Installing Windows 7 on a USB Flash Drive

[Flava0ne]

Would it be possible to install Windows 7 x64 Ultimate onto my 32GB USB Flash Drive as a portable OS on the go? I'm not talking about creating a Windows 7 Installation USB Flash Drive as an alternative to a DVD Installation, I'm talking about being able to have Windows 7 x64 Ultimate OS on a USB drive.

I'm asking because I need to be able to have another Windows OS on a separate drive in order for me to be able to Secure Erase my OCZ RevoDrive PCI-E SSD using OCZ Toolbox.

 

[seavixen32]

As far as I'm aware it's not possible and even if it was, performance would be way too slow.

If I'm wrong, the cavalry will be along shortly.

 

[SIW2]

Yes. it's possible. Performance can be good.

It isn't all that easy.

I don't know anything about ocz toolbox - surely you can just pop it into pe and run it from there?

 

[seavixen32]

Yes. it's possible. Performance can be good.

It isn't all that easy.

I don't know anything about ocz toolbox - surely you can just pop it into pe and run it from there?

Do you have a source? I'd love to know how to do it out of interest more than anything else.

 

[Flava0ne]

OCZ Toolbox can only be used on a separate Windows installation, like on another HDD or SSD, on the SSD that you wish to use it for. I found something on Google, it said you can use Virtual Portal Box to do it. But never mentioned how to with it. I downloaded it and have no idea how to do it with it.

 

[gregrocker]

I wish someone would do it and report back on performance, just to get this settled here after almost 3 years.

I can only recall one OP who reported back success but said it was slow as molasses.

The activation issues for a portable thumb drive are critical enough that I don't know how you'd activate or maintain activation. I've always thought that alone makes it too sketchy to support here.

 

[Flava0ne]

I don't plan on using it fof a dedicated OS. I only want to be able to use OCZ Toolbox on it. I wouldn't even install anything on it not even drivers.

 

[gregrocker]

I don't plan on using it fof a dedicated OS. I only want to be able to use OCZ Toolbox on it. I wouldn't even install anything on it not even drivers.

Have you checked out the favored boot disks like Hirens or Universal? They have many similar tools and are said to have worked out using them legally.

Our expert SIW2 has built some of these using Win7 so can advise you on that and how to write disk to flash stick, perhaps using Win2Flash.

 

[Flava0ne]

OCZ's RevoDrives prior to the one I have, RevoDrive 3 X2 Series, you would use MagicPart to secure erase the drive. With mines, apparently only OCZ Toolbox can be used to do it. I just don't want to have to go out and buy a spare HDD for this single purpose and I already have a 32GB USB Drive that I'm not even using for anything.

 

[gregrocker]

Why are you needing to secure erase an SSD - are you concerned about data being made unrecoverable?

The correct way to prepare a drive otherwise is to delete each partition in Disk Mgmt or using the Installer Drive Options. Clean Install Windows 7

If you have another reason to Secure Erase then someone here may know an alternative. Diskpart Diskpart Clean and Clean All Command can do this from the DVD Command line, with Clean All writing zeroes to make data unrecoverable while Clean can solve some Install and boot problems by zeroing the boot sector.

 

[whs]

Here is how you install Windows (at least the /8 CP) on a flash drive. With Windows8 you have no product key problems. But you need a fast USB3 drive. On USB2 it is really like molasses - have tried that too. On a USB3 attached HDD it works nicely too.

Windows 8 To Go - Setup on a USB Flash Drive or USB Disk - Windows 8 Forums

 

[whs]

Why are you needing to secure erase an SSD - are you concerned about data being made unrecoverable?

The correct way to prepare a drive otherwise is to delete each partition in Disk Mgmt or using the Installer Drive Options. Clean Install Windows 7

If you have another reason to Secure Erase then someone here may know an alternative. Diskpart Diskpart Clean and Clean All Command can do this from the DVD Command line, with Clean All writing zeroes to make data unrecoverable while Clean can solve some Install and boot problems by zeroing the boot sector.

I do secure erase of my SSDs with Parted Magic. Works well. http://howto.cnet.com/8301-11310_39-20115106-285/how-to-securely-erase-an-ssd-drive/

You cannot do it with Diskpart. It writes data and the reason for a secure erase is to get ALL data off the Nands.

 

[gregrocker]

So there is a performance reason that this prepares the drive better?

If so it would be different from HD's in that respect.

 

[whs]

So there is a performance reason that this prepares the drive better?

If so it would be different from HD's in that respect.

That is correct. On a SSD you cannot write 'over' data. When you want to write to a space that has stored data this must first be cleared. And that doubles the time of the write operation.

TRIM which is supported by SSDs starting with Gen2 and by Win7 (not Vista) signals to the SSD controller where data was deleted by the OS. The controller can then clear those addresses. That is an asynchronous process that the garbage collector performs.

Secure erase clears the whole disk so that the writes can run at full speed.

 

[gregrocker]

Thanks, Wolfgang. Good to know.

 

[whs]

You are welcome Greg.

 

[jimbo45]

I wish someone would do it and report back on performance, just to get this settled here after almost 3 years.

I can only recall one OP who reported back success but said it was slow as molasses.

The activation issues for a portable thumb drive are critical enough that I don't know how you'd activate or maintain activation. I've always thought that alone makes it too sketchy to support here.

Hi there

Windows 8 To go runs fine from an external USB DISK (or even a Thumb) drive -- If you were to have a spare SSD or a USB3 drive it would probably run quicker than the native installed W7 OS.

Windows 8 To Go - Setup on a USB Flash Drive or USB Disk - Windows 8 Forums


Note that this is PROPER WINDOWS -- except it runs TOTALLY from the external drive and you could even REMOVE all the internal drives and it will still work !!!

You can install all your tools in the normal way

Activation isn't an issue either (unless you want Office on the portable drive)

There's whole slew of stuff over on the W8 Forum.

I even run VMware workstation with a virtual machine on it.

Note that the W8 navigation system gets a little bit of getting used to.

I see someone has already posted this answer -- anyway good reminder.

Even on a decent USB2 drive it runs fine too -- I am using the drive I removed from a laptop when I replaced the laptops drive with an SSD.


For Office activation - I've got a MAK key so no prob -- but if you run from a VM from the windows to go the virtual hardware doesn't change so you can do it like that by running from an installed VM.

Hyper-V also runs fine on the Windows 8 to Go too.

Cheers
jimbo