tar.gz"
MOUNT_DIR="/mnt/mx25_chroot"

# System checks
if [[ $EUID -ne 0 ]]; then
   echo "[!] This script must be run as root (use sudo)." >&2
   exit 1
fi

if [[ ! -f "${RAW_IMAGE}" ]]; then
    echo "[!] Target image '${RAW_IMAGE}' not found in current directory!" >&2
    exit 1
fi

LOOP_DEV=""

# ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Cleanup Function (Ensures clean unmount on exit or failure)
# ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
cleanup() {
    echo "[*] Cleaning up mounts and loop devices..."
    
    # Sync filesystem changes to disk before unmounting
    sync

    # Unmount API virtual filesystems and partitions in order
    if mountpoint -q "${MOUNT_DIR}/boot/efi" 2>/dev/null; then
        umount "${MOUNT_DIR}/boot/efi" || true
    fi

    if mountpoint -q "${MOUNT_DIR}" 2>/dev/null; then
        umount -R "${MOUNT_DIR}" || true
    fi

    # Detach loop device if set
    if [[ -n "${LOOP_DEV}" ]]; then
        echo "[*] Detaching loop device ${LOOP_DEV}..."
        losetup -d "${LOOP_DEV}" || true
    fi

    # Remove temporary mount directory
    if [[ -d "${MOUNT_DIR}" ]]; then
        rmdir "${MOUNT_DIR}" 2>/dev/null || true
    fi

    echo "[*] Cleanup complete."
}

trap cleanup EXIT

# ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
# Execution Workflow
# ------------------------------------------------------------------------------

# Step 1: Attach Image to Loop Device
echo "[*] Mapping raw image to loop device..."
LOOP_DEV=$(losetup -Pf --show "${RAW_IMAGE}")
echo "    -> Attached as: ${LOOP_DEV}"

EFI_PART="${LOOP_DEV}p1"
ROOT_PART="${LOOP_DEV}p2"

if [[ ! -b "${ROOT_PART}" ]] || [[ ! -b "${EFI_PART}" ]]; then
    echo "[!] Partition mappings failed. Found partition list:" >&2
    lsblk "${LOOP_DEV}"
    exit 1
fi

# Step 2: Mount Root and EFI Partitions
echo "[*] Creating mount point '${MOUNT_DIR}' and mounting root partition (${ROOT_PART})..."
mkdir -p "${MOUNT_DIR}"
mount "${ROOT_PART}" "${MOUNT_DIR}"

echo "[*] Mounting EFI partition (${EFI_PART})..."
mkdir -p "${MOUNT_DIR}/boot/efi"
mount "${EFI_PART}" "${MOUNT_DIR}/boot/efi"

# Step 3: Bind Virtual Filesystems
echo "[*] Binding host API virtual filesystems (/dev, /proc, /sys, /run)..."
for dir in /dev /dev/pts /proc /sys /run; do
    mkdir -p "${MOUNT_DIR}${dir}"
    mount --bind "${dir}" "${MOUNT_DIR}${dir}"
done

# Step 4: Download and Unpack vtoyboot
VTOY_TAR="/tmp/vtoyboot.tar.gz"
echo "[*] Downloading vtoyboot archive..."
wget -q "${VTOYBOOT_URL}" -O "${VTOY_TAR}"

VTOY_CHROOT_DIR="/tmp/vtoyboot_installer"
mkdir -p "${MOUNT_DIR}${VTOY_CHROOT_DIR}"
echo "[*] Extracting vtoyboot into chroot space..."
tar -xf "${VTOY_TAR}" -C "${MOUNT_DIR}${VTOY_CHROOT_DIR}" --strip-components=1
rm -f "${VTOY_TAR}"

# Step 5: Execute vtoyboot inside Chroot
echo "[*] Entering chroot and executing vtoyboot.sh..."
chroot "${MOUNT_DIR}" /bin/bash -c "cd ${VTOY_CHROOT_DIR} && bash vtoyboot.sh"

# Clean up internal vtoyboot installation files before leaving chroot
rm -rf "${MOUNT_DIR}${VTOY_CHROOT_DIR}"

echo "[+] vtoyboot patching process successfully executed!"

Script Workflow Overview

Automated Cleanup Trapping: Uses Bash trap cleanup EXIT so that whether the script finishes successfully or Encounters an error, it will automatically sync data, unmount /boot/efi and /mnt/mx25_chroot, and detach the loop device cleanly.
Dynamic Device Tracking: Uses losetup -Pf --show to dynamically capture the created loop device node without hardcoding /dev/loop0.
Automated Fetch & Chroot: Fetches vtoyboot-1.0.3.tar.gz, unpacks it directly into the chroot /tmp tree, runs vtoyboot.sh, and clears the temporary installer scripts prior to unmounting.

Want instructions on converting the patched raw image into a fixed VHD for Ventoy?

You

How do I convert this patched raw image file into a fixed VHD file ready for Ventoy?

Gemini

Convert the patched .img file into a fixed-size .vhd using qemu-img, ensuring the output filename uses the .vhd.vtoy extension required by Ventoy for its plugin loader.

Step 1: Convert the Image Format

Run qemu-img to convert the raw image into a fixed VHD file.

qemu-img convert -f raw -O vpc -o subformat=fixed MX25-ext4-win-with-EFI-combined_disk.raw-2026-10-17-0307.img MX25-bootable.vhd.vtoy

Verification: Run ls -lh MX25-bootable.vhd.vtoy to verify the output file exists and its size matches the virtual size of your source raw disk image.

