[issue]: Ventoy USB on msdos partition table: TV mounts FAT16 EFI partition instead of exFAT main storage partition

[HackerX7889]

Official FAQ

• [x] I have checked the official FAQ.

Ventoy Version

1.1.07

What about latest release

Yes. I have tried the latest release, but the bug still exist.

Try alternative boot mode

Yes. I have tried them, but the bug still exist.

BIOS Mode

Legacy BIOS Mode

Partition Style

MBR

Disk Capacity

32GB

Disk Manufacturer

Sony

Image file checksum (if applicable)

None

Image file download link (if applicable)

No response

What happened?

I'm using Ventoy version 1.1.07 to create a multiboot USB drive with the following setup:

• Partition table: msdos (MBR)
• Partition 1 (/dev/sda1): exFAT, holds ISOs and media content (my main data partition)
• Partition 2 (/dev/sda2): FAT16, small EFI system partition for Ventoy's bootloader and metadata
• Target device for testing: Sony KLV-32W512D TV, which supports USB formats FAT16, FAT32, and NTFS

Problem:
When I plug the USB into the TV, it only detects and mounts the small FAT16 EFI partition (/dev/sda2) instead of the large exFAT partition (/dev/sda1) where my media files reside. This prevents me from accessing or playing media on the TV directly from the USB.

What I've tried/considered:

• The TV firmware apparently mounts the first detected partition, which appears to be the EFI partition.
• Ventoy defaults to this two-partition layout for bootloader and data.
• I need a solution where the TV detects and mounts the main exFAT partition correctly (even with files larger than 4GB).
• I'm aware that the TV does not support exFAT and supports FAT32 but has file size limits that do not suit my needs.

Request:

• Is there a Ventoy configuration or installation option that can help reorder partitions or hide the EFI partition from the TV?
• Are there best practices for making a Ventoy USB fully compatible with TVs for media playback?
• Any known workarounds for multi-partition USB compatibility with TVs in this context?

Any suggestions would be appreciated!

[vibbe]

Why would you want to use Ventoy on a TV? and not a regular usb if you have some media on it, they will surely see it, if its a regular memory, and not a ventoy.

[steve6375]

Remake the Ventoy drive and try other format options such as NTFS or ext?

[HackerX7889]

Why would you want to use Ventoy on a TV? and not a regular USB if you have some media on it, they will surely see it, if its a regular memory, and not a vVntoy.

I don't specifically want to use Ventoy on my TV, I'm left with no other choice because I currently only have one USB drive and I'm trying to find workarounds so that it works perfectly fine as Ventoy boot drive and a storage media (TV supported) both at once

[ventoy]

That's because the OS in your TV (maybe Andriod) only support FAT file system and does not support exFAT file system. If you reformat the Ventoy Partition 1 (/dev/sda1) to FAT file system then the TV can mount it. But FAT file system does not support file that bigger than 4GB, that's why Ventoy use exFAT for partition 1 by default.

[ventoy]

You can reserve some space at the end of your USB stick when install Ventoy. After install Ventoy you can create Partition 3 with the reserved space and format the partition with FAT file system and use the partition in TV.

For details please refer: https://ventoy.net/en/doc_disk_layout.html#reserve_space

[mbx64]

In this case I would recommend to format the Ventoy partition with FAT and the 3rd partition with exFAT. Put your large ISO on the 3rd partition and "VentoyVlnk" it to your Ventoy partition. This way, you can boot a large ISO from a FAT fs without splitting the ISO.