Windows To Go (abbreviated as WTG) is a little-known but very interesting feature, part of the Professional and Corporate Windows edition 10 (also supported on Windows 8/8.1), which allows you to write a fully functional operating system onto a USB flash drive or removable HDD, and then use it in conjunction with any other computer. First of all, Windows To Go is designed for corporate Windows users to work with computers that meet the specifications of Windows 7 and later, regardless of the operating operating system. The OS on which the end computer runs plays absolutely no role, since a flash drive with Windows To Go is bootable media that in no way interferes with the main drive of the computer and the data on it. Windows To Go is convenient because it allows you to use the same operating system image that is used in a corporate environment and is accordingly governed by the same rules. Windows To Go is not intended to be a permanent replacement regular computer. It's more likely Alternative option for effective temporary using the computer that is in this moment in the user's hands.

Windows To Go works like a normal Windows installation, with a few exceptions. As already stated above, internal drives are disabled when booting from Windows To Go. In the same way, the carrier with a copy of Windows To Go is not recognized by the working operating system of the computer it is connected to (the drive is not assigned a letter, so it does not appear in Explorer). The Trusted Platform Module also does not work, hibernation is disabled by default, operating system reset mechanisms are not available, as well as updating from To Go from Windows 8.1 to Windows 10.

A flash drive with a copy of Windows To Go can be used on most different computers, regardless of their configuration. When first started, the system detects host components and downloads necessary drivers.

Windows TO Go will find its application among users who, for example, do not have a permanent workplace, travel a lot or work from home. Such an employee receives a To Go flash drive with configured programs, access to company networks, configured security policies and other company-specific parameters, connects it to his computer and works.

How to create a USB flash drive with Windows To Go

Attentive users probably know that part of the Windows Control Panel is Windows partition To Go. This is a standard master creating Windows To Go drives – official way. The problem is that the average user has absolutely no need for it from the word “at all”. There are several explanations for this. First, the standard recording wizard Windows flash drives To Go only works with special certified USB drives with a capacity of at least 32 GB, which is extremely small. The average user cannot get such a flash drive - they are not sold in transitions or in consumer electronics stores. Secondly, through standard utility You can only record enterprise versions of Windows 8 / 8.1 and 10. Neither Professional, nor even more so Home editions are not supported. Therefore, we will not focus your attention on using the built-in mechanisms for creating a Windows To Go flash drive. If you really want to watch it, click Win+R, enter the command control, and then in the Control Panel search, type To Go.

Generally speaking, usefulness Windows features To Go in the form in which it was originally created by Microsoft tends to zero for the average user, so this article is mostly informational and theoretical in nature. If you really want to try Windows operation To Go, you can use one of third party utilities for creating boot drives. In fairness, it is worth noting that in some Windows scenarios To Go media can be useful to the user in an emergency. For example, the drive in your computer has failed. You can create such a flash drive for yourself and keep it just in case.

Many of third party applications support the creation analogues Windows To Go media bypasses many rules Microsoft. For example, WinToUSB can create Windows drives To go with any edition of Windows (even Windows 10 Home or Windows 7, if you want), and some can even burn images even to 16 GB media. You will need a disk with at least 32 GB free space and preferably USB standard 3.0. 2.0 will do, but the speed will be noticeably lower. There are also other apps like AOMEI Partition Assistant (it’s the one that can write to 16 GB), but this one requires purchasing a license to create Windows To Go media, so we won’t consider it.

