Creating a Windows To Go Backup Drive


cereberus

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Windows 10 Pro + others in VHDs
So I decided to create a Windows To Go backup usb drive of W11 22H2.

In theory simple. In reality much more complicated.

Step 1 - create install.wim of existing OS using dism.

I have done this many times on W10 but W11 kept failing. It kept failing on onedrive saying files were not available.

Eventually I identified dism was failing as some onedrive files were not synching properly. So I deleted files but they kept coming back.
I had to delete them from online onedrive.

Then it fell over due to existence of personal vault (which I do not use). So I changed settings to remover personal vault.

Then it fell over because som files would not sync asI had earmarked them (in error) for personal vault!

In the end, I just gave up and removed onedrive and after a few loops deleted the troublesome files, backing them up elsewhere rather than onedrive.

At this point, I was able to create a custom install.wim (took 3 goes as it still found files that were not removed - reason was I could not delete them for security as they were sourced from another OS installation (allegedly).

Finally, I got a custom install.wim minus one drive (I would just reinstall onedrive later).

Tried to create new iso, and it fell over again. This time it was because somehow adk files had been removed during 22H2 update.

I redownloaded adk files for 22H2 and created iso with my custom install.wim.

Tested iso in a Hyper-V VM, and it worked great.

Now the next phase was to create a WTG drive to a fast usb drive (write speed 200 MB/s - verified by me).

First stop was WintoUSB free version - failed as that does not work for Pro - you need paid version.

Second stop was Rufus, which will create WTG drives but after 60 mins I was only 15% of way through, and it seemed to be hanging. So I gave up.

Finally, after a bit of googling, I came across this post


Couple of minor errors but easy enough to get round, and now I was creating the file - I was about 10% through (still slow but much faster than poxy rufus). So I thought - go to pub for a couple of bevvies, and when I came back - shock horror laptop had gone into standby mode after 25% complete. When I updated to 22H2 it had reset my power settings so it would sleep after one hour - my original setting was 5 hours when powered!

Now continuing and at 34%, so I still do not know if I have finally cracked it - fingers crossed LOL.

I will let this run through night - hopefully........
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 Pro + others in VHDs
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS Vivobook 14
    CPU
    I7
    Motherboard
    Yep, Laptop has one.
    Memory
    16 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Integrated Intel Iris XE
    Sound Card
    Realtek built in
    Monitor(s) Displays
    N/A
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    1 TB Optane NVME SSD, 1 TB NVME SSD
    PSU
    Yep, got one
    Case
    Yep, got one
    Cooling
    Stella Artois
    Keyboard
    Built in
    Mouse
    Bluetooth , wired
    Internet Speed
    72 Mb/s :-(
    Browser
    Edge mostly
    Antivirus
    Defender
    Other Info
    TPM 2.0
In this video, i will guide you on creating a bootable Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 8.1 and Windows 10 USB flash drive, containing all your software without requiring Windows To Go.

 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Pavilion
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 7 5700G
    Motherboard
    Erica6
    Memory
    Micron Technology DDR4-3200 16GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060
    Sound Card
    Realtek ALC671
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Samsung SyncMaster U28E590
    Screen Resolution
    3840 x 2160
    Hard Drives
    SAMSUNG MZVLQ1T0HALB-000H1
I've been using USB to WiN for some time and never got errors
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    WiN11 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom 775 System
    CPU
    Xeon E5450 3.0GHZ (OC 3.7GHZ)
    Motherboard
    ASUS PQ5-EM
    Memory
    8GB (2GBX4)
    Graphics Card(s)
    AMD R5 430 2GB
    Sound Card
    Onboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    ASUS 24"
    Screen Resolution
    1080p
    Hard Drives
    1TB|750GB USB, 3 SSDs 2 240GB 1 128GB, 750GB HDD
    PSU
    650WATT Rosewill
    Case
    Rosewill with side Window
    Cooling
    5 Fans and a big HSK for cpu
    Keyboard
    Rosewill RGB
    Mouse
    Rosewill RGB
    Internet Speed
    AT&T 150MB DL\UP
    Browser
    FireFox
    Antivirus
    Defender
    Other Info
    I'm lucky to even be here after 6yrs from my car accident
  • Operating System
    WiN10 LTSC
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Hp 8460p
    CPU
    i7 2670QM 2.20GHZ
    Motherboard
    Hp 161C
    Memory
    8GB (2X4GB) DUAL Channel
    Graphics card(s)
    Intel HD Graphics 3000
    Sound Card
    Intel high Def (basically onboard)
    Screen Resolution
    1366x768
    Hard Drives
    OS 128GB l Storage (caddy) 320GB
    PSU
    AC (IDK the watts)
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Defender
    Other Info
    A USB 3.0 in the Express Card Slot
I've been using USB to WiN for some time and never got errors
WintoUSB is not free for Pro.

