Win8: Correctly set up to use Windows To Go

BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) is often a trend as employees use their personal smartphones to access corporate email and other corporate data. This new trend has brought enormous challenges to our SMEs.

In fact, the challenge that BYOD brings is not just from smartphones. For a corporate team, if there are telecommuters, contractors or temporary employees, it will also pose challenges. Because, instead of providing telecommuters and temporary workers with corporate computers, many organizations prefer to have these workers carry their own computers to work in the company. Whether it is used in the field or remotely connected, this approach can lead to huge IT expenditures and serious security risks.

For companies caught in the BYOD dilemma, Windows To Go in Windows 8 can be chosen to deal with the challenges of BYOD. Simply put, Windows To Go allows companies to create personalized and closed copies of Windows 8 and put them into a USB stick, so employees can plug in a USB stick and use this secure and portable enterprise Windows on their own computers. Workspace”.

Windows To Go Software and Hardware Requirements

In view of the frequent interaction with other Microsoft products, Windows To Go also has prerequisites and precautions for its operation, so here are some basic terms for you. You need to know before practicing Windows To Go.

Windows 8 Enterprise Edition

Unfortunately, Windows To Go is not included with Windows 8 Professional. It's only available in Windows 8 Enterprise, so you can't buy a boxed version of it, you can't find it in the pre-installed version.

To get Windows 8 Enterprise, you can sign up for Microsoft's Software Assurance Volume Licensing program (requires at least 5 PCs), or cloud-based Windows Intune PC management and security services (per monthly payment per PC) 11 dollars). After the purchase, as long as the PC is already running the Professional or Enterprise version of Windows 7/Vista/XP, it can be automatically upgraded to Windows 8 Enterprise. At the same time, you can also download a 90-day trial version for trial use.

Only support for USB 3.0 flash drives that are "certified"

Microsoft Windows To Go only supports "USB 3.0 flash drives that have been certified". There is only one SuperTalent USB drive available for certification on the market today. But on October 26, 2012, Microsoft extended its support to Kingston and several other vendors' products.
Figure 1: USB 3.0 driver recommendation (only officially supported) Windows To Go

At the same time, some uncertified USB 3.0 drivers will also be compatible with Windows To Go. To ensure enough space for Windows applications and data, Microsoft recommends using at least a 32 GB USB drive.

The host must support U disk boot

The host that intends to use Windows To Go must support U disk boot. Computers that have been produced in the past 5 years should be able to do this (Windows To Go does not support Mac). In addition, there is no requirement for support for the host system USB3.0, but it is still the best choice.

Creating a Windows To Go Drive

To create your Windows To Go USB drive, first insert the USB drive into your Windows 8 Enterprise PC and make sure Windows 8 Enterprise Edition DVD is in the drive. Press “ Windows Key + W” Search for System Settings, then type <;Windows To Go”, then press Enter to start “Create a Windows To Go Workspace Wizard”. Check the drive you want to use and click “ Next ”.

(Note: If the & Nextquo; Next button is grayed out, you are using a drive that is not compatible with Windows To Go. Unfortunately, it is not entirely clear how Microsoft determines the drive. Compatibility. Four USB 3.0 devices, two do not work, but the wizard does not indicate what makes the drive incompatible.)

Next the wizard will find the Windows 8 image file, the file name?? For “install.wim”, located in the Sources folder of the Windows 8 Enterprise DVD. (Note that this image file contains a standard "immediate use" Windows 8 Enterprise Edition. If you want to create a mirror with custom settings and applications, there are several ways to do this. Here is the method I.)
Figure 2: You will find an image file of a generic Windows 8 operating system CD.

Customize settings and software for image files with a few extra operations.

You must choose to use BitLocker to encrypt the Windows To Go workspace (you can skip activation of BitLocker), and then Windows 8 images will be created on the USB device. At the same time this process will delete any existing data on the USB drive.

The wizard will make the final selection for you, choosing a startup option for the computer you are using, not the Windows device itself. Since you will probably use a device other than Windows for creating To Go, select No and click “ Save & Close.

Using Windows To Go Drives

In the off state, insert the drive with Windows To Go into the host. You can enter the BIOS to set the boot order to USB first, or you can call the boot menu at boot time, and then select “Start from USB”.

When you start Windows To Go for the first time, it takes a few minutes for the hardware configuration to be restarted. You will then be prompted to accept the personalized Windows copy license terms, connect to the network, then shut down and run. In the next use you will feel that Windows 8 is running on the hard drive, but if the USB drive is unplugged it will be completely shut down.

To get the most out of Windows To Go, keep the following in mind:

You must boot from a device with Windows To Go. If you insert a device while Windows is running, the operating system will not recognize it.

· Windows To Go must be plugged directly into the USB port of the computer instead of to a USB hub.

· Do not remove USB devices while the Windows To Go workspace is running. If you do this, the system will freeze and wait 60 seconds until the device is plugged back. If the drive is not reinserted or plugged into a different USB port, the system will shut down after 60 seconds. Moreover, even if you re-insert within 60 seconds, you will still be at risk of being destroyed by the Windows To Go workspace.

· To maintain a secure Windows To Go workspace, Windows To Go USB devices cannot see the hard drive running on their host system. Therefore, you cannot use Windows Windows To Go to repair your computer or recover files.

· While Windows To Go devices require a USB 3.0 device, you can still create a workspace on a computer with a USB 2.0 port only.

· Windows To Go in Windows 8 can be a useful tool to help companies cope with BYOD. You can also go to Microsoft TechNet for more details.