1. Download WinToUSB from the official website. The application is free. Install it and run it. By the way, the program supports the Russian language.
2. The application's interface is as primitive as possible, but it does its job, so don't pay attention. In field Image file Select the path to the ISO file of the operating system you want to burn.
3. The application will automatically detect the editions that are available within the image. Select the one you need and click Further.
4. In the next step, select from the drop-down list Please select a target drive your drive. If you are using USB2.0 media, the application will warn you that the performance may not be sufficient to create a Windows To Go environment.
5. Select a partition system. The choice depends on whether the endpoint supports UEFI computer. You can select MBR only for Legacy BIOS, GPT only for UEFI or MBR for BIOS and UEFI. We described the details in a separate article.
6. Wait while the application formats your flash drive. Then click Further and wait for the procedure to complete. This may take several hours, so be patient or just do something else.
7. After recording is complete, reboot, go to Boot Menu your computer and select the flash drive you just burned Windows onto. The system will start up and then prompt you to complete the initial setup.

Now you have a very slow, but fully functional operating system running from a USB drive that you can use for your needs, whatever they may be.

Several years ago, after a long wait, Windows 8 was released. Reactions were varied to the radically redesigned external windows view. Regardless of your personal opinion, everyone can agree that Microsoft's new OS will dominate for years to come. Windows 8 received huge quantities attention, the company has sidelined a lot of functions that are only now beginning to be implemented in Windows 10. One of these innovations was Windows To Go (WTG).

What is Windows To Go?

Windows To Go allows you to install a fully functional Windows 10/8 environment. Operating system installed on external hard disk or USB flash drive, following the example of previously created Live CDs. Bootable USB flash drive Windows To Go does portable system similar to Linux, which is designed to run on USB drives or flash drives. With WIndows To Go you can run your system on any computer, anywhere in the world.

This function is primarily aimed at corporate clients with the idea that the corporate environment can be taken anywhere. WTG provides a secure environment, complete software when an employee works remotely or with shared computer. Because Windows To Go was designed with this in mind special use Microsoft does not officially support the use of non-enterprise versions of Windows in a WTG environment. As they say, it does not support and this does not mean that it is impossible.

There are several ways to install USB flash drive any Windows version 10/8. You just need to know what is said there and what the restrictions are. Some restrictions include no BitLocker protection, no store access, and the inability to BIOS boot and on computers with UEFI.

Differences between Windows To Go and a regular Windows installation

Windows To Go is designed for any job, just like in regular versions Windows. Microsoft has disabled a number of features:

• Internal drives work in offline mode(not connected to the network) so that the data is not accidentally disclosed.
• The Trusted Platform Module (TPM) is not used. This is because TPM is tied to specific computer, and Windows To Go drives are designed to be moved between computers.
• Hibernation is disabled by default to make it easier to move between computers.
• Wednesday Windows recovery not available. If you need to repair your Windows To Go disc, Microsoft will prompt you to overwrite it with a new one.
• Updating or rebooting worker Windows space not supported for Go. Factory reset for computers is not applied when running WTG.
• Windows 8 or Windows 8.1 WTG drives cannot be upgraded to Windows 10, and Windows 10 WTG drives cannot be upgraded to future versions of Windows 10. Therefore, the drive must be formatted for new versions.

Additionally, Windows to Go discs can be loaded onto multiple computers. So when the WTG drive boots first, it detects all the hardware on the host computer. It will then install all the necessary drivers, which may require several reboots. Subsequently, when Windows to Go USB boots on that host computer, it will be able to identify that computer and automatically load the correct drivers.

Computer requirement

Windows to Go will run on hardware that has been certified for use with Windows 7 or later. If you want to be sure before you start using it, here are some specifications:

• Should be able to boot from USB.
• Minimum 1 GHz processor.
• Minimum 2 GB RAM.
• Make sure the Windows image architecture is compatible with the processor. This means that you will not be able to run a 64-bit version of Windows to upgrade to a 32-bit processor.
• Windows to go from a computer running Windows control RT is not supported.
• Windows to go to go to Mac is not supported.

USB flash drive for Windows to go

In theory, any USB 2.0 or 3.0 drive with 16 GB disk space will work with Windows for Go, but:

• At the same time, USB 3.0 will work twice as fast, which will speed up file copying and performance.
• It is better to use a flash drive of at least 32 GB to store more files and information.
• Avoid cheap USB drives due to large quantity read/write cycles during normal operation Windows.
• Microsoft has revealed some USB drives certified by WTG, in case you're curious.

