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Sometimes for testing, troubleshooting or other reasons, there is a need to run Windows 10/11 from USB, often referred to as a “Windows To Go”.
Running Windows from a USB drive is especially useful for those who need a portable environment to safely run an operating system without leaving traces of their activity, or to try out new applications without risking the stability of their main system.
In this tutorial you will find step-by-step instructions on how to install and run Windows 10 from USB and how to optimize Windows performance after installation. *
* Note: You can also use the same instructions to run Windows 11 from USB.
How to Install and Run Windows 10/11 Directly from a USB Drive.
Requirement: An empty USB drive with at least 32GB or 64GB disk space.
Step 1. Download Windows ISO file.
1. Go to the Windows 10 download site* and click the Download now button under the ‘Create Windows 10 Installation Media’ section to download the “Windows 10 Media Creation Tool”.
* Note: To install and run Windows 11 from USB, download the “Windows 11 Media Creation Tool” from the Windows 11 download site.
2. Run the Media Creation Tool you downloaded, accept the License Terms and then select Create Installation media for another PC & press Next.
3. Leave the recommended language and edition options* and click Next.
* Note: If you want to download Windows in another language, uncheck the “Use the recommended options for this PC” checkbox to make your choice.
4. At the next screen, choose ISO file to download Windows in a ISO file and click Next.
5. On the next screen choose where you want to store the Windows ISO file and click Save.
6. Then wait for the media creation tool to download Windows. When this done, click Finish and continue to next step.
Step 2. Install Windows on USB using Rufus.
1. Plug in the empty USB drive you want to install Windows on.
2. Download and run the latest version of RUFUS USB Creator Utility.
3. In the Rufus utility, perform the following actions:
- Under Device, select the USB drive you want to install Windows on.
- Under Boot Selection click the SELECT button and then locate and select the Windows.iso file you downloaded on the previous step.
- Under Image option, select Windows To Go
- Under Partition scheme leave GPT if you own a newer system that supports UEFI, or change the partition scheme to MBR if you own a older computer that doesn’t support UEFI (with a Legacy BIOS)
- When done, click the START button.
4. In the ‘Version selection’ window, select which version of Windows you want to install on the USB drive and click OK.
5. In the ‘Windows User Experience’ window, customize – if you want – the Windows installation according your wish and click OK when done. *
* Note: In this example I chose to only create a local user named “John”
6. Finally read carefully the Warning message and if you agree click OK to continue.
* ATTENTION: Any files on the USB disk will be deleted if you choose OK.
7. Now wait for RUFUS to copy the Windows image to the USB. (You can track the progress of the process in the Status section.)
8. Once the process is complete, close the Rufus utility.
Step 3. Run Windows from USB.
On the PC that you want to run Windows from USB, do the following:
1. Connect the Windows USB drive you created in the previous step to an empty USB port. (preferably a USB 3.0 port which is faster than a USB 2.0 port).
2. Turn on the computer and press the corresponding key to launch the Boot options menu. Then, select the Windows USB drive and press Enter to boot in Windows. *
* Note: Alternatively, after turning on the computer, press the corresponding key to enter the BIOS/UEFI settings, set the USB drive as the first boot device, then “Save and Exit“.
3. If all went well, Windows will boot from the USB and install the necessary device drivers for the computer in the background. (this will take about 10-20 minutes depending on the speed of the computer and USB drive.)
4. After installing the necessary drivers, the computer will restart and then you will be prompted to adjust your language and privacy settings. Once you do this, Windows will create a new user profile and enter into the desktop.
5. Normally you are done here and you don’t need to do anything else. However, if you want, I would recommend to apply the below steps if you want Windows to work properly and faster.
Step 4. Install WINDOWS Updates.
Navigate to Start > Settings > Update & Security and click Check for Updates. Then proceed to install all available updates.
Step 5. Disable Background Apps (Windows 10 Only):
1. Navigate to Start > Settings > Privacy.
2. Select Background apps on the left and then turn Off the Let apps run in the background switch.
Step 6. Disable ‘SYSMAIN’ Service.
1. Press the Windows + R keys to open the ‘Run‘ command box.
2. Type “services.msc” and hit Enter.
3. In Windows services, double-click on “SysMain” service.
4. Change the Startup type to Disabled and click Apply > OK. Then restart the PC to apply the change.
Step 7. Disable Disk Defrag.
1. Type “defrag” in Search and click to open Defragment and Optimize Drives.
2. In the ‘Optimize drives’ window, click Change settings under Scheduled optimization.
3. Uncheck the option Run on a schedule (recommended) and click OK. Then click Close.
Step 8. Disable Fast Startup.
1. Press the Windows + R keys to open the ‘Run‘ command box.
2. Type “control powercfg.cpl” and hit Enter.
3. In Power Options click on Choose what the power buttons do on the left.
4. Then, click Change settings that are currently unavailable.
5. Uncheck the option Turn on fast startup and click Save changes.
That’s it! Let me know if this guide has helped you by leaving your comment about your experience. Please like and share this guide to help others.
