Discussion:
Ping my Ventoy Expert
(too old to reply)
Jeff Gaines
2024-08-15 18:55:26 UTC
Permalink
I am playing with a couple of older machines at the moment both seem to
have very early and crude UEFI so I am using BIOS/Legacy mode.

Ventoy does not want to boot to a machine in BIOS mode, is there any way I
can persuade it to do that please?
--
Jeff Gaines Dorset UK
Indecision is the key to flexibility
SH
2024-08-16 08:28:39 UTC
Permalink
Post by Jeff Gaines
I am playing with a couple of older machines at the moment both seem to
have very early and crude UEFI so I am using BIOS/Legacy mode.
Ventoy does not want to boot to a machine in BIOS mode, is there any way
I can persuade it to do that please?
Is your Ventoy on a CD or DVD or on a USB stick? Some older machines
are unable to boot from USB.

Have you checked the boot order in the BIOS?

If you have other bootable media on the machine, are you given a choice
of which you wish to boot off? If not, temporarily remove the other
bootable media.

If you're using an older DVDrom drive, it may not support all flavours
of +R, -R, -RW, +RW or RAM or the Bios does not support the use of DVD
drives. Try a CD-R and CD drive instead

Ditto older CDrom drives with reegard to all the different colour book
standards.

Some onder machines are unable to support an SSD if that is what you are
using for speed like me.... (either via SATA or a USB to Sata adapter.

If a DVD or CD, have you burned the disc as multisession or as a fully
closed ISO? (the former allows you to add extra files and "delete" files
by removing entries but doesn't release the disc space) while the latter
is burn once, even if there is spare space, you can't burn any more.
(some drives support the latter only rather than both.
Jeff Gaines
2024-08-16 09:34:55 UTC
Permalink
Post by Jeff Gaines
I am playing with a couple of older machines at the moment both seem to
have very early and crude UEFI so I am using BIOS/Legacy mode.
Ventoy does not want to boot to a machine in BIOS mode, is there any way
I can persuade it to do that please?
Is your Ventoy on a CD or DVD or on a USB stick? Some older machines are
unable to boot from USB.
It's an SSD in an external USB case, recognised once the machine is set up.
Have you checked the boot order in the BIOS?
That's a whole different story (see ^ somewhere) but yes, in the BIOS it
shows up as first bootable device, but won't boot from it!
If you have other bootable media on the machine, are you given a choice of
which you wish to boot off? If not, temporarily remove the other bootable
media.
If I use my Rufus made Win 10 install thumbdrive (MBR only) I get a
message "Press key to boot from CD/DVD" which works because that's what I
used to install it this morning. I do remove other bootable devices and
all other devices except the one I want to install to.
If you're using an older DVDrom drive, it may not support all flavours of
+R, -R, -RW, +RW or RAM or the Bios does not support the use of DVD
drives. Try a CD-R and CD drive instead
Funnily enough I did that to try out Win 8.1 and it installed perfectly!
The N54L seems intelligent enough to poke around to find something bootable.
Ditto older CDrom drives with reegard to all the different colour book
standards.
OK.
Some onder machines are unable to support an SSD if that is what you are
using for speed like me.... (either via SATA or a USB to Sata adapter.
OK, it does seem OK with an SSD.
If a DVD or CD, have you burned the disc as multisession or as a fully
closed ISO? (the former allows you to add extra files and "delete" files
by removing entries but doesn't release the disc space) while the latter
is burn once, even if there is spare space, you can't burn any more. (some
drives support the latter only rather than both.
That brings back memories!

On many of my machines if I boot from a combined UEFI/Legacy thumbdrive I
get the option in 2 lists - one UEFI one Legacy. Be nice if Ventoy did that.

Many thanks for popping in :-)
--
Jeff Gaines Dorset UK
I take full responsibility for what happened - that is why the person that
was responsible went immediately.
(Gordon Brown, April 2009)
Theo
2024-08-16 22:18:00 UTC
Permalink
Post by Jeff Gaines
Post by Jeff Gaines
I am playing with a couple of older machines at the moment both seem to
have very early and crude UEFI so I am using BIOS/Legacy mode.
Ventoy does not want to boot to a machine in BIOS mode, is there any way
I can persuade it to do that please?
Is your Ventoy on a CD or DVD or on a USB stick? Some older machines are
unable to boot from USB.
It's an SSD in an external USB case, recognised once the machine is set up.
Some early-2010s machines are very fussy about USB booting: some devices
work, some don't. I've found that USB sticks are more reliable than say SD
cards in USB readers, and some USB sticks I have work better than others. I
have a few 'known good' USB sticks that I use for installs because I know
they'll work. The ones I have are pretty unremarkable USB 2.0 sticks like
an old Sandisk Cruzer - no fancy features.
Post by Jeff Gaines
That's a whole different story (see ^ somewhere) but yes, in the BIOS it
shows up as first bootable device, but won't boot from it!
Showing up and successfully booting from it after different things.
Post by Jeff Gaines
If I use my Rufus made Win 10 install thumbdrive (MBR only) I get a
message "Press key to boot from CD/DVD" which works because that's what I
used to install it this morning. I do remove other bootable devices and
all other devices except the one I want to install to.
Optical media is generally more reliable on this era of machine.

Theo
Jeff Gaines
2024-08-17 07:32:02 UTC
Permalink
Post by Theo
Post by Jeff Gaines
If I use my Rufus made Win 10 install thumbdrive (MBR only) I get a
message "Press key to boot from CD/DVD" which works because that's what I
used to install it this morning. I do remove other bootable devices and
all other devices except the one I want to install to.
Optical media is generally more reliable on this era of machine.
The Thumbdrive that works is a Sandisk Cruzer so win win!

Thanks Theo :-)
--
Jeff Gaines Dorset UK
Roses are #FF0000, violets are #0000FF
if you can read this, you're a nerd 10.
SH
2024-08-24 20:20:31 UTC
Permalink
Post by Jeff Gaines
Post by Theo
Post by Jeff Gaines
If I use my Rufus made Win 10 install thumbdrive (MBR only) I get a
message "Press key to boot from CD/DVD" which works because that's what I
used to install it this morning. I do remove other bootable devices and
all other devices except the one I want to install to.
Optical media is generally more reliable on this era of machine.
The Thumbdrive that works is a Sandisk Cruzer so win win!
Thanks Theo :-)
So did you get Ventoy to work on your USB stick in the end?

I know some older USB chipsets can struggle with the UASP protocol that
is used in the SATA to USB adapters, plus older chipsets might struggle
if the storage size is much bigger or if GPT partition is used instead
of FAT32....

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