How to create a Windows To Go flash drive with any version of Windows

1 way. There are several ways to configure windows environment. When downloading programs from sites, do not be alarmed, the sites are English languages, and the downloaded programs are in Russian. Let's look at some of them. You must have a flash drive yourself Windows image 10 or Windows 8. Download the AOMEI Partition Assistant application and install it on your computer. Insert your flash drive or external drive to the computer. Launch the downloaded program and follow these steps:

• 1. Click Windows To Go Creator.
• 2. Click Browse, to choose iso image windows.
• 3. Click again Browse and specify the path to your Windows 10 Pro image on your computer or another version of Windows.

Method 2.

Technology does not stand still, and Microsoft is diligently proving this to us day after day. She creates more and more new products, the use of which completely facilitates working at a computer or on various gadgets, and simply reduces it to a minimum. It would seem that just recently, working on a PC was lengthy and required the user to perform many operations, but today Microsoft’s “brainchildren” make using their platforms as simple as possible.

One striking example was the release of the Windows To Go add-on. Now not many users are familiar with this concept, but the popularity of such a system is rapidly gaining momentum. Windows To Go is a portable operating system that can be installed on almost any computer. This product will be of interest not only system administrators, but also people who simply frequently use computers. So, Windows To Go: what is it, who will benefit and how to install it? We will provide answers to all these questions in detail in this article.

Purpose of technology

To Go and why is it needed? It was not for nothing that the developers called their product that way. Translated, the term means “Windows with you.” And indeed it is. Windows To Go is a platform with which you can install the system on removable hard disk and even to an ordinary flash drive.

Why can’t you just “transfer” the operating system from one computer to another and why do you need any additional actions? This question is asked by many people who are hearing about WTG (Windows To Go) for the first time. If you have ever tried to transfer Windows from one device to another, then you probably know that there will be a lot of problems with the installation. Most likely, you simply won’t be able to do this, since the system is tied to a computer and will not want to run on another. And Windows To Go technology will allow you to do this completely without problems. Who will benefit from such a solution?

Corporate employees

What is Windows To Go for a business person? First of all, this system will be useful for people who do their work using a computer. In the world modern technologies It all comes down to making the PC experience as mobile and streamlined as possible.

At the beginning of the article, we noticed that previously this work took a lot of time and only made completing tasks a little easier. Nowadays, the main part of the calculations is performed by the machine, and a person just needs to learn how to handle it correctly. Yes, to replace personal computers, standing motionless on the table, came laptops that can be easily transported. If an employee does not have time to finish his work in the office, he can take it home. This is where Windows To Go comes to his aid. What this is, every corporate employee should now know. No need to adjust for a long time home computer for a working version. You can simply install the OS on your “home hardware,” connect to the corporation’s network, and continue working from home.

Regular users

Windows To Go - what is it for ordinary users? Can they use the platform? Certainly. It often happens that several people can work on one computer. Then just download Windows To Go.

Another advantage is that it does not matter at all what operating system is already installed on the computers; if you install Windows To Go on top, this will not harm the previous system in any way and does not need to be removed.

This platform is good if you often travel. You don’t need to drag your computer with you, just find it in a new place and use a flash drive to boot your system.

It is also good for troubleshooting. It can be used to eliminate system errors, failures or scan the device for infected software (viruses). If there is any important data left on the hard drive, you can easily copy it.

Windows To Go on Windows 8 and 10

Windows 8 did not bring the developers the success and popularity they expected. The fact is that the system turned out to be “crude”, with many shortcomings and errors that were already improved in Windows 10. But at the same time, the systems have one excellent feature - Windows To Go. As you might guess, the extension applies specifically to these two “operating systems”.

