Windows to go put Win8 in a USB drive

The BYOD "self-contained device" (Bring Your Own Device) Work is a current trend, but it poses a problem for the IT department of the company. Not only do employees bring their phones and tablets into their offices, they connect to e-mail systems, applications, and sharing centers, but they also start using their laptops and PCs in the workplace – making it more complex to manage. How can an administrator isolate a business application from the user's personal information data, preventing the data from crossing the line and creating a leak? Full desktop virtualization is not only expensive but also ineffective.

Running Windows 8 on a USB drive

With Windows 8 Enterprise version of the Windows to go feature, users can use high-capacity high-speed USB drives to provide a WIN8 environment that can use the PC's CPU and memory when the USB drive is plugged into the PC, without affecting the PC's hard disk or data.

With the Windows to go feature, users can access their win 8 desktops and applications, as well as data stored in remote file sharing centers and on this USB drive. Because it uses a local computing resource, Windows on Windows to go is very fast, so applications that rely on system performance can run well.

At the same time this approach is also relatively safe. The user cannot see the data on this PC while using the Windows to go flash drive. For Windows to go, the PC's drive is hidden, so it's hard to copy the information to the Windows go USB flash. But users can access other removable storage devices and network resources, so make sure that any image has endpoint security. Windows to go does not leave any traces on the PC, and if you want to copy the data to a Windows to go flash drive, you need to use network resources or removable drives.

　　Disadvantages of Windows to go

Windows to go also has one drawback, which is that the USB drive is easily lost. But Microsoft offers a full encryption tool, BitLocker, which is easy to use to encrypt windows to go USB. It is highly recommended to ensure that BitLocker is turned on and added with a password to protect data security when creating a Windows to go USB drive.

　　Windows to go feature use step-by-Step guide

Creating a Windows to go flash drive with WIN8 Enterprise is simple. Prepare a system image, then open the Windows to Go Wizard and insert a high-speed USB drive with a capacity of at least 32GB (Microsoft Certified some USB flash drives) Then select the USB device, the system image, and start the process. The target USB drive will be reformatted, the installation process takes about 10 minutes, and the system will then ask if you want to reconfigure the PC so that it can be started directly from USB in the future. BitLocker protection is recommended for use in the process.

1. The first step in installing Windows to go is to insert and select the appropriate USB device. Microsoft recommends the use of USB 3.0 flash drive, and some products have been certified.

Icon: Choose a USB device for Windows to go

2. The Windows to Go Wizard scans the local drive to find the appropriate Windows image. Alternatively, you can manually connect to a shared installation select the preconfigured system and the application's image file provided through the Windows Deployment Tool.

Diagram: The Windows to Go Wizard scans local drives

3, select a good u disk and image file, confirm you can start to create the Windows to go disk.

Diagram: Ready to start creating a Windows to go disk

4, the installation process can choose to use BitLocker encryption windows to go flash drive, for security reasons, it is strongly recommended to use, just type the password.

Illustration: Encrypting windows to go with BitLocker

5, the preparation process is not only the format of the USB drive, but also to partition it, like a complete Windows installation, the USB drive will also have a recovery partition.

Icon: USB disk partition and normal hard drive partition similar

6, ready to install the WIN8 on the USB drive, the system began to create a USB disk on the Windows to go work area, this step takes the longest time.

Diagram: Ready to install Windows 8 on USB drive

7. After the Windows to go USB drive is finished, we can use it to start the PC from the USB device.

Icon: Created, Windows 8 can now boot from USB drive

　　USB drive Win8 Easy to roam

When we run Windows to go on a new PC for the first time, it scans the device and installs the appropriate driver, which will enable you to start Windows to go faster later. The USB drive can accommodate several system configurations, and users can use it in workplaces, homes, Internet cafes, customer offices, and friends ' homes without having to worry about losing data or drivers. For employees who can work anywhere on any PC, the flexibility of Windows to go makes it an ideal tool. When you need to securely access the business system and don't want to walk around with a laptop, you can put the Windows to go flash drive in your pocket and use it at any time.

When properly set, the Windows to go system is just like any other Windows PC system, except that it runs on a USB drive. You can see the familiar "Start screen", using Win8 's own Windows Store, and any software preinstalled in the image. You can log on to Windows with the Microsoft account, but by default you cannot access Windows store.

Windows to go is low cost, easy to set up, and relatively safe. It teams don't need to learn anything new, and users can easily and conveniently use their own programs and data without having to reconfigure their computers. Windows to go is one of the components of WIN8 Enterprise and is available only to organizations that participate in the Microsoft Software Assurance (Software Assurance) program. If your company participates in Microsoft's Software Assurance program, Windows to go may be a good reason to upgrade to Win8.

With the Windows to go feature, it technicians can deploy the enterprise environment to users in a new pattern, providing them with windows to go drives for use during their work, so that they can quickly improve their productivity, It also ensures that the enterprise data is not stored on a private PC, and that both the enterprise information security and the equipment cost are saved.