Windows to Go with Win8 Pro RTM?

bmwbiker

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Can anyone tell me if the Windows to Go Tutorial still works with the RTM version of Win8 Pro? I used it successfully with Win8CP on a flash drive, but am curious to learn if MS has defeated that hack on the RTM version.

[Added later] It appears that the Win8-RTM installation ISO has no \sources\install.wim file, so the tutorial probably needs to be modified providing it can be made to work at all with RTM. Can anyone point me toward a discussion of this?
 
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My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win8
Is not Windows to Go reserve to Enterprise version of Windows 8 ? I think so , now if you are asking about hacking pro to do so, it will point you on a ban direction as it's against the rules
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8 enterprise x64
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Pc-Quebec / Area 66
    CPU
    i7-3960X Extreme Edition
    Motherboard
    Rampage IV Extreme
    Memory
    Gskill 4x4 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    4 x HD 7970
    Sound Card
    onboard
    Screen Resolution
    2560*1600
    Hard Drives
    C:\Intel series 520 SSD , 250 GB
    D:\ WD 750 black with Intel 40gb SSD cache Intel RST
    E:\ WD 2TB Black
    PSU
    Corsair AX 1200
    Case
    TT Mozart TX
    Cooling
    Water Cooled
    Keyboard
    Logitech G-15
    Other Info
    Windows 8 VM is install on his own SSD.
The built in utility to create a Windows to Go install is only available with the Enterprise version. There is or was a manual way to create one. It wasn't a big deal to do it with the DP, CP, or RP versions because they were trial versions. You could probably still do it with a RTM version but you're going to run into activation problems. If you boot the WTG install on another PC activation will fail. Its not legal as far as Microsoft goes either. That's why its only available on the Enterprise version.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 Education 64 Bit
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Asus
    CPU
    AMD Phenom II X4 980 Black Edition Deneb 3.7GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS M4N68T-M V2 µATX Motherboard
    Memory
    8GB 4GBx2 Kingston PC10600 DDR3 1333 Memory
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA Geforce GT640 2 Gig DDR3 PCIe
    Sound Card
    VIA VT1708s High Definition Audio 8-channel Onboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    22" LG E2242 1080p and 2 19" I-INC AG191D
    Screen Resolution
    1280x1024 - 1920x1080 - 1280x1024
    Hard Drives
    Crucial MX100 256 GB SSD and 500 GB WD Blue SATA
    PSU
    Thermaltake TR 620
    Case
    Power Up Black ATX Mid-Tower Case
    Cooling
    Stock heatsink fan
    Keyboard
    Logitech Wireless K350 Wave
    Mouse
    Logitech M570 Trackball and T650 TouchPad
    Internet Speed
    80 Mbps Down 30 Mbps Up
    Browser
    Internet Explorer 11
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
    Other Info
    HP DVD1040e Lightscribe - External USB2
I did not update the tutorial because there is no way to activate a Win8 version that is not Enterprise - and that has it's own facility to create a to-go version.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Vista and Win7
    System Manufacturer/Model
    2xHP, 2xGateway, 1xDell, 1xSony
    Hard Drives
    5 SSDs and 12 HDs
there is no way to activate a Win8 version that is not Enterprise
  • You can activate "Windows 8 Pro To Go" on one PC.
  • But the activation is gone when you plug in the USB stick into an other PC (because of changed hardware).
  • But the activation returns when you plug in the USB stick back to the computer where it was activated before.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8
there is no way to activate a Win8 version that is not Enterprise
  • You can activate "Windows 8 Pro To Go" on one PC.
  • But the activation is gone when you plug in the USB stick into an other PC (because of changed hardware).
  • But the activation returns when you plug in the USB stick back to the computer where it was activated before.
That is good to know. But it really defeats the purpose of a 'to go' setup.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Vista and Win7
    System Manufacturer/Model
    2xHP, 2xGateway, 1xDell, 1xSony
    Hard Drives
    5 SSDs and 12 HDs
It may activate on the PC it was created on, but won't on any other PC. I do believe it's also going to use the same product code as the PC it was created on. Use it on to many PC's and you may find your product code blocked by Microsoft. I personally wouldn't want to risk it. I don't know for sure that that will happen, but I wouldn't want to find out the hard way.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 Education 64 Bit
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Asus
    CPU
    AMD Phenom II X4 980 Black Edition Deneb 3.7GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS M4N68T-M V2 µATX Motherboard
    Memory
    8GB 4GBx2 Kingston PC10600 DDR3 1333 Memory
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA Geforce GT640 2 Gig DDR3 PCIe
    Sound Card
    VIA VT1708s High Definition Audio 8-channel Onboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    22" LG E2242 1080p and 2 19" I-INC AG191D
    Screen Resolution
    1280x1024 - 1920x1080 - 1280x1024
    Hard Drives
    Crucial MX100 256 GB SSD and 500 GB WD Blue SATA
    PSU
    Thermaltake TR 620
    Case
    Power Up Black ATX Mid-Tower Case
    Cooling
    Stock heatsink fan
    Keyboard
    Logitech Wireless K350 Wave
    Mouse
    Logitech M570 Trackball and T650 TouchPad
    Internet Speed
    80 Mbps Down 30 Mbps Up
    Browser
    Internet Explorer 11
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
    Other Info
    HP DVD1040e Lightscribe - External USB2
It may activate on the PC it was created on, but won't on any other PC. I do believe it's also going to use the same product code as the PC it was created on. Use it on to many PC's and you may find your product code blocked by Microsoft. I personally wouldn't want to risk it. I don't know for sure that that will happen, but I wouldn't want to find out the hard way.