We will tell you about the Windows To Go installation itself below, so that you can try it and see from your own experience that using this service is easy and simple. But what should you do if, while installing or using the platform, you have some questions that you cannot find answers to in this article? There is a special one for this Microsoft service Community. This is a special community of the corporation that also acts as a forum.

There you will be able to get help from experts who often use the company's products and already know how to deal with a difficult situation caused by the use or Windows installation To Go.

Soon you may even become one of these experts yourself and help people. To do this, you just need to go through a simple registration and be competent in using the company’s products. For example, if WTG becomes clear to you and you can understand the nuances of its work, then you have the opportunity to help beginners in this matter. You can immediately report system errors and contribute to the development of the product.

What do you need to burn Windows To Go to a USB flash drive?

So, you decided to try recording the OS yourself. To do this, you will, of course, need a computer that will support Windows 8 or 10. All modern models work with these OSs, even though they were released quite recently. Then you will need a hard drive or flash drive. Any one will do, even the most ordinary one. The main thing is that it has at least 32 GB free memory. You can purchase it at any electronics store at a low price. And finally, Windows itself. Now you can start recording.

Safety

What I would like to talk about is safety. To Go was more concerned about the portability and practicality of the system, but not about its security. To a greater extent, this applies to those people who will use the system for work and will contain important documents or files. They need to be reliably protected. Moreover, such a small thing as a flash drive is quite easy to lose, and along with it all the data. What can we say, you can even lose your hard drive.

To protect your system, you can use additional utilities or one of the encryption systems, for example, BitLocker. Of course, this is not at all necessary, and the system will work fine without it. But this way, even if the external storage device falls into the wrong hands, or even worse, into the hands of criminals, your data will be reliably protected.

Recording process

First you need to download the OS to your computer. Next we will create bootable usb media. You also need to make sure that all important data is saved on your computer, so select for downloaded content separate section. By the way, you can download Windows 10 on the Microsoft Technet website.

Next, you need to connect your hard drive or flash drive to your computer. Make sure that your PC has “seen” the device. As soon as the system detects a flash drive or other external media, you can go to the technology control panel. If you don’t know how to “get there”, use the normal operating system search.

I would like to note that even if you still have some files on the flash drive, the system itself will transfer them to separate folder. This process can be quite lengthy, especially if the power of your computer leaves much to be desired. This usually takes about one hour, so if you are in a hurry, it is better to transfer the OS to a USB flash drive when you have more free time.

Finally, just select the download type. It’s better to do without experiments here. We save all the settings and wait until the Windows is copied to the USB flash drive.

Installing Windows To Go

Now Windows To Go can be installed on any computer. The main thing is that the BIOS supports the recording process from external media. But most modern computers are automatically configured for this feature. It is important to know that the first installation of this system may take a little longer than all subsequent ones. The fact is that all files must be loaded and drivers that do not exist yet must start. The first installation usually takes about 20 minutes. And when all the necessary data has already been saved, the download will not take more than a few minutes.

That's all. We hope we have given you a detailed answer to your questions about Windows To Go - what it is, how to use it and how to install the system on your computer. Regardless of whether you are a corporate worker or regular user, this technology will be useful to everyone.

Finally, I would like to note that you should not get used to the availability of products such as Windows 10. Sooner or later, the version of this operating system will become a paid version, and it will not be so easy to use for WTG. Let's just hope that the development of useful products doesn't end there.

In Windows 8, developers came up with a thing called Windows To Go. Using it, you can write the OS to a USB flash drive or disk, and then, after connecting it to a computer, boot from it. In fact, "Windows To Go" is the official portable version from Microsoft. Unlike other analogues created third party developers, this system is fully manageable from a corporate Windows environment. The main purpose of this system is to perform auxiliary, service tasks in emergency situations at work. Developed Microsoft function Portable Workspace was simply renamed Windows To Go and is now included in Windows composition 8.
This is what the corporation writes about it.

