Updated by - January 11, 2025

YUMI Legacy

YUMI Legacy was the first Original Universal Multiboot Installer. A USB boot maker software tool that allows you to create a multi-boot USB drive that can hold multiple operating systems, antivirus tools, diagnostic utilities, and other bootable USB tools and software. This allows you to easily switch between different tools or operating systems without needing separate USB drives.

YUMI Legacy - Multiboot Bootable USB Boot Menu
YUMI Legacy showing the USB Boot Menu

What is YUMI Legacy?

The “Legacy variant” refers to the earliest version of the YUMI software that is designed to work with older hardware that use BIOS instead of UEFI. UEFI (Unified Extensible Firmware Interface) is a modern replacement for the traditional BIOS system, and some older systems still use BIOS. This Legacy Multiboot USB Boot Creator can be used to quickly make a multisystem bootable USB flash drive containing several different ISO files.

You might use it to boot from USB Windows installers, Linux installers, Live Linux, stand alone virus scanners, drive backup tools, PC diagnostic software, etc. For the most part, the bootable ISO files are stored within the YUMI Multiboot folder. This makes for a nicely organized portable Multiboot drive that can still be used for traditional storage purposes.

Though originally intended to be used to boot from USB “LIVE Linux” Operating Systems and tools, using it to install Linux from a flash drive to a hard drive should also work fine with most distributions. In addition, any installed distributions can easily be removed using the same tool!

YUMI Legacy (BIOS USB Boot Only):
You can use this version if your computer supports BIOS booting, and if you do not plan to run your Windows installers in UEFI mode. Most modern motherboards still offer Legacy BIOS firmware support through CMS Legacy mode. However, I highly recommend using the most recent YUMI exFAT flash drive variant, instead.

Install ISO Files to USB from the Setup Screen

YUMI Legacy Setup Screen
YUMI Legacy Setup Screen – Shown making Ubuntu boot from USB

Run ISOs from the Multiboot USB Boot Menu

YUMI Legacy - Multiboot Bootable USB Boot Menu

YUMI Legacy Limitations:

  • NTFS or Fat32 filesystems (no exFAT flash drive filesystem support).
  • BIOS USB boot only (no UEFI boot support).
  • Cannot use ISO files larger than 4GB with a Fat32 format.

YUMI Legacy Download

29 Jan 2022 YUMI-2.0.9.4.exe: Added support for newer versions of Redo Rescue Backup and Recovery.
YUMI SHA-256: 168A7FD30817E07EFECBD1805FF1E8629A62BE137B74D0B77958472F0993D134

WARNING: I recommend no longer using the Legacy variant! This tool is archived and is no longer actively updated. It might also have untested bugs that could prevent it from working properly. Please use the latest YUMI exFAT variant, instead.

YUMI Requirements to Make a Multi System Bootable USB Drive:

The Installer will format your select USB drive, but be aware that all partitions on the select disk will also be deleted. Ensure that you have made a backup of any info you want to keep before using YUMI software on any drive.You will have the best experience when using a fast SSD flash drive. Here is a list of suggested best fast USB flash drives.

NOTE: With YUMI legacy, the drive must use a Fat32/NTFS format, otherwise Syslinux will fail and as a result, your drive will NOT Boot. NTFS may not work with every distribution but is required for storing files over 4GB. 

  • 2 GB+ flash drive (128 GB – 1 TB size works well).
  • Computer that can boot from USB.
  • Windows 11, 10, 8, 7 Operating Environment.
  • YUMI (to create a Multiboot Bootable USB).
  • Your favorite Windows and Linux ISO Files.

How to Create a MultiBoot USB Flash Drive (Windows)

  1. Run* YUMI following the onscreen instructions.
  2. Run the tool again to Add More ISOs/Distributions to your thumb drive.
  3. Leaving the thumb drive inserted, restart your computer.
  4. During system post (when text first appears onscreen), use a hotkey to enter BIOS.
  5. Set your Boot Menu to boot from the USB. Save changes, and proceed to start your PC from USB.
  6. From the YUMI Menu, select a distribution to launch. Then, boot and enjoy!

