Bootable Windows 8 Off USB
Microsoft is looking to make their OS more portable. With Windows 8, one of the features the Redmond, Washington company is introducing is a bootable OS off USB. True, we’ve seen both Windows and Linux distributions bootable off a flash drive before, but what makes this different is 1) it’s legal and 2) officially supported. This is a smart move to keep Microsoft positioned as a strong option as virtual desktop and thin client systems continue to rise in popularity.
Many power users already run virtual laptops off USB flash drives, enabling them to work on a single consistent environment at both home and work without fussing with a laptop or briefcase. An official bootable Windows 8 USB version should cement this concept and help Microsoft move towards more secure OS options comparable to VPMs.
With an official version of bootable Windows OS on USB, IT managers could now use a Nexcopy USB Duplicator to mass-produce their installation and/or restore media in a much faster time frame than using an old-school optical duplicator.
An additional caveat of the portable Windows system is the speed of the environment. Granted, there is nothing like running off a hard disk, but running off NAND flash will be almost as smooth… and with memory performance getting better with USB 3.0 flash drives, it will soon become virtually the same experience.
Video of Bootable Windows 8 running on a MacBook Pro via USB after the jump:
Source: EverythingUSB
Bootable USB Drive Articles on GetUSB.info
GetUSB.info has published several articles and tutorials related to bootable USB drives, covering setup guides, troubleshooting tips, and reviews of popular utilities. Below is an overview of their most useful content.
Bootable USB Guides on GetUSB.info
- Ultimate Boot CD from a USB Pen Drive: A tutorial explaining how to make the Ultimate Boot CD boot from a USB flash drive by formatting, extracting, and using Syslinux to make it bootable.
- How To: Check if My USB Flash Drive is Bootable: A step?by?step walkthrough using Windows tools to verify whether a USB is configured with boot?code/MBR.
- Make USB Flash Drive Bootable in Anything: A review of using Ventoy, an open?source tool for making a USB drive bootable with ISO, IMG, VHD, and EFI files, supporting multi?boot and persistence options.
Other Related Articles
- Review of Rufus Utility: Explains how Rufus writes bootable ISO files to USB and clarifies common misunderstandings.
- USB Boot Troubleshooting: Tutorials about BIOS boot order issues, clearing boot code from USB drives, and proper formatting steps.
Summary Table of Bootable USB Articles
| Topic | Published On | Highlights |
|---|---|---|
| Boot Ultimate Boot CD from USB | 2006 | Hands-on guide using Syslinux and ISO extraction to create a bootable USB version of the Ultimate Boot CD. |
| Check if USB is Bootable | July 2020 | Methods using Windows Disk Management to verify MBR/boot code on a USB drive. |
| Make USB Bootable Using Ventoy | 2022 | Multi?boot support, handles ISO/IMG/VHD/EFI files, no need to reformat for new images. |
| Review of Rufus Utility | 2021 | Explains how Rufus writes bootable code and compares it with other tools for ISO installation. |
| USB Boot Troubleshooting | 2021–2022 | Guides for BIOS issues, clearing bootstrap code, and proper bootable USB formatting methods. |
For more tutorials, reviews, and troubleshooting guides on creating and using bootable USB drives, visit GetUSB.info.
Tags: nexcopy, usb, usb bootable, windows8