For installation we will need:

A 32GB flash drive or an external one that supports at least USB 2.0. it will be good if 3.0
- Installed Windows 8 Enterprise.
- The operating system image.WIM can be taken from the ISO image itself.

I assume that you already have at least one wim file, and the necessary USB drive is connected, let's look at creating WTG step by step using the wizard Windows To Go Creator Wizard. You can find it by clicking Win+W and typing .

On the first screen, select the desired media.

Using a button Add search location specify the folder with the wim file.

The wizard analyzes and displays the found images.

On the next screen, you can enable media encryption from using BitLocker. Or skip by clicking Skip

Everything is ready to create WTG, all you have to do is click Create.

Creating an image takes some time. Depending on the recording speed of your USB devices. For example, if it’s an SSD, then about 10 minutes, and if it’s a 32 gig flash drive, then about 30 minutes (depending on the class).

On the last screen, the wizard prompts you to change the boot order of your computer so that next time the machine boots from USB.

Actually, that's all. All that remains is to boot from the prepared media and start working.

Windows To Go (WTG) technology, one of the new features of Windows 8, allows you to create a properly configured OS image with the necessary software installed, which will boot directly from a USB drive, regardless of what OS is installed on the computer to which it is connected USB storage device. As part of this post, we will briefly discuss possible scenarios for using WTG, configuration and some features of use.

Why is this necessary?

A direct result of using WTG technology is a bootable USB media (flash drive or external HDD), which contains a fully ready-to-use Windows 8 OS. “Fully ready” means that this OS is properly configured in accordance with the requirements of the organization: included in the domain, if necessary, applied to it group policies, including security policies, patches, remote access technologies (VPN/DirectAccess) configured, the required set of software installed, etc. You just need to connect such media to any computer compatible with Windows 7 or Windows 8 and boot directly from it. At the same time, you receive your personal OS with all the settings and do not in any way affect the OS installed directly on the hard drive of this computer.

Accordingly, WTG refers to the corporate capabilities of Windows 8, that is, it is aimed at use primarily in the enterprise. The most obvious scenarios for using WTG:

• Mobile employees. Employees who, for example, often move between company branches and at the same time need access to each of them corporate network using your settings, documents, etc. Having a small external hard drive or even a flash drive instead of a laptop weighing a couple of kilograms can be a very attractive option for many. Arriving at the next site, you just need to plug the media into a suitable computer.
• Temporary employees working, for example, within the framework of a project. Such an employee may have his own laptop, which in no way meets the security requirements of your network. Provide him with the prepared media with the WTG image, and this employee will be able to use your image on his laptop to work on the project.
• Employees without fixed jobs(or shift workers), who nevertheless need to access the corporate network in the office or outside it.
• Work from home. If necessary, an employee can boot a home computer using the prepared WTG image and gain access to the corporate network and business applications.

This list, of course, can be expanded. It is also obvious that all of the above scenarios can be implemented in other ways, without WTG. However, the presence additional option in the form of WTG can be a good help for the organization’s IT department.

How to set up WTG?

First, let's look at the hardware requirements that exist for both USB media and the hosts to which the media will be connected.

Media requirements

So that there is a solution supported, you must use WTG certified media. At the time of writing this post, according to information from the TechNet portal, the list of certified equipment includes:

• Kingston DataTraveler Workspace for Windows To Go (http://www.kingston.com/wtg/)
• Spyrus Portable Workplace (http://www.spyruswtg.com/)
• Spyrus Secure Portable Workplace (http://www.spyruswtg.com/)
• Super Talent Express RC8 for Windows To Go (http://www.supertalent.com/wtg/)
• Western Digital My Passport Enterprise (http://www.wd.com/wtg)

In practice, I used, for example, half a terabyte Seagate FreeAgent GoFlex with USB 3.0, not included this list. Technical problems there were none, but we must remember that firstly, the device must be USB 3.0, and secondly, since the HDD is not certified, then in case of problems you should not contact Microsoft technical support.

