MediCat USB or Hirens BootCD PE - Which One Should You Keep
Both are legendary in repair work, both are free — and they are built completely differently. One boots a single ready-made Windows PE; the other is a whole shelf of bootable systems on one drive. This comparison covers the differences that actually decide which belongs on your pendrive.
✍️ Technical Anshu🪟 Windows 10 / 11⏱️ 8 minute read
🎥 See MediCat's boot menu and tool range in the video before you decide
Technicians argue about this pair constantly, but the honest answer is that they solve different shapes of problem. Hiren's BootCD PE is a single Windows 10 PE environment with repair tools inside it. MediCat USB is a Ventoy-based multiboot collection: several bootable environments (Mini Windows versions, Linux and diagnostic tools, bootable antivirus) plus a large portable-apps library. Size is the first visible symptom of that difference.
Hiren's BootCD PESingle ISO ≈ 3 GB Boots into one Windows PE desktop Fits an 8 GB pendrive Downloads in minutes
MediCat USBToolkit ≈ 21 GB Ventoy menu of many bootable systems + portable apps Needs 32 GB minimum (64 GB recommended) A serious download
The whole comparison in one picture: one ready-made environment versus a shelf of systems. Neither is 'lying' — they are built for different shapes of work.
1
Size and Drive: 3 GB Download vs 21 GB Toolkit
The practical difference you feel on day one:
Hiren's BootCD PE: a single ISO of roughly 3 GB. It fits on any small pendrive (8 GB is plenty) and downloads quickly even on slow connections.
MediCat USB: about 21 GB of toolkit, requiring a 32 GB minimum drive, 64 GB recommended. The download alone is a project on a slow connection.
If your internet is slow or your spare pendrive is small, Hiren's wins on logistics alone — there is no way around MediCat's size.
2
Structure: One PE Desktop vs a Menu of Whole Systems
How each one is organised changes what you can do with it:
Hiren's boots straight into one Windows PE desktop with its tools installed inside. Simple, predictable, fast to learn. What is in the PE is what you get.
MediCat first shows the Ventoy boot menu: you choose which environment to start — a Mini Windows 10 or 11 PE, a Linux-based tool, a bootable antivirus or diagnostic image. Each is a separate system for a separate kind of job.
Because it is Ventoy underneath, a MediCat drive can also carry extra ISO files (a Windows installer, a Linux ISO) next to the toolkit and boot those too. A Hiren's drive is one environment only.
MediCat additionally includes a portable apps launcher (Start.exe) with a large library of portable programs, which can even run from inside a normal Windows session.
3
Which Jobs Each One Handles Better
Match the toolkit to the work you actually do:
Quick single-PC jobs — reset a password, copy data off a dead Windows, check a disk, basic virus cleanup: Hiren's is faster to reach for. Small download, one environment, everything familiar.
Varied daily repair work — many different PCs, some very old, some brand new; jobs needing Linux tools, bootable antivirus, memory and disk diagnostics, imaging and backup: MediCat's range wins, because you are carrying several specialised systems, not one.
Keeping other ISOs on the same drive (Windows setup, multiple Linux distros): only MediCat's Ventoy base does this naturally.
Old hardware with little RAM: a single lightweight PE (Hiren's) generally starts more comfortably than loading large images through a multiboot menu on a weak machine.
4
The Verdict Most Technicians End Up With
There is no law that says one:
Many working technicians carry MediCat on their main 64 GB+ drive as the complete workshop, and keep Hiren's ISO as one extra file on that same Ventoy drive — boot Hiren's from inside the MediCat drive whenever its single-PE simplicity is the better tool.
If you are starting out, or your connection/drive is limited, begin with Hiren's and upgrade to MediCat when your work outgrows it.
Either way, download both only from their official project websites — both toolkits are frequent targets for malware repacks.
Watch the video above to see MediCat's boot menu and the sheer range of environments on one drive — that two-minute view explains the size difference better than any specification table.
Ventoy
HBCD_PE_x64.iso Mini_Windows_10.iso
The 'carry both' setup from the verdict: Hiren's own ISO file sitting in MediCat's Ventoy menu, bootable whenever its single-PE simplicity is the better tool.
🔴 One myth to drop: "bigger" does not mean "better for every job". For a single password reset on a healthy PC, Hiren's 3 GB simplicity beats a 21 GB toolkit. Professionals choose per job, not per logo.
🎥 Watch the Complete Process in the Video
Watch MediCat's full menu and tool range in the video, then decide with your own eyes.
Yes — that is the advantage of MediCat being built on Ventoy. Copy the Hiren's ISO onto the MediCat drive like any other ISO file, and it appears in the Ventoy boot menu alongside the MediCat environments.
Which one is better for resetting a forgotten Windows password?
Both can do it — each includes password utilities in its Windows PE environment. Hiren's is quicker to prepare if that is your only job; if your MediCat drive already exists, use its Mini Windows the same way.
Is MediCat just a copy of Hiren's with more tools?
No. Hiren's is one pre-built Windows PE image. MediCat is a multiboot collection assembled on Ventoy, containing several independent bootable environments plus a portable-apps system. They overlap in purpose but are different projects with different structures.
This guide is based on the Technical Anshu MediCat USB video • Stuck on any step? Ask in the video comments — help is available there 🙏