Solve : Can I Install and Run Win 10 from USB Backup Drive?

1.	Solve : Can I Install and Run Win 10 from USB Backup Drive?
Answer» I Was reading about the ability to run your personal copy of Windows 10 on any compatible PC you happen to be working on at different job sites - all, conveniently, from a portable USB backup drive. Is this true? 1) If yes, how would I accomplish this (install files currently on flash drive)? 2) Am I correct in saying that I couldn't clone from my PC to the backup drive if I am running the PC with 2 hard drives (one with the OS and the other with apps)? Thank you.Windows is only licensed to be with 1 computer, non transferable. USB will not allow this. Microsoft has detection that PREVENTS installation to external drives. Linux Live Distros will allow what your trying to do. But not Windows! Enterprise and Education Editions have "Windows To Go" which allows this. I found This as well. However, I'm not 100% on EULA violations here since in many ways it's pretty much the same as "Windows To Go".Interesting that they now allow this after years of blocking people from doing this sort of thing. Bart PE was the only thing I knew of to have a "Live Windows" environment with "bent EULA usage". Looks like not all software is compliant with this though: Quote The applications that you want to use from the Windows To Go workspace should be tested to make sure they also support roaming. Some applications bind to the computer hardware which will cause difficulties if the workspace is being used with multiple host computers. I am surprised that the build can adapt to differences in hardware between systems if I am reading this correctly. During a Windows install it detects hardware and builds to that system. That is why you cant generally take a hard drive out of one system and put it into another and have it work properly, usually a BSOD boot loop unless you have very close or exact hardware match to the system the drive came out of. With a system that was extremely critical years ago, I put the drive into a different build and performed a repair installation which got the VoIP Server back up and running back in the days of XP Pro and was able to migrate the system from a Pentium 4 that died to a AMD Athlon 64 Dual-Core to get the phones working again for the business I worked for. And because the replacement computer was sold with XP Pro and the system that died was XP Pro, it was a ethically ok means of bending the EULA to get the VoIP system back up and running because Microsoft wasnt cheated! The OS were an exact match to version and the VoIP Server software simply traveled to the healthy computer hardware WITHOUT having to install it from scratch and program the system all over again as for the software had no easy EXPORT to migrate to a different system. The backup they had in place was Ghost image of it that was updated every once in a while after changes made to peoples phones, so that in the event of corruption or crash you could push the Ghost image to it and be back up and running. All good until the hardware itself dies and you cant locate an exact match computer to push the ghost image to. Lastly it looks like you need specifically approved USB drives to do this as well: Quote Warning Using a USB drive that has not been certified is not supported Quote from: DaveLembke on July 02, 2018, 10:49:13 PM Windows is only licensed to be ...non transferable. USB will not allow this. ... Linux Live Distros will allow what your trying to do. But not Windows! Yes, most of what you want can be done with a Linux on a stick. Most of the major Linux distros can be run from a USB device. You can surf the web, check your e0mail and post pictures on Facebook. Even edit a letter compatibly with MS Word. But select a good high quality and high-speed USB device. It does matter. A 32 GB is nice, but even 8 GB will work. If anybody is interested in the ALTERNATIVE choice... here is a recent link: https://www.lifewire.com/create-uefi-bootable-linux-mint-usb-2202084 You can run the Linux Mint is 'live' mode and not install it. With a fast USB stick it is suitable for general work when you are away from home. And yes, I did use Windows to go once. Just curious, has anybody used WintoUSB ... supposed to allow you to install and run a fully-functional Windows operating system on an external hard drive or a USB flash drive. https://www.easyuefi.com/wintousb/That is the tool mentioned in my second link. https://www.disk-partition.com/win2go/rufus-windows-to-go-misssing-0310.html

Answer»

I Was reading about the ability to run your personal copy of Windows 10 on any compatible PC you happen to be working on at different job sites - all, conveniently, from a portable USB backup drive.

Is this true?

1) If yes, how would I accomplish this (install files currently on flash drive)?
2) Am I correct in saying that I couldn't clone from my PC to the backup drive if I am running the PC with 2 hard drives (one with the OS and the other with apps)?

Thank you.Windows is only licensed to be with 1 computer, non transferable.
USB will not allow this. Microsoft has detection that PREVENTS installation to external drives.

Linux Live Distros will allow what your trying to do. But not Windows!
Enterprise and Education Editions have "Windows To Go" which allows this.

I found This as well. However, I'm not 100% on EULA violations here since in many ways it's pretty much the same as "Windows To Go".Interesting that they now allow this after years of blocking people from doing this sort of thing. Bart PE was the only thing I knew of to have a "Live Windows" environment with "bent EULA usage".

Looks like not all software is compliant with this though:
Quote

The applications that you want to use from the Windows To Go workspace should be tested to make sure they also support roaming. Some applications bind to the computer hardware which will cause difficulties if the workspace is being used with multiple host computers.

I am surprised that the build can adapt to differences in hardware between systems if I am reading this correctly. During a Windows install it detects hardware and builds to that system. That is why you cant generally take a hard drive out of one system and put it into another and have it work properly, usually a BSOD boot loop unless you have very close or exact hardware match to the system the drive came out of. With a system that was extremely critical years ago, I put the drive into a different build and performed a repair installation which got the VoIP Server back up and running back in the days of XP Pro and was able to migrate the system from a Pentium 4 that died to a AMD Athlon 64 Dual-Core to get the phones working again for the business I worked for. And because the replacement computer was sold with XP Pro and the system that died was XP Pro, it was a ethically ok means of bending the EULA to get the VoIP system back up and running because Microsoft wasnt cheated! The OS were an exact match to version and the VoIP Server software simply traveled to the healthy computer hardware WITHOUT having to install it from scratch and program the system all over again as for the software had no easy EXPORT to migrate to a different system. The backup they had in place was Ghost image of it that was updated every once in a while after changes made to peoples phones, so that in the event of corruption or crash you could push the Ghost image to it and be back up and running. All good until the hardware itself dies and you cant locate an exact match computer to push the ghost image to.

Lastly it looks like you need specifically approved USB drives to do this as well:

Quote

Warning
Using a USB drive that has not been certified is not supported

Quote from: DaveLembke on July 02, 2018, 10:49:13 PM

Windows is only licensed to be ...non transferable.
USB will not allow this. ...
Linux Live Distros will allow what your trying to do. But not Windows!

Yes, most of what you want can be done with a Linux on a stick. Most of the major Linux distros can be run from a USB device. You can surf the web, check your e0mail and post pictures on Facebook. Even edit a letter compatibly with MS Word.

But select a good high quality and high-speed USB device. It does matter. A 32 GB is nice, but even 8 GB will work.
If anybody is interested in the ALTERNATIVE choice... here is a recent link:
https://www.lifewire.com/create-uefi-bootable-linux-mint-usb-2202084
You can run the Linux Mint is 'live' mode and not install it. With a fast USB stick it is suitable for general work when you are away from home.
And yes, I did use Windows to go once. Just curious, has anybody used WintoUSB ... supposed to allow you to install and run a fully-functional Windows operating system on an external hard drive or a USB flash drive.

https://www.easyuefi.com/wintousb/That is the tool mentioned in my second link. https://www.disk-partition.com/win2go/rufus-windows-to-go-misssing-0310.html

Solve : Can I Install and Run Win 10 from USB Backup Drive?

Discussion

No Comment Found

Related InterviewSolutions

Reply to Comment