Host Requirements

Any computer certified for Windows 7 or Windows 8. But again, from a practical point of view, we can talk about any not very outdated x86 or x64 system with USB 2.0 or higher and the ability to boot from a USB device.

WTG Deployment Options

There are three main options for deploying WTG:

• using the Windows To Go Creator Wizard;
• using a script (PowerShell + utilities for working with DISM images or ImageX);
• using the User Self-Provisioning tool in System Center 2012 Configuration Manager SP1.

Supported editions of Windows 8

Whichever deployment option you choose, you will need wim files containing configured OS images and the necessary software. There must be Windows 8 Enterprise inside the wim file. Other editions are not supported. Besides, Windows wizard To Go Creator Wizard is also only available in Windows 8 Enterprise, so this edition is recommended for the machine on which you plan to create WTG.

Creating an image using Windows To Go Creator Wizard

Assuming that you already have at least one wim file and the required USB drive is connected, let's look at creating WTG step by step using the wizard. Settings using command line you can see . You can find the wizard by pressing Win+W and typing “Windows To Go”.

On the first screen, select the desired media.

Using the “Add search location” button, specify the folder with the wim file(s).

The wizard analyzes and displays the found images.

On the next screen, you can enable media encryption using BitLocker.

Everything is ready to create WTG, all you have to do is click “Create”.

Creating an image takes some time. In my case, the wim file had a volume of approximately 3 GB, was located on an SSD disk, and the WTG media creation time was 12 minutes.

On the last screen, the wizard prompts you to change the boot order of your computer so that next time the machine boots from USB.

Actually, that's all. All that remains is to boot from the prepared media and start working.

Features of using WTG

There are a number of features of WTG that should be kept in mind when using the technology.

When you boot from WTG media for the first time, the hardware is detected on a certain computer and the appropriate drivers are installed. This process, of course, takes some time. However, the system remembers the configuration for this computer and subsequent boot-ups on it occur without delay.

For security reasons, by default, the local hard drive of the computer on which we booted using WTG is in an offline state, and access to partitions of this drive is prohibited. This setting can be changed . In addition, if the user has administrative rights to the computer, he can manually bring the disk online and gain access to the partitions.

For the same reasons, in the opposite situation, when, while working at a computer, you connect a WTG media, Windows mounts this media without assigning letters to the media partitions. Thus, in Windows Explorer The WTG device is not visible.

When starting on a new Windows hardware must be activated. Let me remind you that WTG is positioned as a corporate opportunity, so it is assumed that the organization has a KMS service configured or activation via Active Directory (new opportunity Windows Server 2012), and then for the user the process activation will take place unnoticed.

When using WTG, all are available Windows features, except Windows Store. This is done because purchases in the Windows Store are tied to a specific computer, and the corresponding applications are disabled when launched on another machine. However, if you need the Windows Store to be available, you can enable it for WTG images via group or local policy:\\Computer Configuration\Administrative Templates\Windows Components\Store\.

The last note relates to setting up the computer to boot from a USB drive. If you need the user to be able to independently change the boot order of the computer without going into the BIOS or pressing some magic key combination, you can use special utility, present in any edition of Windows 8. You can find it in the already known way by pressing Win + W and typing “Windows To Go”.

Select the desired item, and the next time you restart, the system will start booting from USB.

Thus, WTG is simple and safe way creating a managed mobile image Windows 8 for your employees.

More information about Windows technologies To Go can be obtained from the report “Overview of Windows To Go Technology: New Features, Application Scenarios and Deployment Methods in a Corporate Environment” at the TechEd Russia 2012 conference.

Active Directory Features Windows Server 2012, including activation via AD, are discussed in the first module of the course “New features of Windows Server 2012. Part 2. Security, management, remote access, web platform” on the MVA portal.

I hope the material was useful.