I encountered some weird issues on one of my desktop systems (an Alienware gaming rig) in which Windows To Go would run for a few seconds and then just freeze up. However, after 60 seconds of non use, Windows 8 assumes that you're gone and shuts down the machine. When you plug the drive back in, it continues to work as if nothing ever happened. Once the drive is removed, Windows 8 just freezes. Fortunately, Microsoft made changes to its file system stack and kernel drivers that allow this specific scenario. The first thing I did (and I imagine anyone with a Windows To Go drive will do) is unplug the drive to see what will happen. However, I soon discovered one very real problem: Booting into Windows To Go might not always be so easy since fiddling around with BIOS/UEFI of various PCS (at corporations, friends' homes, internet cafés, etc.) may not be possible at all. Windows To Go saves the driver configuration so you won't see the initial driver installation/update process on a machine twice. It adapted to every single hardware configuration I threw it at and, aside from the initial configuration dialogue and driver installations that occur during the first boot on a new machine, it worked in each and every instance. Guess what: It worked on every single device - no matter if I plugged it into a 5 year old Core 2 Duo with 2.66 GHz and an old BIOS (that barely supports USB boot) or into my high-end gaming rig. I almost exclusively worked off of the USB thumb drive and Windows To Go over the course of a week. External hard disks should also work but they rarely deliver the performance you need for a Live OS. Just make sure your thumb drive is fast enough in the random 4k read/write department and has enough space (32 GB+). However, if you desperately want to try it out, these instructions should help. According to what I've been told by team members of the Windows To Go group at Microsoft, this wizard will apparently also allow you to pre-install some applications (they didn't say what kind) and preload it with data. In Windows 8 Enterprise, Microsoft will include an easy-to-use Windows To Go workspace creator.

Here's what I found: Creating a Windows To Go drive I used it productively on my main laptop, test rigs and even desktops at clients' offices. Over the course of a couple of days, I lived and breathed Windows To Go.

At TechEd, I was given a 32 GB Windows To Go drive (by Kingston).

How to use wintousb to put on usb