Can you build a Windows To Go device with Windows 8 Pro OEM?

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Microsoft introduced a feature called "Windows To Go" with Windows 8 Enterprise allowing to install Windows on a USB mass storage device similar to Linux Live distributions. The documentation supplied by Microsoft indicates that a volume licence is required and that a GUI tool exists to create the USB image.

On the web and here, users report that something equivalent can be achieved without an Enterprise volume license.

However this assumes that the user has install media or an iso-File, containing a file called install.wim. Preinstall OEM versions do not ship with media and neither the Windows partition nor the created recovery medium comes with a file install.wim.

How can you achieve "Windows To Go" with OEM versions?

Jan

Posted 2013-11-03T11:56:45.323

Reputation: 243

Question was closed 2013-11-04T08:13:41.967

@JourneymanGeek That's a nice answer you linked. However, it does not talk about license and activation issues. So I'd prefer to leave my question open. – Jan – 2013-11-03T12:25:25.180

licence is out of the scope of SU IMO. Not sure about activation. Its also automatically posted for me when I closevote, and I just edited it to suggest the change. – Journeyman Geek – 2013-11-03T12:30:08.827

This question is not a duplicate since the procedure given in the linked question does not apply to preinstalled OEM versions. – Jan – 2013-11-06T17:19:06.503

Answers

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I have used non-Enterprise versions of Windows 8 several times to create a Windows on a stick. It works with Windows 8.1 in exactly the same way it did with Windows 8.

You activate Windows when you set it up the first time. If you later plug it into different physical hardware, you have to activate it again (which could become a problem if you use it a lot).

You could use versions of Windows that you don't have to activate, such as evaluation versions or Hyper-V Server.

So while it is technically possible, that doesn't mean the license allows you to do that. Often it says something like: 'you have the right to install this software on a single PC'

I can't say anything about the licencing aspect of this.

Peter Hahndorf

Posted 2013-11-03T11:56:45.323

Reputation: 10 677

Thanks for your answer. I think, it is understood that users who make unusual use of their software are required to check whether this is legally acceptable in their jurisdiction under their licence. – Jan – 2013-11-03T15:48:19.053

Asked: 2013-11-03T11:56:45.323

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Active: 2013-11-06T17:17:21.167