Hi there
I think this method of creating a Windows to Go system is easier - it doesn't need the WAIK download and it IMO is much easier than the tutorial in the tutorials section.
[Tutorial]Windows 8 to Go without Enterprise Edition - Microsoft (Windows) Discussion & Support - Neowin Forums
This method also works for W8/8.1 systems. It won't work for W7 as the bcdboot.exe command is different.
Cheers
jimbo
I may have to get off my @ss and give this another go. I have a nice Kingston 64 gig HyperX USB 3.0 thumb drive I want to use. The official Windows to Go utility won't let me use it.But will let me use my crappy old 5400 laptop drive in a USB 2.0 enclosure.
WTF?
Actually DISM works for me (on 8.1 and 10 not sure about earlier) - no need to download anything.
1. Diskpart (clean, create partition primary, format quick fs=ntfs, active).
2. dism /Apply-Image /imagefile:F:\sources\install.wim /index:1 /ApplyDir:W:\
3. BCDBOOT.EXE E:\WINDOWS /S E: /F ALL
Nice alternative. But if you already have the WAIK, you might as well use it and put the imagex.exe on the desktop. Then it is only 2 commands - e.g.:
"C:\Users\Your Name\Desktop\imagex.exe" /apply H:\sources\install.wim 1 F:\
bcdboot F:\windows /s F:
Works with the .iso in a BD ROM (H here) or a real DVD.
PS: the WAIK is a useful tool. You also need it e.g. when you want to produce a WinPE recovery CD for free Macrium. You download it when you have nothing else to do. Takes about 2 hours for the average connection.
I suck at this. First I tried this, Windows To Go Step by Step - TechNet Articles - United States (English) - TechNet Wiki The official Windows to utility, option 1, will not use my thumb drive because its removable media. Doing option 2, power shell commands, I get as far as, $OSPartition = New-Partition –InputObject $Disk[0] -UseMaximumSize . I get an insufficient free space error message. That I believe is because the drive is removable media and not a fixed disk.
So then I tried what you others posted,
1. Diskpart (clean, create partition primary, format quick fs=ntfs, active).
2. dism /Apply-Image /imagefile:F:\sources\install.wim /index:1 /ApplyDir:W:\
3. BCDBOOT.EXE E:\WINDOWS /S E: /F ALL
I can boot from the thumb drive but it stalls at the Windows logo with the juggling balls. All disk activity stops and it just sits there forever. I left it running for 30 plus minutes.
Then I tried what jimbo posted in post 1. Again seemed to work. I can boot from the drive but it stalls in the very same place. Tried it on my desktop with normal BIOS and my laptop with UEFI.
The thumb drive is a Kingston HyperX 65 GB USB 3.0 drive. Tried it in a USB 2.0 port on my desktop PC and a USB 2.0 and a USB 3.0 port on my laptop.
I just can't get there from here? If I use my old laptop drive in an external enclosure I have no issues creating a Windows To go drive from 8.1 Enterprise. It's just bulky and slow. It would have been nice to use my thumb drive that is a lot more pocket friendly.
Did you disable secure boot and set the BIOS to legacy mode ??I can boot from the thumb drive but it stalls at the Windows logo with the juggling balls
whs, Jimbo and I are only suggesting different ways to copy the .wim to your drive. The end result is the same (I've also made my USB stick a RAW disk and installed via VirtualBox which is again the same).
Via USB2 no thumb drives seem usable to me. I've used a USB2 HDD and it was (just about) OK. I don't own a USB3 stick but it should be better (you would like to think). If I use a decent SD card (on my mac host) it is OKish.
If your boot is halting try rebooting a few times. If that doesn't work you are most likely having a problem with a screen driver which I'm afraid I don't know about.
Hi there.
Actually an old laptop HDD (I replaced the laptops HDD with an SSD) works brilliantly for a Windows to Go -- I use a USB2==>SATA connector to connect the USB drive to the computer --perfectly fast enough even to run SKY GO to watch SKY SPORTS / SKY MOVIES from the Internet.
A USB3 ==>SATA connector on a USB3 port would work even better.
A 2.5 inch 320 GB laptop drive is almost as portable as a USB stick and much more durable (and robust). You can even get a 1TB laptop HDD for probably cheaper than a 64 GB USB 3 stick !!!!.
You don't need any caddies etc and its very portable. The USB2 / 3 -->SATA cables only cost a few pence / cents / eurocents.
Cheers
jimbo
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