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Is it possible to have a full install of Windows 11 on thumb drive? (sh.itjust.works)

submitted 1 day ago by unicornBro@sh.itjust.works to c/privacy@lemmy.ml

13 comments fedilink hide all child comments

I have a Debian laptop that I use for most things and a Windows 11 laptop that only gets powered on when I need to use the Lockdown Browser for my weekly quiz.

Is there such thing as having a full Windows 11 installation on a thumb drive that I can save things on? I need to be able to save files and the Lockdown Browser on it. And finally of course the Lockdown Browser must work when I use it as well. Is there such thing as that? Is there a reputable place where I can buy one so that I don't waste many hours and probably fail trying to make one myself? Thanks in advance.

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[–] Lemmchen@feddit.org 28 points 1 day ago

You can create a Windows To Go drive with Rufus.

[–] MasterBlaster@lemmy.world 3 points 1 day ago

I did it recently because it was only way to update my Lenovo Legion BIOS. I bought an SSD on a stick, so it is a fully accelerated windows to go installed via Rufus.

The main problem with USB drive setups is the xfer speed of SDRAM, so I suggest you go for an SSD stick.

[–] brickfrog@lemmy.dbzer0.com 10 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

There's no Microsoft official way to do that.

But unofficially - Use Rufus to install Windows To Go on your USB drive with your Windows 11 ISO.

Microsoft discontinued Windows To Go in 2019 so in theory a future Windows update could break those type of installs but for now they still seem to work https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_To_Go

~~PS - If Lockdown Browser works in a virtual machine environment maybe you also have the option of installing Windows 11 in QEMU + Virt-Manager and just running a Windows VM that way. Works great under Debian.~~

EDIT: Doing a quick search it looks like Lockdown Browser actually tries to check for virtual machine usage, ugh. Guess they really want you to run a physicial system for that :/ https://support.respondus.com/hc/en-us/articles/4409604116123-I-receive-a-warning-The-browser-cant-be-used-in-virtual-machine-software-such-as-Virtual-PC-VMWare-and-Parallels

[–] hperrin@lemmy.ca 6 points 1 day ago

Technically possible? Yes. Will Windows installer let you do it? No.

[–] artyom@piefed.social 5 points 1 day ago

Yes, it's called Windows Portable.

[–] 5PACEBAR@piefed.ca 2 points 1 day ago (1 children)

I've done it. I use it maybe once a year to play Fortnite with my buddies when I LAN.

Windows To Go has been depricated and is no longer available for Windows 11. The normal installer won't let you install on a USB drive. The only option is to use DISM and deploy a Windows image (wim file) to your drive.

[–] brickfrog@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Rufus still lets you create Windows To Go installations on a USB drive. (unsupported by Microsoft as you mentioned)

I am curious about your DISM approach, are you just applying the Windows install image onto the USB? Or are you doing it the long way by imaging a normally installed Windows system first? I am very familiar with DISM but never tried applying an entire usable Windows install onto a USB drive that way.

[–] 5PACEBAR@piefed.ca 1 points 20 hours ago

As long as it's partitioned the right way, you can use DISM to apply an image to any kind of disk ;)

[–] Object@sh.itjust.works 3 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

I know Hasleo WinToUSB allows you to install Windows on a USB stick. I have personally tested it with Windows 10 and it worked well, but I have not tested it with Windows 11 (but they claim that it works) or Lockdown Browser. You can try their free version which has manual partitioning and BitLocker behind a paywall.

[–] Peffse@lemmy.world 2 points 1 day ago

I've always wondered about that, since in theory you can flip the removable bit on some of the USB flash media out there. Is that enough to trick the Windows installer? I don't know.

[–] joeldebruijn@lemmy.ml 1 points 1 day ago

Last I did this it was with an external hard drive. First via USB with changed boot order and later on with a Thunderbolt Samsung X5 drive which is considered "second internal drive" for performance reasons.

[–] alerich@discuss.tchncs.de 1 points 1 day ago

Winboat gives you a full Win11 Desktop under Linux. It takes some beefy Hardware and I don't know about lockdown browser

[–] marcie@lemmy.ml 1 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

i tried it and it borked my linux partition, im a pretty advanced user it was some bizarre thing that windows does even if you do your best to avoid hitting your linux partition.

always back up your files before doing something like this