That’s really all there is to it. If all went well, then you should be booting your favorite distributions from your custom YUMI MultiBoot USB drive!

How does a YUMI Legacy Multisystem Bootable USB Work?

YUMI (Your Universal Multiboot Installer) enables each user to create their own custom Multiboot UFD containing only the distributions they want. Presented in the order by which they are installed. A new distribution can also be added to the bootable drive each time the tool is run. If you run YUMI from the same location you store ISO files, then they should be auto detected (*See Known Issues Below), eliminating the need to browse for each ISO.

Other Notes: If MultibootISOs was previously used, you must reformat the drive, and start over. A Legacy YUMI Boot uses Syslinux directly, and chain loads to grub only if needed, so it is not compatible with the older Multiboot ISO tool.

USB Bootable ISO files

Here are some ISO Bootable Live Linux Distros, Portable Operating Systems, Windows Installers, and tools that you can install and boot from USB. Note that support varies between the YUMI variants. Also, keep in mind that although this list is somewhat comprehensive, it is by no means all inclusive.

Category ISO Distribution/Tool
Popular Linux Distributions
  • Debian Live
  • Fedora
  • Bootable USB Linux Mint (with persistence)
  • OpenSUSE
  • Puppy Linux
  • Ubuntu (with persistence)
Other Distros Alphabetical
  • Android-x86
  • Antergos
  • AntiX
  • Archlinux
  • Bodhi
  • Bunsenlabs/Crunchbang
  • CAELinux (Computer Aided Engineering)
  • CentOS Live
  • ChaletOS
  • Clear Linux
  • Damn Small Linux (DSL)
  • Fuduntu
  • gpxe (Net Bootable Distros)
  • KNOPPIX
  • KXStudio
  • Mandriva
  • Netrunner
  • OSGeo Live
  • PCLinuxOS
  • Peppermint
  • Peach OSI Linux
  • Pear Linux
  • Pinguy OS
  • Porteus
  • PureOS
  • SalineOS
  • Scientific Linux CERN
  • Semplice Linux
  • SLAX (Tiny Slackware Based Distro)
  • Slitaz (Another Tiny Distro)
  • Sparky Linux
  • SolydX
  • Sugar on a Stick
  • System Rescue CD
  • Tails (Anonymous Browsing)
  • Liberte (Anonymous Browsing)
  • Terralinux
  • TinyCore (A Tiny Linux Distribution)
  • Ultimate Edition 3
  • XBMCbuntu
  • Zorin OS Core
USB NetBook Distributions
USB Bootable Virtual Machines ProxMox (Virtual Machine Environment) VME
USB Antivirus Tools
  • Acronis Antimalware CD
  • AOSS (Malware Scanner) system\stage1
  • AVG Rescue CD (Antivirus Scanner)
  • AVIRA AntiVir Rescue CD (Virus Scanner)
  • Bitdefender Rescue Disk (Antivirus Scanner)
  • Comodo Rescue Disk (Antivirus Scanner)
  • Dr.Web Live CD ; does install to root
  • F-Secure Rescue CD
  • GDATA Rescue CD
  • Kaspersky Rescue Disk (Antivirus Scanner)
  • Panda SafeCD
  • Windows Defender Offline
USB System Tools
  • Acronis True Image
  • BackBox (Penetration Testing)
  • BackTrack5 (Penetration Testing)
  • Boot Repair Disk
  • Clonezilla (Backup + Clone Tool) – with Persistence
  • DBAN (Hard Drive Nuker)
  • Deft (Forensics)
  • DRBL (Diskless Remote Boot in Linux)
  • EASEUS Disk Copy (Disk Cloning Tool)
  • FreeDOS (Balder img)
  • GParted (Partition Tools)
  • GRML (system rescue)
  • HDT (Hardware Detection Tool)
  • Kali (Penetration Testing) – with Persistence
  • Memtest86+ (Memory Testing Tool)
  • Matriux (Penetration Testing)
  • Offline NT Password & Registry Editor
  • Ophcrack (Password Finder)
  • Parted Magic (Partition Tools)
  • PING (Partimg Is Not Ghost)
  • Partition Wizard (Partition Tools)
  • Rescatux
  • Redo Backup And Recovery (Recovery Tools)
  • Rip Linux (Recovery Distro)
  • Trinity Rescue Kit
  • Ultimate Boot CD (Diagnostics Tools)
  • Web Converger (Web Kiosk)
  • WifiSlax
Bootable USB Windows 11, 10, 8, 7, XP and Other OS/Tools
  • Linux Live Tools for OCZ
  • Linux CNC
  • Hiren’s Boot CD
  • Falcon 4 Boot CD
  • Hiren’s Boot PE
  • Sergei strelec WinPE
  • Other WinPE
  • Kon-Boot Floppy Image
  • Windows 11, 10, 8, 7, Installer. (YUMI can be used in place of Microsoft’s “Create Media Tool” for Windows 11, 10)
  • Windows XP Installer
  • Windows To Go
  • Boot and Run Windows 11 from VHD on USB
  • Phoenix LiteOS – Put Windows 10 or 11 on USB
Unlisted USB Bootable ISOs
  • Try an Unlisted ISO (SYSLINUX)
  • (GRUB)
  • (GRUB Run from RAM)

