Run Windows 8 directly on USB

Users simply plug the USB into the computer to run Windows 8 directly without installing.

Run Windows 8 directly on USB Picture 1

Currently, users can use a USB memory device with a minimum capacity of 4 GB, Windows 7 USB / DVD tool to install the operating system directly into the device. However, a new feature in Windows 8 is the ability to directly run this operating system from a USB drive.

The new feature, called Windows To Go, works similarly to a Linux LiveCD. Users can download the operating system to a USB storage device, plug in any compatible computer and choose to boot from a USB drive instead of a regular hard drive or SSD. Unlike most other Live CDs, Windows To Go can be configured with all documents, applications and other settings.

Users need a USB memory device with a minimum capacity of 16 GB or a portable hard drive, Windows 8 installation disk and Windows Automated Installation Kit to create a device running Windows To Go. To speed up usage, users should use standard USB 3.0 and large capacity to easily install the software later.

Below is the video using a USB drive with Windows 8 on the MacBook Pro.