How to create usb with windows to go from windows 8 and windows 10

In this article we are going to talk about a resource that was initially available in Windows 8 and that was extended to Windows 10: Windows To Go. This resource is a copy of Windows on a USB drive so you can use it wherever you are. This is a technology focused on the business environment, seeking greater mobility for users without neglecting the security and integrity of company data.

What is Windows To Go and what is it for?

Windows To Go allows you to work at home or on the go, insert the USB drive with Windows To Go into your computer (works on a wide variety of machines, including iMac and Macbook Pro), and then you can open and use all applications and files necessary to perform your tasks.

An advantage of having a complete Windows 10 inside an external drive, is to be able to transport it and also use it on any computer that has the minimum hardware configurations to run it.

Starting this operating system from an external USB flash drive, it will not be possible to access the internal hard drive of the PC, thus preserving the data and personal files of the users contained therein.

To create this media, you will need to have a 32GB or larger capacity flash drive, Windows 10 media (or the ISO file that can be downloaded from the Microsoft website) and the GimageX software.

Well, let's go to the steps for creating:

The first step we can do is prepare the pendrive to install the Operating System.

To do this, we are going to open the Command Prompt in administrative mode with the Win + X keys.

We will write the command "diskpart" and press . Then we will write the following command again: “list disk” and press to list the discs connected to the PC. We verify that the pendrive is Disk 1 (in this case), then we will type "Select disk 1" and press to select disc 1.

Now we will write "clean" and press to clean the pendrive and then we will use the command “Create partition primary” and press to create the partition.

With the partition created, we will format the pendrive to receive the files, with the command "format fs = ntfs quick" and we will press .

We also recommend reading to install Windows 10 on your pendrive.

With the completed format we will use the command "active" and press to activate this partition. Subsequently, we will type "assign letter W" and press To use the flash drive as drive W, and at the end of this stage, we use the command “exit” and press to exit Diskpart.

Now that the pendrive is ready, let's get ready the Windows 10 media. As we already have the ISO file downloaded from the Microsoft site, we will go to mount it.

Next, we are going to open the downloaded GImagex application at the beginning of the tutorial. When accessing the application directory, run the application corresponding to the installed Windows platform. If it is 64-bit, you will access the x64 directory and run the application.

When opening the program, we are going to click on the Apply tab. In the field referring to Source, press the Browse button and select the file install.wim inside the sources directory of the media that we have from Windows 10. In the Destination field, click on Browse and point to the drive that we are going to use to install the Operating System, which in this case the pendrive is drive W. Next, we are going to click Apply to start the process.

WE RECOMMEND YOU USB YUMI, the portable installer of Operating Systems

You will be able to check the progress of creating Windows To Go. This process can be somewhat long and slow (you are warned;)).

The duration of this process will also depend on the characteristics of your computer, such as the CPU, the amount of RAM, and not least is the USB port, the recommended version of which is USB 3.0.

The last step will be to create the bootable files inside the flash drive. To do this, we will reopen the Command Prompt in administrative mode and write the following command: bcdboot.exe W: \ Windows / s W: / f ALL, where W is the letter corresponding to the drive of the USB key.

Remember that the Command Prompt must be run in administrative mode , since in this way, in addition to having administrative permissions, we will already be inside the system32 directory, which is the place from where we must execute this instruction.

Ready! Windows To Go is created and ready to go. It should be remembered that you can only start the system if the equipment has the minimum characteristics required by the system, taking into account that you will need a USB 3.0 port.