How to Boot From a Physical USB Flash Drive in a VM

Booting from USB flash drive is possible with virtualization apps like VirtualBox and Virtual Machine Manager. This article will demonstrate multiple methods to boot your USB flash drive in a VM.

VirtualBox Instructions

If you don’t have VirtualBox installed, you can download it from the official website.
Click New to create a new virtual machine in VirtualBox. Select the OS you need to install from the flash drive.

Assign desired CPU and RAM for the OS you are installing from the USB drive.
Enable EFI if the flash drive has UEFI boot support.

Assign desired storage size for your new VM.

Click Finish to complete the VM creation.

Select your new VM, and Click Settings.
Under USB settings, change the USB controller to USB 3.0.
Click the green Add button to select your flash drive from the list of connected USB devices.
- For VirtualBox 7.1 and above, change to Expert mode to see all settings.
Click OK to Save.

Confirm USB device filter is correctly set and active, then Start your VM.

The USB flash drive should now be booted in your VM.

Virtual Machine Manager Instructions

If you don’t have virt-manager installed, you can download it for your OS.

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zypper install libvirt virt-manager (OpenSuse, or through YaST)
yum install virt-manager (Fedora)
apt install virt-manager (Debian, Ubuntu, Linux Mint)
emerge virt-manager (Gentoo)
pkg_add virt-manager (OpenBSD)

Start by creating a new virtual machine using Manual install.
Assign Desired CPU and RAM for the VM to match the OS you are trying to install from the USB flash drive.

Select the OS you are installing.

Choose customize install before install.

In the VM settings overview, change Firmware to UEFI if the flash drive supports it.

Click Add Hardware then USB Host Device from the settings menu.
Choose your USB flash drive from the list of connected devices.
Save by clicking Finish.

Click Boot Options to modify boot order.
Enable the check mark next to your flash drive.
Move the flash drive to the top of the boot order.
Save by clicking Apply.
Start the VM by clicking Begin Installation.

The USB flash drive should now be booted in your VM.