Hi
If you download a Linux ISO in an MS OS, HOW2 make sure it is not corrupted or truncated or anything other than ‘perfect’.
Equally if you use a FOSSilised OS it’s still best to check.
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I usually only visually check the first 4 and last 4 digits
I have not seen a mangled download for years, but I still check.
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You can also check sha256sum or other checksum values using busybox-w32 or msys on Windows. I even have a standalone, cross-platform program I wrote using libtomcrypt that calculates checksums.
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I’ve used md5sum via PowerShell some time ago when deploying O/S from ISO images in AWS EC2 (maybe 10 years ago?).
There’s native binaries of most of the stuff for Windows (CLI / CMD / PowerShell) for md5sum and sha256…
Same here - who’s got time - even if you’re retired 
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Really bad on my part, I have never run a checksum on any linux download, never had a problem, just lucky or because I never do it tye first day of launch wait a couple of days then go for it when I know others have been before me to iron out issues.
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I’m also lazy with sha sums. If the iso won’t boot I’ll download another version
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Hello
I do the following since years ago for Windows 10 (and since few weeks ago for Windows 11) as follows:
- Install Git
- Put Git in the PATH of Windows
- Open the default console and write
bash - Execute the
sha256sum filename.isocommand
HTH
Because Git has bash then some bash commands (if the term is correct) are available such as cat, grep etc …
I do the checksum control for everything as possible: Maven, Gradle, Java etc …
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Hi
Just to cover some more ground…
I have been using Linux from the Mid 1990’s (95/96 ish) and never used a sha because I never knew HOW2.
Back then then standard answer to any question was ‘RTFM’, just those 4 characters, and I persevered.
Recently I had cause or occasion to re-install openSÜSE and it failed a score of times. That is when I needed to learn about checking SHA values.
Two things I learnt the hard way was, I did have a “perfect” iso to work from, and NEVER EVER use Ventoy for openSÜSE because it don’t work.
dd command turned out to be my friend on that occasion, thanks to Malcolm Lewis.
So if you are new to Linux, and potentially a lot of W10 users may well soon be in that boat, a method for those users seems useful, as they don’t/wont have anything other than W10 to work with.
YES, never ever use Ventoy for opensÜse as it breaks the install.
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Not just OpenSuse - had a few issues with recent distros in Ventoy… Pop!_OS 24 I think - and maybe Ubuntu 24.10…
Basically - I no longer use Ventoy… it’s a shame… seemed like a “cool thing” to use…
I love DD - but it’s kinda slow - I like the Raspberry Pi imager tool (I run it on Pop!_OS) - seems quicker than “dd” in my experience… I’ve been using “dd” on UNIX and Linux for 30+ years - but occasionally made some drastick mistakes with it - it’s “unforgiving” to say the least 
- the Raspberry Pi imager snap isn’t just for writing Raspbian to an SD-Card - can also be used for x86_64 images to USB…
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Agree 100%.
My own experience is that Ventoy is too complicated and therefore liable to fail right when you need it most.
A simple , one distro, usb drive made with dd will always work.
You quite commonly want to boot a rescue usb drive when something is drastically wrong with your installed linux, and in that situation you dont need the additional problem of a non-booting rescue disc
Hello Friends
and NEVER EVER use Ventoy for openSÜSE because it don’t work.
Did you report your case in its official GitHub account?
It is the second time that in this network where there are members which are not happy with ventoy
I use Ventoy a lot and I have never had problems. I used to install:
- Fedora Workstation/Server
- Debian Desktop
- PeppermintOS
- Ubuntu Desktop/Server
One important thing to consider is that each time ventoy release a new version it includes either a new set of distributions or the same set of distributions but with new versions.
Therefore is important have updated your pendrive with the latest release of ventoy
HTH
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That in itself is quite a nuisance.
I never have to update a dd pendrive
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But if the “change logs” are indicating that the new release has support for newer linux distributions … it each N months is not so problematic
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I agree, abandoned that project and just carry a few different usb keys instead… i have 2 sets one in my workshop and one in my go bag for when i am on site
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I dont see why Ventoy has to explicitely support each distro. Grub can boot any distro, even BSD, why cant Ventoy be the same.?
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I dont see why Ventoy has to explicitely support each distro. Grub can boot any distro, even BSD, why cant Ventoy be the same.?
I am not sure how it works behind the scenes, but for each release new .iso files are supported. Thus it is the main reason to keep updated ventoy to work with the latest iso for the distributions ventoy supports
If my memory does not fail me, it includes bugs fix too
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That is unnecessary rubbish.
I can put grub on a flash drive, make multiple partitions, and put any linuxes or bsd’s on there, and grub will boot them.
I dont have to update anything to add a new release or a new distro. It behaves the same as a multiboot computer. The only thing is, you have to install rather than copy in the iso file.
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