You will also need to be an administrator on the computer you are intending to install WinToUSB on.Īfter installing WinToUSB for free, insert your chosen external drive, and run WinToUSB. Using a regular Pendrive or USB flash drive to create a portable version of Windows will take a long time so it’s recommended to use an external hard drive to create Windows To Go. WinToUSB features an easy-to-use wizard interface that gives you step-by-step instructions on how to install Windows/WinPE onto an external hard drive. With WinUSB, meanwhile, you can create Windows multi-boot USB flash drives in just three steps. Windows 7 also does not have built-in USB 3.0 support, so you will have to boot it from a USB 2.0 port.Īlternatives to WinToUSB include Rufus, which is a free, crowdsourced resource for creating bootable USBs. It should be noted that Windows 7/2008 R2 is not completely portable and you might experience activation and driver problems when booting it on different computers. It’s important however that you take the correct steps while using this program so that you do not damage your system during the installation process. When downloaded from a reputable source, WinToUSB is a safe program that many people use to install WinPE/Windows onto external hard drives. You can use any edition of Windows 10/8/7 and Windows Server 2019/2016/2012/2010 to create a Windows To Go USB drive. What’s great about WinToUSB is that you don’t need to install WAIK (Windows Automated Installation Kit) or WADK (Windows Assessment and Deployment Kit). You simply need to copy it onto your removable drive and insert it into any computer.

It is a simple way to keep the Windows installer on an external source so you can have it with you at all times. Microsoft discontinued the development of Windows To Go in 2019 and as of May 2020, it is no longer available in Windows 10 (version 2004).Īs well as creating an imaged version of Windows, WinToUSB is useful if you want to run Windows on a non-Windows computer (such as a Mac) or create a testing environment to run diagnostics. It was developed to allow enterprise administrators to provide users with an imaged version of Windows that reflects the corporate desktop. Windows To Go is a feature in Windows 8 Enterprise, Windows 8.1 Enterprise, Windows 10 Enterprise, and Windows 10 Education.

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