Point of my post was more about creating a custom.wim and its problems with onedrive.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 Pro + others in VHDs
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS Vivobook 14
    CPU
    I7
    Motherboard
    Yep, Laptop has one.
    Memory
    16 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Integrated Intel Iris XE
    Sound Card
    Realtek built in
    Monitor(s) Displays
    N/A
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    1 TB Optane NVME SSD, 1 TB NVME SSD
    PSU
    Yep, got one
    Case
    Yep, got one
    Cooling
    Stella Artois
    Keyboard
    Built in
    Mouse
    Bluetooth , wired
    Internet Speed
    72 Mb/s :-(
    Browser
    Edge mostly
    Antivirus
    Defender
    Other Info
    TPM 2.0
In this video, i will guide you on creating a bootable Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 8.1 and Windows 10 USB flash drive, containing all your software without requiring Windows To Go.

This is basically the same method as I showed in link below, however your video method will only work on legacy bios pcs or maybe uefi pcs that can boot from NTFS.

For most UEFI pcs, you need a separate fat32 EFI partition. A lot of newer pcs no longer handle legacy bios mode, and this will continue to grow - W11 is not designed to work on legacy bios albeit it can be done.

 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 Pro + others in VHDs
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS Vivobook 14
    CPU
    I7
    Motherboard
    Yep, Laptop has one.
    Memory
    16 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Integrated Intel Iris XE
    Sound Card
    Realtek built in
    Monitor(s) Displays
    N/A
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    1 TB Optane NVME SSD, 1 TB NVME SSD
    PSU
    Yep, got one
    Case
    Yep, got one
    Cooling
    Stella Artois
    Keyboard
    Built in
    Mouse
    Bluetooth , wired
    Internet Speed
    72 Mb/s :-(
    Browser
    Edge mostly
    Antivirus
    Defender
    Other Info
    TPM 2.0
@cereberus I applaud your efforts. In my younger days I was industrious enough to tackle such an endeavor, but not anymore. I lost it somewhere along the way. Kudos, man.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro 23H2 22631.3296
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Optiplex 7080
    CPU
    i9-10900 10 core 20 threads
    Motherboard
    DELL 0J37VM
    Memory
    32 gb
    Graphics Card(s)
    none-Intel UHD Graphics 630
    Sound Card
    Integrated Realtek
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Benq 27
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1tb Solidigm m.2 +256gb ssd+512 gb usb m.2 sata
    PSU
    500w
    Case
    MT
    Cooling
    Dell Premium
    Keyboard
    Logitech wired
    Mouse
    Logitech wireless
    Internet Speed
    so slow I'm too embarrassed to tell
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Defender+MWB Premium
  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro 22H2 19045.3930
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Optiplex 9020
    CPU
    i7-4770
    Memory
    24 gb
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Benq 27
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    256 gb Toshiba BG4 M.2 NVE SSB and 1 tb hdd
    PSU
    500w
    Case
    MT
    Cooling
    Dell factory
    Mouse
    Logitech wireless
    Keyboard
    Logitech wired
    Internet Speed
    still not telling
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Defender+MWB Premium
@cereberus I applaud your efforts. In my younger days I was industrious enough to tackle such an endeavor, but not anymore. I lost it somewhere along the way. Kudos, man.
I nearly got there - created usb drive etc according to guide (took 20 hours!), created uefi partition, and it fell over on actually trying it.

It fell over on inaccessible boot drive which always means it does not have my nvme drivers at boot stage. I actually put drivers into boot.wim but somehow that never got picked up by dism.

So finally came to end of road.

So plan B = download wintousb, create a clean home wtg using iso with nvme drivers, then upgrade wtg to pro (this gets round limit of free version not having pro), then install apps I need :-(.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 Pro + others in VHDs
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS Vivobook 14
    CPU
    I7
    Motherboard
    Yep, Laptop has one.
    Memory
    16 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Integrated Intel Iris XE
    Sound Card
    Realtek built in
    Monitor(s) Displays
    N/A
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    1 TB Optane NVME SSD, 1 TB NVME SSD
    PSU
    Yep, got one
    Case
    Yep, got one
    Cooling
    Stella Artois
    Keyboard
    Built in
    Mouse
    Bluetooth , wired
    Internet Speed
    72 Mb/s :-(
    Browser
    Edge mostly
    Antivirus
    Defender
    Other Info
    TPM 2.0
Last edited:

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Win 11 Home ♦♦♦22631.3374 ♦♦♦♦♦♦♦23H2
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Built by Ghot® [May 2020]
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 7 3700X
    Motherboard
    Asus Pro WS X570-ACE (BIOS 4702)
    Memory
    G.Skill (F4-3200C14D-16GTZKW)
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA RTX 2070 (08G-P4-2171-KR)
    Sound Card
    Realtek ALC1220P / ALC S1220A
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell U3011 30"
    Screen Resolution
    2560 x 1600
    Hard Drives
    2x Samsung 860 EVO 500GB,
    WD 4TB Black FZBX - SATA III,
    WD 8TB Black FZBX - SATA III,
    DRW-24B1ST CD/DVD Burner
    PSU
    PC Power & Cooling 750W Quad EPS12V
    Case
    Cooler Master ATCS 840 Tower
    Cooling
    CM Hyper 212 EVO (push/pull)
    Keyboard
    Ducky DK9008 Shine II Blue LED
    Mouse
    Logitech Optical M-100
    Internet Speed
    300/300
    Browser
    Firefox (latest)
    Antivirus
    Bitdefender Internet Security
    Other Info
    Speakers: Klipsch Pro Media 2.1
  • Operating System
    Windows XP Pro 32bit w/SP3
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Built by Ghot® (not in use)
    CPU
    AMD Athlon 64 X2 5000+ (OC'd @ 3.2Ghz)
    Motherboard
    ASUS M2N32-SLI Deluxe Wireless Edition
    Memory
    TWIN2X2048-6400C4DHX (2 x 1GB, DDR2 800)
    Graphics card(s)
    EVGA 256-P2-N758-TR GeForce 8600GT SSC
    Sound Card
    Onboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    ViewSonic G90FB Black 19" Professional (CRT)
    Screen Resolution
    up to 2048 x 1536
    Hard Drives
    WD 36GB 10,000rpm Raptor SATA
    Seagate 80GB 7200rpm SATA
    Lite-On LTR-52246S CD/RW
    Lite-On LH-18A1P CD/DVD Burner
    PSU
    PC Power & Cooling Silencer 750 Quad EPS12V
    Case
    Generic Beige case, 80mm fans
    Cooling
    ZALMAN 9500A 92mm CPU Cooler
    Mouse
    Logitech Optical M-BT96a
    Keyboard
    Logitech Classic Keybooard 200
    Internet Speed
    300/300
    Browser
    Firefox 3.x ??
    Antivirus
    Symantec (Norton)
    Other Info
    Still assembled, still runs. Haven't turned it on for 13 years?

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 Pro + others in VHDs
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS Vivobook 14
    CPU
    I7
    Motherboard
    Yep, Laptop has one.
    Memory
    16 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Integrated Intel Iris XE
    Sound Card
    Realtek built in
    Monitor(s) Displays
    N/A
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    1 TB Optane NVME SSD, 1 TB NVME SSD
    PSU
    Yep, got one
    Case
    Yep, got one
    Cooling
    Stella Artois
    Keyboard
    Built in
    Mouse
    Bluetooth , wired
    Internet Speed
    72 Mb/s :-(
    Browser
    Edge mostly
    Antivirus
    Defender
    Other Info
    TPM 2.0

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Homebuilt
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 7 3800XT
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Crosshair VII Hero (WiFi)
    Memory
    32GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Education
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Inspiron 7773
    CPU
    Intel i7-8550U
    Memory
    32GB
    Graphics card(s)
    Nvidia Geforce MX150
    Sound Card
    Realtek
    Monitor(s) Displays
    17"
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    Toshiba 512GB NVMe SSD
    SK Hynix 512GB SATA SSD
    Internet Speed
    Fast!
I nearly got there - created usb drive etc according to guide (took 20 hours!), created uefi partition, and it fell over on actually trying it.

It fell over on inaccessible boot drive which always means it does not have my nvme drivers at boot stage. I actually put drivers into boot.wim but somehow that never got picked up by dism.

So finally came to end of road.

So plan B = download wintousb, create a clean home wtg using iso with nvme drivers, then upgrade wtg to pro (this gets round limit of free version not having pro), then install apps I need :-(.
Is this the Hasleo Win 2 Usb you referred to? Works really good for W10 installs, am planning to make W11. But now maybe not! I need to make an iso from the disc. I am assuming I can find the nvme drivers in device manager of the physical install.

