Windows 8 This works great!!!

MikeHawthorne

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Microsoft Community Contributor
Joined
May 25, 2009
Location
Ada Michigan
Hi

Prompted by a post by whs, I tried Linux on a stick...

https://onedrive.live.com/view.aspx?cid=475A0A48CA6D4035&resid=475A0A48CA6D4035!1953&app=WordPdf

This works much better then the VM ware players for what I'm doing.
It gives me a install of Ubuntu that starts at boot loads fast and gives me access to everything on my computer.

I put it on a 64 gigabyte memory stick so I have plenty of space on the disk if I want to save stuff to it.

I'm writhing this right now from Ubuntu.

The reason that I'm posting this is that this software will let you install pretty much any software on a stick.
That included Windows XP, 7 and 8, and I assume Windows 9 when the install becomes available.

I'm going to try and run Windows 9 preview this way.
It lets you use it just like it's installed on your computer with no hassles.

Take a look at it.

Mike
 
I'm not at all sure that is correct Mike. It would be nice but I think you are just enjoying the ability and nature of a Linux "Live" environment.
I don't suspect that the fact that Windows refuses to install on a removable drive is likely to be changed by UUI although I use it all the time to burn my Windows ISOs to a USB stick for installing and it does work great for that.
 
I haven't tried the method, so I am probably shooting arrows into the air, but, on fist read, I think I agree with Trouble's assessment. I have a couple of newer machines, which do not have optic drives. This has forced me to put all ISO's since, on USBs. They give no problems, it is only necessary to make the USB the first boot device. I have, however, put a linux "live" dvd on a sick, and it runs fine. Maybe (?) a bit faster than a live dvd in boot up - I have never measured it.

There is some interesting reading and "how tos" here, on the subject. Have a look down the page at USB wear considerations, also.

http://www.tuxradar.com/content/how-install-linux-usb-flash-drive
 
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Hi

I was basing that on the fact that the software offers the options to install Windows XP, 7, and 8 in it's interface.
I was hoping that since it lists is as a supported interface it would do it.

I have to add that it's not going as smooth as it seemed at first.
I rebooted several times and it loaded very quickly and worked great.

But when I turned on my computer tonight it hung during the boot process and when I restarted it, it just passed the USB drive and loaded Windows.

So I formatted the USB drive and recreated it using NTFS formatting.
The process completed successfully but though I can see that it's reading it, it still just bypasses the drive and loads Windows.

I did it a third time using Fat32 same as the first time, and it still ignores it.
Bringing up the boot menu doesn't show it on the list, only Windows 8.

I'll look at my bios again tomorrow but my computer was set by the manufacturer to boot to the flash drive so I don't think that's the issue, it did it before.

But I don't have any idea why it worked fine the first time and not now.

I've booted to Ubuntu for years using a DVD and that still works great but it's fixed and you can't make changes to it after it's loaded.

Mike

Ok, I did have to make changes to the boot priority in the bios to get it to boot but it's working again now. I'll report back after I've messed with it for a while.

I do have a unused Windows XP 64 bit, disk so I could try it and see what happens if I get the time.
 
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The difference is that Linux distros support "Live" versions that can run from the disk without installation. Windows install disks don't offer that ability. You should be able to get something like this to work: http://www.hirensbootcd.org/about/ but not just any Windows install disk.
 
My thoughts are that, since the UUI interface clearly mentions the word "installer" in reference to Windows OS(s), I suspect that (in fact I pretty much know) that is what you'll end up with......
An installer.
 

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Well it would have been nice.

Actually I've never had any problems dual booting 2 versions of Windows together.
I hope that it will be a simple to install Windows 9 alongside Windows 8.

I'm looking forward to trying Windows 9, especially seeing if I can get the sound to work correctly, something I can't seem to do in Windows 8.1.

Dual booting will let me spend some time on it without losing my sound capabilities for things I'm doing while I experiment.

If the info on the internet is correct the Windows 9 preview version is only a month away.

http://news.yahoo.com/windows-9-pre...-162516453.html;_ylt=AwrBEiGi2QlU7HMAA9nQtDMD

I'm going to make a real effort to use Windows 9 without all the addons that I normally run.

I see that there is some suggestion that Windows 9 will be a free upgrade for people running Windows 8.
That would be nice.

Anyway I'm getting bored, hence the messing around with Linux, I'll be happy to have something new to play with.

Mike
 
I use Rufus to install all my ISO's on a USB stick to make a bootable USB drive....simplicity at it's best.
 
Utilities like Rufus are pretty cool but for the ultimate, I have a Zalman VE-400 which is a specialized external drive enclosure that can emulate an optical drive. I simply copy my ISOs to the drive and I can mount and boot from any of them. I can run Live Linux distros, Windows installers, etc... directly from the drive. Whereas with Rufus each ISO must be installed and configured and doesn't support all ISOs, the Zalman works with any ISO by simply copying the ISO to the drive, no setup required. My Zalman has a 120G ssd inside and I have dozens of ISOs on it with space for many more.
 
I have only used Linux distros with the method that Mike refers to. With Windows you would need a seperate product key which makes it a bit more expensive. In addition I am not sure whether it would really work.

I did, however, install the Windows 8 Beta (where you did not need a purchased product key) with the methode below. I will try that again with Windows 9 Threshhold.

http://www.eightforums.com/tutorials/5349-windows-8-go-setup-usb-flash-drive-usb-disk.html
 
Hi

Thanks for the info, I'll check this out when Windows 9 Preview comes out.
I saved the link.

If it's easy to just dual boot to it, I will probably just do that.
I've never had any issues doing it in the past but things are a bit different now.
I would assume that Microsoft will want to make this a simple as possible.

Mike
 
I would assume that Microsoft will want to make this a simple as possible.

I hope you are right but past experience does not encourage me to believe that.
 
Hey Mike:
Was just reading this, this morning and thought you might be interested.
Looks like fun and something semi-new to play with.
Thought I might even try it myself with the Windows 8.1 Enterprise Eval when I catch some time.
Although I doubt if I'll be spending the bucks for one of the "Certified" Windows to Go drives..... just a normal everyday 32 GB USB 3.0 ThumbDrive.
Might be fun to see if I can install some programs and see how fast (or not) it performs.
http://www.howtogeek.com/196817/how...-go-usb-drive-without-the-enterprise-edition/

This is something I would be looking to overcome:
Windows To Go system boots with internal disks offline by default. This is designed to prevent sensitive data from accidentally being saved onto an internal disk when using Windows To Go.
Perhaps there is a method or means to mount attached drives after the fact.
I'm also concerned as to how it will load drivers and function with disparate hardware devices when using it to boot, first one machine and then another with different hardware configurations.

I know that "Windows To Go" has been an available option in the Enterprise version for a while but this is the first time I've seen a method for creating a Windows to Go stick using 8.1 and or 8.1 Pro.
 
I have made a Windows 8 to go about 2 years ago with this method. The problem is that you need a seperate product key. 2 Years ago I used the beta version where this was not a problem.
 
That is my tutorial. I used that method and it worked well. Main thing is that you have a fast USB3 stick, else it is no fun,
 
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