![\"image\"](\"http:\/\/www.itwriting.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/11\/image26.png\" "\\"image\\"")
<\/a><\/p>\nThe DataTraveler Workspace is a 32GB USB 3.0 drive. It follows the usual convention of having a blue connector to indicate USB 3.0 support. <\/p>\n
USB 3.0 is recommended but not required for Windows to Go. If you run from USB 3.0, the performance should be equal or better than running from a hard drive. It will work with USB 2.0, but will be slower.<\/p>\n Microsoft\u2019s documentation<\/a> for Windows to Go is not that great. Still, it is easy to get started. All you need is a supported USB drive and Windows 8 Enterprise (or any x86 version if you do not mind using the command line).<\/p>\n First, mount the Windows 8 Enterprise install DVD. Identify install.wim from the Sources folder on the DVD and make sure it is accessible.<\/p>\n Next, connect the USB drive to a USB 3.0 port if possible.<\/p>\n Then start the Windows To Go wizard \u2013 to find it search Settings and not Apps on the Start screen. [If you do not have Windows 8 Enterprise, check the scripting guide<\/a> as well as the licensing requirements.]<\/p>\n Run the wizard and select the target USB drive<\/p>\n The wizard will find install.wim automatically, or you can help it out if necessary.<\/p>\n Optionally set a BitLocker password. Recommended, or why do you need Windows to Go? Do not forget it though.<\/p>\n Finish the wizard and after a few minutes you have a Windows to Go device ready.<\/p>\n I stuck it into a Dell laptop running Windows 7 and booted. This is essentially a new install of Windows 8, so it did all the detecting devices and welcome stuff. I signed in with a Microsoft account and despite only having USB 2.0 on this laptop, was pleased with the performance.<\/p>\n I noticed that the normal SSD drive on the laptop was invisible in Explorer.<\/p>\n On further investigation, I found it had been marked offline by my system policy \u2013 I don\u2019t recall setting this, so it is a default.<\/p>\n For my next experiment, I shut down, stuck the USB drive into a Samsung Slate, and rebooted. The slate did not boot from USB by default, but I did find Windows To Go startup options, which I believe are in all versions of Windows 8, which let you set an option to use it.<\/p>\n That worked. Then \u2013 disaster. The slate has no keyboard, and only one USB port. I was prompted for the Bitlocker password, but no matter where I tapped, the on-screen keyboard did not pop up for me to enter it. I had to find the dock for the slate, which has an additional USB port, plug in a USB keyboard, and retry. I can see this being a showstopper in some scenarios.<\/p>\n That worked though, and although I am not yet clear from the documentation how free and easy you can be moving Windows To Go between different hardware, I was impressed by how quickly and easily it started. The only inconvenience is that I had to re-enter the wifi key, presumably because the wifi adaptor on the slate is detected as a different device from the one on the Dell.<\/p>\n Pretty good, but this being a new install of Windows 8 I have considerable work ahead of me to make it useful by installing Office and other applications. How does this work in a business where you need stuff pre-installed?<\/p>\n The answer is here<\/a>, if you can make sense of it: Microsoft\u2019s instructions on creating a custom Windows image that you can use for multiple Windows To Go drives. It is not trivial; you start by downloading and install the Windows ADK<\/a> (Windows Assessment and Deployment Kit) for Windows 8.<\/p>\n Another day maybe. For now, I am impressed. The main snag is that few of my PCs have USB 3.0. <\/p>\n Windows To Go does not work on Microsoft\u2019s Surface RT tablet, but will work on Surface Pro when that is released.<\/p>\n Update<\/strong>: another issue with Windows To Go turned up when I tried running it on a netbook. I was impressed with the performance and that it worked, after a few minutes \u201cdetecting devices\u201d. However when I launched Word 2013 it said Office needs activation because of changed hardware. Presumably this will be a real problem if you regularly use your Windows To Go device on different PCs, which as I understand it is how it is meant to be used. <\/p>\n Office activation is part of Microsoft\u2019s copyright protection for Office and I presume that after a certain number of activations it will no longer activate.<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n