51RUN WINDOWS 10 & 11 FROM A USB STICK
Why you should run Windows
from a USB stick
Installing Windows on a USB stick lets
you set it up just how you want it, then
access it on any computer, wherever you
are. By installing your preferred programs
on the same stick – alongside your files –
you’ll always be able to access your data
and settings, whatever format you’re
using. You do this using Windows To Go
- the portable version of Windows that
boots from a USB stick. Although it’s no
longer officially supported by Microsoft,
you can set up a Windows To Go drive
using third-party tools like Rufus.
Another reason to run Windows from a
USB stick is if you’re still using Windows
7, which is no longer safe after Microsoft
stopped supporting it in January 2020.
We’d recommend upgrading to Windows
10 or 11, but if you need to stick with
Windows 7 for a specific reason – or you
want to try a later version before
committing yourself – you can do so by
installing 10 or 11 on a stick without
affecting your existing Windows 7
installation.
Download Windows 10
We’ll start with installing and running
Windows 10. Visit http://www.snipca.com/41506,
then scroll down to the ‘Create Windows
10 installation media’ section and click
‘Download tool now’ (see screenshot
below).
If you see the option to save the file to a
location of your choice, choose your
Downloads folder and, once it has
downloaded, open that folder in
File Explorer. Double-click the
‘MediaCreationTool21H2.exe’ file and
when Windows asks if you’re happy
for it to make changes to your device,
click Yes. Click ‘Accept’ when you see the
‘Applicable notices and licence terms’.
Next, click the button beside ‘Create
installation media (USB flash drive, DVD
or ISO file) for another PC’ (see
screenshot above) then click Next.
Leave the recommended settings as
they are on the following page and click
Next again. You’ll now be prompted to
‘Choose which media to use’. Click ‘ISO
file’, followed by Next, then select the
folder where you’d like to save the file.
We recommend your Downloads folder.Click ‘Save’ and the Media Creation Tool
will immediately start downloading the
disk image for the latest version of
Windows 10.Download Windows 11
The process is similar for Windows 11.
Visit http://www.snipca.com/41507, then scroll
down to ‘Download Windows 11 Disk
Image (ISO)’ and select ‘Windows 11
(multi-edition ISO)’ from the dropdown
menu. Click ‘Download’, and a new
section – ‘Select the product language’- will appear. Click the dropdown menu,
choose English International, then click
Confirm. This reveals the ‘Windows 11
English International’ section, with a
64bit Download button below it. Click it,
then navigate to the folder where you
want to save the ISO file in the File
Explorer menu that appears, then click
Save.
Save Windows to your stick
Whether you’re downloading Windows
10 or 11, you now need to save it to your
USB stick. Plug in your stick and launch
Rufus from your Downloads folder. Your
stick should be detected and
automatically selected in the dropdown
menu at the top of the Rufus interface,
but double-check before proceeding.
Now, to the right of ‘Boot selection’,
click the Select button (^1 in our
screenshot on page 52), click the ISO file
you downloaded to your Downloads
folder, then click Open. Click the
dropdown menu below ‘Image option’,
select Windows To Go^2 , then click Start(^3). Next, in the menu that pops up, select
What you need: 8GB stick;
Microsoft account
Click ‘Download tool now’ from Microsoft’s site to install Windows 10
Select this option during setup to install Windows on a USB stick
Issue 630 • 27 April – 10 May 2022
Run Anything From A
USB STICK