I just got a new computer, was also planning to make the physical into a virtual. Read of an app for that, now if I can find it again.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 physical Windows 11 virtual
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom Built
    CPU
    12
    Motherboard
    Asus
    Memory
    128
    Graphics Card(s)
    Nvidia
    Screen Resolution
    1360x768
    Hard Drives
    2
    PSU
    850
    Case
    Cooler Master
    Cooling
    fans
    Keyboard
    ergonomic
    Mouse
    wired
    Browser
    several
    Antivirus
    abast
Is this the Hasleo Win 2 Usb you referred to? Works really good for W10 installs, am planning to make W11. But now maybe not! I need to make an iso from the disc. I am assuming I can find the nvme drivers in device manager of the physical install.

I just got a new computer, was also planning to make the physical into a virtual. Read of an app for that, now if I can find it again.
Yep Win2usb - Well, it just fell over for me at 98% - never had issues with W10
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 Pro + others in VHDs
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS Vivobook 14
    CPU
    I7
    Motherboard
    Yep, Laptop has one.
    Memory
    16 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Integrated Intel Iris XE
    Sound Card
    Realtek built in
    Monitor(s) Displays
    N/A
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    1 TB Optane NVME SSD, 1 TB NVME SSD
    PSU
    Yep, got one
    Case
    Yep, got one
    Cooling
    Stella Artois
    Keyboard
    Built in
    Mouse
    Bluetooth , wired
    Internet Speed
    72 Mb/s :-(
    Browser
    Edge mostly
    Antivirus
    Defender
    Other Info
    TPM 2.0
Yep Win2usb - Well, it just fell over for me at 98% - never had issues with W10
Oh darn and I probably will be inventing words no one has ever hard before when I try myself.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 physical Windows 11 virtual
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom Built
    CPU
    12
    Motherboard
    Asus
    Memory
    128
    Graphics Card(s)
    Nvidia
    Screen Resolution
    1360x768
    Hard Drives
    2
    PSU
    850
    Case
    Cooler Master
    Cooling
    fans
    Keyboard
    ergonomic
    Mouse
    wired
    Browser
    several
    Antivirus
    abast
The way that I create a "windows to go" USB installation:
1. Partition the USB drive as MBR.
2. Create a 100 MB primary partition, mark it is as active, format it as FAT32
3. Create a primary partition, 32 GB minimum, format as NTFS.
4. Apply a Windows image from install.wim or install.esd to the NTFS partition using the dism /apply-image command.
5. Put boot files into the FAT32 partition with the bcdboot command.

Sometimes I have to use the bootrec command, but usually not. The USB flash drive created above will boot in either Legacy BIOS mode or UEFI mode. It requires no third party software, only a separate Windows installation USB flash drive, DVD, or mounted ISO file.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Homebuilt
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 7 3800XT
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Crosshair VII Hero (WiFi)
    Memory
    32GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Education
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Inspiron 7773
    CPU
    Intel i7-8550U
    Memory
    32GB
    Graphics card(s)
    Nvidia Geforce MX150
    Sound Card
    Realtek
    Monitor(s) Displays
    17"
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    Toshiba 512GB NVMe SSD
    SK Hynix 512GB SATA SSD
    Internet Speed
    Fast!
The way that I create a "windows to go" USB installation:
1. Partition the USB drive as MBR.
2. Create a 100 MB primary partition, mark it is as active, format it as FAT32
3. Create a primary partition, 32 GB minimum, format as NTFS.
4. Apply a Windows image from install.wim or install.esd to the NTFS partition using the dism /apply-image command.
5. Put boot files into the FAT32 partition with the bcdboot command.

Sometimes I have to use the bootrec command, but usually not. The USB flash drive created above will boot in either Legacy BIOS mode or UEFI mode. It requires no third party software, only a separate Windows installation USB flash drive, DVD, or mounted ISO file.
That is what I tried but I am running into problems as boot files do not recognise my nvme drives.

Even on a normal installation iso, with boot.wim in sources folder, I need to inject drivers into boot.wim as well as install.wim.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 Pro + others in VHDs
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS Vivobook 14
    CPU
    I7
    Motherboard
    Yep, Laptop has one.
    Memory
    16 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Integrated Intel Iris XE
    Sound Card
    Realtek built in
    Monitor(s) Displays
    N/A
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    1 TB Optane NVME SSD, 1 TB NVME SSD
    PSU
    Yep, got one
    Case
    Yep, got one
    Cooling
    Stella Artois
    Keyboard
    Built in
    Mouse
    Bluetooth , wired
    Internet Speed
    72 Mb/s :-(
    Browser
    Edge mostly
    Antivirus
    Defender
    Other Info
    TPM 2.0

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