Step 2: Deploy to Your Ventoy USB Drive

Mount or insert your Ventoy USB drive.
Copy the .vhd.vtoy file directly into the primary data partition of your Ventoy drive:
```
cp -v MX25-bootable.vhd.vtoy /media/$USER/Ventoy/
```
Sync the filesystem to flush all write buffers before unmounting:
```
sync
```

Step 3: Boot on Hardware

Boot your target system into the Ventoy boot menu in UEFI mode.
Select MX25-bootable.vhd.vtoy from the boot list.
Ventoy's plugin hook will initialize the image and pass control directly to GRUB inside the VHD.

Want instructions on setting up Ventoy's persistent storage plugin for this VHD?

You

How do I configure Ventoy persistence or custom menu titles for this vtoyboot VHD image?

Gemini

To configure persistence or custom menu display titles for your MX25-bootable.vhd.vtoy image, you modify Ventoy's global configuration file located at /ventoy/ventoy.json on the root of your Ventoy USB partition.

If the /ventoy/ directory or ventoy.json file does not exist on your USB drive, create them manually.

Method 1: Custom Menu Titles (theme plugin)

By default, Ventoy displays the exact filename on the screen. To display a clean label like "MX25 Linux (Persistent Workstation)", use the display_name parameter inside ventoy.json.

Open or create /ventoy/ventoy.json on your Ventoy USB drive.
Add the menu_alias configuration block:

{
    "menu_alias": [
        {
            "image": "/MX25-bootable.vhd.vtoy",
            "alias": "MX25 Linux (Persistent Workstation)"
        }
    ]
}

Verification: Booting into Ventoy will show "MX25 Linux (Persistent Workstation)" instead of the raw .vhd.vtoy filename in the main menu.

Method 2: Configure Persistent Storage (persistence plugin)

Because your .vhd.vtoy file contains a complete, self-contained Ext4 filesystem, persistence is already native inside the VHD image itself—any files saved or system updates applied while booted are directly written to the underlying virtual disk.

However, if you want to route /home or overlay changes to a separate, standalone DAT image file on the USB drive (for backup convenience or resetting state), you can attach a Ventoy persistence file.

Step 1: Create a Persistence DAT Image

Create a formatted Ext4 storage image on your local Linux machine or directly on the USB drive using qemu-img or Ventoy's CreatePersistentImg.sh script:

# Example using Ventoy's script to generate a 4GB persistent DAT file
sudo bash CreatePersistentImg.sh -s 4096 -t ext4 -l MX25_PERSIST

(This produces a file named MX25_PERSIST.dat)

Step 2: Link the Persistence Image in ventoy.json

Add the control block to your /ventoy/ventoy.json file on the USB partition:

{
    "menu_alias": [
        {
            "image": "/MX25-bootable.vhd.vtoy",
            "alias": "MX25 Linux (Persistent Workstation)"
        }
    ],
    "persistence": [
        {
            "image": "/MX25-bootable.vhd.vtoy",
            "backend": "/MX25_PERSIST.dat"
        }
    ]
}

Step 3: Complete Unified ventoy.json

If combining both menu aliases and persistence, join them into a single valid JSON structure:

{
    "menu_alias": [
        {
            "image": "/MX25-bootable.vhd.vtoy",
            "alias": "MX25 Linux (Persistent Workstation)"
        }
    ],
    "persistence": [
        {
            "image": "/MX25-bootable.vhd.vtoy",
            "backend": "/MX25_PERSIST.dat"
        }
    ]
}

JSON Syntax Rules

Ensure paths relative to the root of the Ventoy USB drive start with a forward slash (/). Validate the ventoy.json formatting using a JSON validator to avoid boot menu parsing errors.

Want instructions on validating ventoy.json syntax using jsonlint or jq before unmounting?

You

How can I validate my ventoy.json syntax using terminal tools like jq or jsonlint?

Gemini

To validate your /ventoy/ventoy.json configuration file directly from the terminal, you can use built-in CLI tools like jq or Python's standard json.tool module to check for missing commas, unescaped quotes, or syntax errors before unmounting your USB drive.

Option 1: Validate with jq (Recommended)

jq is a lightweight command-line JSON processor. If it finds syntax errors, it will print the exact line and column number where the formatting breaks.

Run jq on your ventoy.json file:

jq . /media/$USER/Ventoy/ventoy/ventoy.json

Verification:
- Valid JSON: jq outputs the cleanly colorized and formatted JSON structure. The command returns an exit status of 0 (echo $? outputs 0).
  - Invalid JSON: jq prints a error message such as parse error: Expected string key before ':' at line 8, column 5.

Option 2: Validate with Python (Built-in No-Install Option)

If jq is not installed on the current host system, use Python's built-in JSON module:

Run the Python json.tool module against the file:

python3 -m json.tool /media/$USER/Ventoy/ventoy/ventoy.json > /dev/null

Verification:
- Valid JSON: The command runs silently and returns an exit status of 0.
  - Invalid JSON: Python outputs a json.decoder.JSONDecodeError detailing the line number and character offset of the syntax error.

Option 3: Quick One-Liner Script (Pre-Unmount Check)

Run this single command before unmounting your drive to test the syntax and sync the filesystem automatically:

jq . /media/$USER/Ventoy/ventoy/ventoy.json > /dev/null && echo "JSON Syntax Valid!" && sync

Want to know how to set up a custom GRUB theme or background image in Ventoy?