install windows 10 on a usb

13-12-2021 11:39am #1

Trying to install windows 10 on a usb. I used rufus then booted from the USB. But the only options are to install windows 10 on my hard drive or external drive. No option for the USB?

13-12-2021 11:46am

Not 100% sure what you are trying to do, op?

Are you like I have done in the past: needed to reinstall Windows on a pc from a USB stick?

What operating system is resident on your pc?

Have you altered the boot sequence in BIOS/UEFI screen?

13-12-2021 12:04pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118314029#Comment_118314029

trying to have a portable windows 10 on a usb

Capt'n Midnight · 13-12-2021 12:08pm

There's any number of Linux distributions that will boot from USB. And then you could run windows from a virtual machine.

Knoppix starts out as read only version with very good hardware detection

Vs.

Windows needs to be relicensed when it sees major hardware changes as OEM licenses are tied down to the motherboard it was supplied with, and in the case of transferable licenses only allowed to be installed on one device at a time (or even just a single partition depending on specific licence).

Dammer · 13-12-2021 12:28pm

See if this link helps

What size USB are you planning to install W10 on?

https://uk.pcmag.com/operating-systems/88253/how-to-run-windows-10-from-a-usb-drive

ACitizenErased · 13-12-2021 12:33pm

I tried to do this two years ago in order to do some .NET development on my Mac. It’s not really possible. Better to run it off a harddrive or what I did was just set up a VM using VirtualBox.

13-12-2021 12:36pm

Installing a Linux distribution and running Windows from a virtual machine as above sounds a very good idea. I do the opposite. My pc came with Windows 10, and I have several Linux distros installed in virtual machines for comparison & familiarity. Linux distros most often come with excellent Libre Office software etc., but I’m guessing OP has this on on their machine. The Virtual Machine by Oracle Box works very nicely, though as above I haven’t done it from Linux (etc) to Windows.

13-12-2021 12:40pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118314259#Comment_118314259

What size USB are you planning to install W10 on

64GB. I can get it to boot but the options are only to install win 10 on my hard drives or an external drive i have. No option to install on the 64GB USB. i am using a win 7 computer, is that it?. I read somewhere you need at least win 8

smuggler.ie · 13-12-2021 12:48pm

Have WTG on external USB3 drive(2.5 SSD). Not that i need it, just for test. runs OKish, usefull for troubleshooting OS vs HW issues, etc.

Would perform better on M.2 enclosure, but again it'll depend on HW you will be plugging it into

get latest version of rufus, GUI might differ on older versions

Edit:

Oh and i had it tested on 16GB USB3 tumb drive with USB2 laptop - it run, but faster to fresh-install than troubleshoot with it :D

Dammer · 13-12-2021 12:49pm

You said you used Rufus.

Did you select the Windows To Go option? When setting up initially.

Suckit · 13-12-2021 12:57pm

I use this

https://www.easyuefi.com/wintousb/

smuggler.ie · 13-12-2021 12:59pm

WTG tool is also natively buil into Win10 Pro and above(just type in start menu), but very picky in relation what drive you intend to install it on

13-12-2021 1:11pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118314392#Comment_118314392

not sure if there was WTG option. I used Rufus 3.17.1846 portable

For partition I used MBR and for target BIOS (or UFEI-CSM)

13-12-2021 10:57pm

I managed it with WinToUSB

15-12-2021 8:53am

One thing I love about these threads is you learn something new on each one. I hadn’t even known about WTG, though I see it is no longer supported. Must keep it on a stick, though visually labelling my sticks is problematic!

Capt'n Midnight · 15-12-2021 1:12pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118323823#Comment_118323823

Here's a multi boot USB utility https://www.ventoy.net/en/index.html

With ventoy, you don't need to format the disk over and over, you just need to copy the ISO/WIM/IMG/VHD(x)/EFI files to the USB drive and boot them directly. ..

You can copy many files at a time and ventoy will give you a boot menu to select them (screenshot).

install windows 10 on a usb

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