create a USB pen to boot into windows 10

alphanumeric said:

An unofficial build is till possible, link to tutorial in in the second post. Be advised that if you do this an use it on several different PC's, your likely going to have activation issues. The official Windows To Go utility creates an Enterprise Windows to Go drive.

dont see the rational behind MS not allowing this for all W10s but the MS can do anything they want I guess.......
dont think I will try it as don't want to screw up my activation, especially as running smoothly at the moment...
thank you

It was originally limited to Enterprise customers. Windows 10 Home and Pro restrict you to activation for that License on one PC only. Thus no official Windows To Go for those versions. Enterprise is different as far as licensing goes. Windows to Go lets employees take their work setup home and run it on their home PC. Instead of having to take their work PC home with them. I have access to MSDN so I can run Enterprise if I want. I do on my laptop just so I can create an official Windows To Go drive. Education is a new version, it also has Windows To Go. It will only create an Enterprise Windows To Go though. It won't let you use a Home, Pro or Education ISO. Even if you had the Windows To Go utility in Control Panel, you would still need an Enterprise License to use it. Unless they redo how it works now.

thank you for such a good explanation....

As far as I know, that was the original intent. The IT guy or girl would setup a WTG drive for those that need one. It would have their corporate logon and remote access to corporate resources. When you boot from one, your local drives are all hidden and all you see is the thumb drive. That way you can't mess up your Home PC by accident. Everything is run from the thumb drive. Shut down, unplug it, and boot back up and your PC boots to your installed OS just like nothing ever happened. The official WTG is multi PC, multi hardware tolerant, so activation isn't an issue. In theory anyway. It's an imperfect world so I'm sure there are some old PC's it just won't boot on. I've hardly used mine, other than just to see if it works. I had to use an old laptop drive in an external USB enclosure. It's not something I can just stick in my pocket like a thumb drive. The WTG certified thumb drives are expensive so I haven't bothered to buy one.

thanks again....

acmanten said:

All, and I am asking if anyone has a long listing (or even any listing) of Windows Ten critical files which could be saved on a USB that would be needed on a USB which would be bootable ?

I would like to make a bootable USB or even a DVD whick would be bootable in case of a serious problem.

Please post any comments and thanks for all. (Maybe some has already done what I am asking. . . . ) Thanks for each of you for helping me as I am learning more everyday. All be safe. Cliff M.

How about this, http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/softw...load/windows10 You can boot from it and do repairs/installs etc.

EDIT: Or this, https://www.tenforums.com/tutorials/4...dows-10-a.html

acmanten said:

Originally Posted by acmantenAll, and I am asking if anyone has a long listing (or even any listing) of Windows Ten critical files which could be saved on a USB that would be needed on a USB which would be bootable ?

I would like to make a bootable USB or even a DVD whick would be bootable in case of a serious problem.

Please post any comments and thanks for all. (Maybe some has already done what I am asking. . . . ) Thanks for each of you for helping me as I am learning more everyday. All be safe. Cliff M.


Thanks for your reply. . . and my first quesiton after your answer is below....

Could that USB be used to boot a computer which had previously had Windows Ten on it, but for some reason became un-bootable and therefore be able to reach the OS for editing and maybe for a fix or bring it back to life again... . ? Thanks

As far as I know, yes. This from the recovery drive tutorial.

If you run into problems with your PC, a USB recovery drive can help you troubleshoot and fix those problems, even if your PC won't start.

This tutorial will show you how to create a bootable USB recovery drive that only boots to advanced startup options used to help troubleshoot and recover your Windows 10.

You must be signed in as an administrator to be able to create a recovery drive.