Ventoy makes it easy to carry all of your Windows and Linux installers on a single drive. But you still need to carry a USB drive with you all the time, and it’s a hassle when you need the OS on multiple PCs. Instead, for bulk installs and distro hopping, you can use iVentoy, a PXE boot server that lets you install Windows and Linux distros over the network.
iVentoy serves ISOs from a machine on your LAN
A network boot server from the maker of Ventoy`
iVentoy is made by the same developer behind Ventoy, the popular open-source multiboot USB tool. The difference is that instead of helping you create a multiboot USB drive, iVentoy lets you host your ISOs on a machine on your local network and serve them to other PCs over Ethernet. Which means you no longer need to carry a USB drive, and you can speed up installation across multiple systems at the same time.
Once configured, other machines on the same network that are set to PXE boot will see a menu of all the ISOs you’ve added. Pick one, and the installer loads over the network, just like it would from a USB drive.
iVentoy bundles its own DHCP and TFTP/HTTP services, handles both legacy BIOS and UEFI clients (including Secure Boot), and you manage everything from a web interface.
Unlike Ventoy, which is completely free and open-source, iVentoy comes in a free and a Pro edition. The free version caps you at 20 client machines and skips ARM64 support and Matrix Boot. The Pro version removes those limits for a one-time payment of $79. Since I rarely work with more than a handful of PCs at a time, the free edition does the job for me.
Configure iVentoy
Download, drop your ISOs in, and start the server
Before you can boot from the network, you need to download and set up iVentoy. Grab the iVentoy free edition from GitHub and get the installer for Windows or Linux. Extract the zip file to your C: drive, open the extracted folder, then open the iso subfolder and copy all the ISOs you want to host into it. You can also symlink ISOs from another drive instead of copying them if you’re short on space.
Next, right-click the iVentoy_64.exe file and choose Run as administrator. When the browser window opens at http://127.0.0.1:26000, go to the Boot Information page and select your server’s IP address. If you’re not sure which one it is, open Command Prompt, type ipconfig, and look under your Ethernet adapter for the IPv4 address. It’ll be something like 192.168.1.25. You can also reach the dashboard from another PC at http://If your router already hands out IP addresses, which is true for most home networks, open the Configuration tab and set the DHCP mode to ProxyNet. That way, iVentoy only supplies the boot details and doesn’t conflict with your router’s DHCP server. If you don’t have a router handling DHCP, set up a pool instead (for example, 192.168.1.100 to 200).
Then click the green Start button. On Windows, Defender Firewall may block iVentoy. Click Allow access when the warning appears. If it doesn’t, add inbound rules manually for UDP 69 (TFTP) and TCP 26000 (web interface), 16000 (PXE HTTP), and 10809 (NBD). ProxyNet mode also needs UDP 67 and 4011. Finally, open the Image Management tab and click Refresh to see all the ISOs from your ISO folder.
Boot from the iVentoy server
PXE boot any wired PC on your network
With the server running, it’s time to boot from the PC you want to install the OS on. Connect it to your network with an Ethernet cable, restart it, and enter the BIOS or boot menu using the dedicated key. On most Asus and HP PCs, it’s usually Esc or F9 to open the boot menu. In the setup screen, enable network boot (sometimes labeled PXE Boot or Network Boot) and also turn off Secure Boot, then save changes and exit.
Restart your PC and start pressing the boot menu key, such as F9 or F12. Choose your network adapter, specifically the option labeled IPv4 UEFI, and wait for the iVentoy menu to load. It will list all the ISOs from your server. Pick the one you want to boot into or install and proceed with the installation as you normally would from a USB drive.
One thing to note: PXE boot only works over wired Ethernet. Wi-Fi doesn’t support the protocol, so the client PC needs to be plugged into your router or switch with an Ethernet cable. On a gigabit LAN, the boot speed is comparable to a USB 2.0 drive. It won’t match a fast USB 3.0 stick, but for reinstalling Windows or trying out a new Linux distro, the convenience of skipping physical media more than makes up for it.
If your PC doesn’t show a PXE or network boot option in the boot menu, check the BIOS settings. Some boards bury it under an Advanced or Onboard Devices tab where you need to enable the network stack first. Older PCs that only support legacy BIOS can still PXE boot, but UEFI mode tends to be more reliable with iVentoy.
Ventoy still wins when there’s no network
The one thing that clearly favors Ventoy is that it doesn’t need a network connection to work. With iVentoy, you can’t boot into the PXE server unless your laptop/system has an Ethernet port and adapter installed (USB-C-Ethernet adapter doesn’t work). You can plug it into any PC, and it’s ready to go. But that only matters when you’re away from home or helping someone who isn’t on your network. On your own network, where most reinstalls and distro hopping happen, walking a USB drive from one machine to another is just an extra step. You set up iVentoy once, drop your ISOs in a folder, and every wired PC on the network can boot into an installer from its boot menu.