As you can use Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7 or Windows 8.

Windows to Go
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    ME, XP,Vista,Win7,Win8,Win8.1
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Other Info
    Notebooks x 3

    Desktops x 5

    Towers x 4
No, you can use your "Windows 8" Windows To Go on a PC that has Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7 or Windows 8 already installed. Actually it doesn't have to have any OS installed, all it has to do is meet the minimum system requirements for windows 8.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 Education 64 Bit
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Asus
    CPU
    AMD Phenom II X4 980 Black Edition Deneb 3.7GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS M4N68T-M V2 µATX Motherboard
    Memory
    8GB 4GBx2 Kingston PC10600 DDR3 1333 Memory
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA Geforce GT640 2 Gig DDR3 PCIe
    Sound Card
    VIA VT1708s High Definition Audio 8-channel Onboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    22" LG E2242 1080p and 2 19" I-INC AG191D
    Screen Resolution
    1280x1024 - 1920x1080 - 1280x1024
    Hard Drives
    Crucial MX100 256 GB SSD and 500 GB WD Blue SATA
    PSU
    Thermaltake TR 620
    Case
    Power Up Black ATX Mid-Tower Case
    Cooling
    Stock heatsink fan
    Keyboard
    Logitech Wireless K350 Wave
    Mouse
    Logitech M570 Trackball and T650 TouchPad
    Internet Speed
    80 Mbps Down 30 Mbps Up
    Browser
    Internet Explorer 11
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
    Other Info
    HP DVD1040e Lightscribe - External USB2
It may activate on the PC it was created on, but won't on any other PC. I do believe it's also going to use the same product code as the PC it was created on.
OK - this could be happen.
But praxis shows: This does not happen (see my post here)

Use it on to many PC's and you may find your product code blocked by Microsoft. I personally wouldn't want to risk it. I don't know for sure that that will happen, but I wouldn't want to find out the hard way.
To be sure you can disable automatic activation. See here or here.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8
I'm sure if you try hard enough you can get it to work. It's still not legal to do it, not according to Microsoft anyway. I'm going to bow out of this thread before the forum mods maybe get involved.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 Education 64 Bit
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Asus
    CPU
    AMD Phenom II X4 980 Black Edition Deneb 3.7GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS M4N68T-M V2 µATX Motherboard
    Memory
    8GB 4GBx2 Kingston PC10600 DDR3 1333 Memory
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA Geforce GT640 2 Gig DDR3 PCIe
    Sound Card
    VIA VT1708s High Definition Audio 8-channel Onboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    22" LG E2242 1080p and 2 19" I-INC AG191D
    Screen Resolution
    1280x1024 - 1920x1080 - 1280x1024
    Hard Drives
    Crucial MX100 256 GB SSD and 500 GB WD Blue SATA
    PSU
    Thermaltake TR 620
    Case
    Power Up Black ATX Mid-Tower Case
    Cooling
    Stock heatsink fan
    Keyboard
    Logitech Wireless K350 Wave
    Mouse
    Logitech M570 Trackball and T650 TouchPad
    Internet Speed
    80 Mbps Down 30 Mbps Up
    Browser
    Internet Explorer 11
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
    Other Info
    HP DVD1040e Lightscribe - External USB2
Theoretically, if you did the WAIK method of building a Windows 8 To Go drive with Windows 8 Pro, you'd have to use only ONE PC or otherwise activation is lost.

Or, if you want to do a Windows 8 To Go drive with Pro, you can. I've done this before with Windows 7. The main gist of it is that you create a virtual hard drive, install Windows 8 on it, use Hyper-V or such to run the .vhd file to install and configure the Windows install to your liking. Then, you do a couple of spells, and make a USB drive bootable and have the .vhd as a bootable drive. You will have a Windows 8 To Go Ghetto Pro version. I haven't done this method with 8 to be sure, but it will detect the system drive as a hard drive rather than a USB drive and will act more like if you're using Windows 8 on a hard drive.

I'm not too sure about activation though, but I imagine it will be the same, you have to use one PC for activation. Or, I bet you might be able to purchase another license or a license pack and use that to reactivate with that.....
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS
    CPU
    AMD FX 8320
    Motherboard
    Crosshair V Formula-Z
    Memory
    16 gig DDR3
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS R9 270
    Screen Resolution
    1440x900
    Hard Drives
    1 TB Seagate Barracuda (starting to hate Seagate)
    x2 3 TB Toshibas
    Windows 8.1 is installed on a SanDisk Ultra Plus 256 GB
    PSU
    OCZ 500 watt
    Case
    A current work in progres as I'll be building the physical case myself. It shall be fantastic.
    Cooling
    Arctic Cooler with 3 heatpipes
    Keyboard
    Logitech K750 wireless solar powered keyboard
    Mouse
    Microsoft Touch Mouse
    Browser
    Internet Explorer 11
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender, but I might go back on KIS 2014
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