Troubleshooting, Known Issues, Bugs

Error (1) occurred while executing syslinux

An error (1) occurred while executing syslinux. Your USB drive won’t be bootable.

Error executing syslinux

Ensure your drive is formatted with a Fat32 or NTFS partition and an MBR (Master Boot Record). exFAT and GPT partitions are not supported. If you encounter the error:

Insane primary (MBR) partition. Can’t find myself on the drive I booted from

Replace the chain.c32 file in multiboot/chain.c32 with this zipped chain.c32 file. If that doesn’t work, your USB drive may be improperly formatted, contain multiple partitions, or your BIOS may not detect the drive correctly.

For additional help, try formatting your USB drive to restore it to its factory state.

Windows to Go/Installers – Options Explained
The Windows to Go option creates a 20GB VHD file, requiring an NTFS-formatted drive. Fat32 is not supported due to file size limits. Fast flash drives are recommended for optimal performance.

When Windows boots for the first time, it goes through the setup process, reboots, and requires a second boot to finalize the setup. Use the Single Windows Installer/PE option for stock/modified ISOs or the Multiple Windows Installer/PE option for multiple stock Windows installers per drive.

  • -wimboot: Stores extracted Multi Windows Installers in separate directories.
  • -bootmgr: Moves bootmgr and bcd files to the root of the drive (requires Windows Vista+ to use bcdedit).

YUMI Legacy does not natively support UEFI boot, but you can manually set up UEFI by moving the bootmgr, bootmgr.efi, and boot folder to the root of the drive.

Try an Unlisted ISO Options Explained
  1. Try Unlisted ISO (Grub Partition 4): Boots an ISO using Grub and a 4th partition table placeholder.
  2. Try Unlisted ISO (Grub): Boots an ISO without creating a placeholder.
  3. Try Unlisted ISO (Grub From RAM): Boots a small ISO from system memory, freeing the USB drive for other tasks.
  4. Try Unlisted ISO (via Syslinux): Original boot method, works for many distributions but not all.
Persistently Saving Changes
YUMI supports the casper-rw persistence feature for Ubuntu-based distributions. Multiple persistent distributions can coexist, each with its own casper-rw file. Note: Persistence may not work on NTFS-formatted USB drives or with certain distributions.
Ophcrack Tables
To use Ophcrack tables, create a tables folder in the USB root directory (e.g., F:\tables\vista_free) and download the tables from the official Ophcrack site. This allows for multiple Windows versions to coexist on one USB device.
Troubleshooting Boot Errors
If you encounter the error:

Error 60: File for drive emulation must be in one contiguous disk area

This is common with persistence files on NTFS drives. To fix it, defragment your ISO or persistence file using a tool like Defraggler.

How to Defragment an ISO File

  1. Select your drive in Defraggler.
  2. Tick the checkbox next to the ISO file and press Analyze (optional).
  3. Press Defrag Checked to begin defragmenting.

Defragment an ISO File