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Are you still running an older version of Windows on your PC? If you want to experience a modern operating system, try running Windows directly from a USB drive. To pull this off, you’ll need a few things, including a USB drive, a Windows license, and a utility program to create the bootable drive.
The major downside of booting from a USB drive is that Windows will run much slower than it does off your internal drive. For this reason, you'll likely only want to use this in a pinch so you can access the OS and access certain apps. With Windows 10 support due to end in October 2025, you could use this as a temporary means to prolong the life of a laptop that can't natively support Windows 11. Here's how to set this up.
Download Windows ISO File
To start, you'll need a USB flash drive with at least 16GB of free space, though 32GB is preferable. You'll also need a license to activate Windows 10 or Windows 11 on the drive, which means you'll need to purchase one or use an existing license associated with your digital ID. Sign into your current Windows computer and download the necessary ISO file that will be used to install the operating system onto the drive.
Windows 10: If you wish to run Windows 10, navigate to the Download Windows 10 website and scroll down to the Create Windows 10 installation media section. Click the Download Now button and save the MediaCreationTool .exe file to your PC, then double-click the file to install the program. In the program that appears, choose Access > Create installation media (USB flash drive, DVD, or ISO file) for another PC and click Next.
(Credit: PCMag / Microsoft)Confirm that the language, architecture, and edition are all correct and click Next. You’re then asked to choose what media you want to use. Pick the ISO file option—not the USB flash drive option here—and click Next. Choose a location on your drive to store the Windows ISO file, then click Save to make Windows generate it. When the process is done, click Finish.
(Credit: PCMag / Microsoft)Windows 11: To run Windows 11 from a USB drive, you'll need a Windows 11 ISO file to install the operating system onto the drive. Head to the Download Windows 11 website and scroll to the section called Download Windows 11 Disk Image (ISO) for x64 devices.
Click the Select Download drop-down menu and choose the Windows 11 (multi-edition ISO for x64 devices) option, then click the Download Now button. Choose the product language and click Confirm. Now, hit the 64-bit Download button and save the ISO file to your hard drive.
(Credit: PCMag / Microsoft)Create a Bootable USB Drive
To create a bootable USB drive that can run Windows 10 or Windows 11, you need to enlist the aid of a third-party utility program. Microsoft once offered Windows to Go, which could generate a bootable Windows USB drive with Windows 10 Enterprise or Education. However, the company stopped development on that program and no longer updates it.
However, you can turn to third-party programs like WinToUSB, Rufus, and Ventoy instead. These three tools will create a bootable drive from any version of the operating system and on any type of USB drive. Once you're done, you will be able to boot off the drive to launch Windows. Choose your tool then connect a blank USB drive to your computer.
Create Drive With WinToUSB
You can use the free version of WinToUSB by clicking Download on the site and then installing the file on your PC. Note that the free version doesn't offer support for the Professional, Education, or Enterprise editions of Windows. If you need one of them, WinToUSB Professional costs $29.95 and WinToUSB Enterprise runs $199.95. You'll need to click the orange Upgrade button, and then choose the version you wish to buy.
(Credit: PCMag / WinToUSB)Now, launch WinToUSB and click Windows to Go USB. At the next screen, select the Select installation source drop-down field and click Browse Image file. Choose the ISO file you created for Windows 10 or 11. Next, select the version of Windows that you wish to clone onto the USB stick. If you’re using the free version of WinToUSB, your only choice will be Windows 10 Home or Windows 11 Home.
(Credit: PCMag / WinToUSB)You’ll then need to select your destination disk. Click the Select destination drive drop-down menu, then choose your flash drive. A message will pop up asking you to select a partition scheme. For older computers with a legacy BIOS mode, click MBR for BIOS. For newer computers with UEFI mode enabled, click GPT for UEFI. You can also choose MBR for BIOS and UEFI if you bought one of the paid versions of WinToUSB.
Click Proceed to continue, and then Yes when told that your USB drive will need to be formatted. Your bootable Windows drive will now be created. Once the installation process reaches 100%, you can close the WinToUSB program.
(Credit: PCMag / WinToUSB)Create Drive With Rufus
You can also use Rufus. Once the program is installed and launched, select your USB drive in the Device field if it's not already selected. Click the Select button next to the Boot selection field and choose your saved Windows ISO file. Click the Image option field and change it to Windows to Go.
(Credit: PCMag / Rufus)Change Partition scheme to MBR (older computers with a legacy BIOS mode) or GPT (newer computers with UEFI mode enabled). You can leave the other options at their default values. If you wish, change the Volume label to a name like Windows 10 or Windows 11, then click the Start button. You can choose the version of Windows you want to run from the USB drive, including the Home, Pro, and Education versions of Windows 10 and 11.
(Credit: PCMag / Rufus)Click OK to continue. Review the settings at the popup window, then click OK and OK again to proceed. Rufus will copy the necessary files to your connected drive. Follow the program's progress under the Status section. Once the process is complete, you can safely close the Rufus window.
(Credit: PCMag / Rufus)Create Drive with Ventoy
Ventoy is a free, open-source tool for creating bootable USB drives, and it works differently than the other tools. You install Ventoy directly on to a USB drive, then manually copy an ISO, IMG, or other supported file to the drive. To get started, visit the Ventoy GitHub page and click the zip file to save the Windows version of the program to your PC. Unzip the file, drill down through the folders, and run the Ventoy2Disk.exe file.
(Credit: PCMag / Ventoy)Make sure your USB drive is connected and appears in the program, then click Install. You then finish up by copying the ISO file for Windows 10 or 11 to the USB drive on which you installed Ventoy. The drive is now bootable and contains the necessary Windows files.
(Credit: PCMag / Ventoy)Launch Windows From a Flash Drive
When you want to launch Windows from the flash drive, insert it into the computer and restart the machine. At the start of the boot process, you’ll need to press a certain key to reach the Boot menu. This key will differ depending on the make and model of your computer, but it should be listed on the screen as the computer starts up. Once inside the Boot menu, find the option to boot the computer off your USB drive, then allow the PC to start up.
(Credit: PCMag / Lenovo)The first time you run Windows off the flash drive, you’ll need to go through the Windows setup process. You must also activate Windows. Once Windows is properly set up, you can then install applications onto the USB drive and access any files stored online. You should find that the experience comes close to running Windows natively, though it'll be somewhat slower to respond.
(Credit: PCMag / Microsoft)