Running Windows from an external USB drive with Windows To Go

1. HW-245T Running Windows from an external USB drive with Windows To Go Steve Silverberg Principal Lead Program Manager Microsoft Corporation

2. Agenda • Windows To Go overview • Key scenarios • Windows To Go in-depth • New partner opportunities You’ll leave understanding Windows To Go and how it can be used New opportunities for hardware partners

3. Windows To Go overview

4. Windows To Go enables enterprises to provision a full corporate environment – that people can boot and run from on multiple computers – on a USB drive.

5. Windows To Go Windows CompatibleUSB Drive Enterprise Volume Activation ActivationKeys Line of Business Applications Productivity Suites Provision Deploy Use/Reuse Control

6. demo Windows To Go Booting and running Windows To Go

7. Key scenarios

8. Scenario: working from home Scenario Employee working from home on personal PCs loaded with consumer versions of Windows Value Once rebooted, employees work from a PC that is fully configured and managed, versus unmanaged and untrusted Doesn’t impact consumer’s PC Example Employees are provisioned with a Windows To Go device they can use when caught at home due to bad weather

9. Scenario: supporting contractor PCs Scenario Contractors working within a corporate network on PCs owned by their companies Value Once rebooted, they work from a PC that is fully configured and managed, versus one in an unknown state Example Contractors boot their PCs from a Windows To Go drive provisioned while they were on-premise that enables secure network access

10. Scenario: shared PCs Scenario Employees using PCs that are shared by multiple people Value Reduces hardware costs State roaming is much simpler than alternatives No data remains on the PC after removing the USB drive Example Police officers boot PCs in their cars from USB drives They remove the drives at the end of the day leaving no sensitive data or applications in their car

11. Windows To Go in-depth

12. Design considerations • Booting over USB bus • Roaming to multiple PCs • External boot disks • Provisioning and deployment

13. USB stack optimizations The USB 3.0 and 2.0 stacks in Windows 8 support features optimized for booting and running • Booting • Paging • Standby and Hibernate • Crash dump

14. Roaming to multiple PCs • Windows uniquely identifies computers based on constant characteristics of the machine firmware -SMBIOS UUID if present or certain SMBIOS strings • This ID is used to ensure when Windows returns to a computer, only the necessary set of drivers are loaded • When roaming to a new computer drivers are installed on the first boot, similar to the first time you boot a generalized Windows image

15. Roaming across firmware MBR Disk • System Partition - Boot Files • FAT32 File System • 300MB • Legacy Boot Manager(Bootmgr) • UEFI Boot Manager(Bootmgfw.efi) • Operating System Partition - Apps, Data, Settings • NTFS File System Windows To Go can be configured to boot on both UEFI and BIOS computers • Both sets of boot components are placed on a FAT32system partition

16. Boot redirection to USB New boot redirection feature helps boot from USB • Inserts a USB class boot entry on UEFI systems • Modifies NTFS boot sector to detect Windows To Go drives PC’s InternalDisk Master Boot Record Boot Sector On/Off Normal Boot Windows To GoDrive Master Boot Record Boot Sector Normal Boot

17. Deployed and managed like Windows • The same APIs used to deploy desktops and laptops can be used with Windows To Go imagex /apply N:\Images\my-windows-partition.wim 1 W:\ Bcdboot.exe w:\windows /s X: /f ALL • Managed like Windows using existing technologies • BitLocker with a pre-OS password is supported

18. Boot disk removal • Boot disk removal is detected by the USB stack • The kernel freezes the system • The stack will wait 60 seconds for the boot disk to returnand then power down the system • If the boot disk is returned, the system will resume

19. demo Windows To Go Removal Mitigation

20. New partner opportunities

21. New storage opportunities: USB drives optimized for Windows To Go USB 3.0 • Latest technology without sacrificing compatibility High Performance • SSD speed in external form factor • High speed read/writes and low latency Reliable • 2 year expected lifetime under typical Windows I/O load

22. New PC opportunities: enterprise PCs optimized for Windows to Go • System includes USB 3.0 support • System minimizes hub depth to external ports • System firmware supports reliable USB boot • UEFI firmware supports USB class boot entries

23. Recap • Windows To Go addresses key Enterprise scenarios • New opportunities for partners to offer hardware optimized for Windows to Go • Systems support reliable USB boot • Storage devices provide performance and reliability for running Windows

24. Windows To Go handout Booting • Boot to USB by modifying the firmware boot order • This often requires pressing one of the F1-12 keys during boot • System must be X64 to boot this specific workspace Use • Always shut down before booting on a different system

25. Related sessions • HW-256T Understanding USB 3.0 in Windows 8 • HW-774T Building great Windows 8 systems • HW-773T Building great USB 3.0 devices

26. thank you Feedback and questions http://forums.dev.windows.com Session feedbackhttp://bldw.in/SessionFeedback

27. © 2011 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. Microsoft, Windows, Windows Vista and other product names are or may be registered trademarks and/or trademarks in the U.S. and/or other countries. The information herein is for informational purposes only and represents the current view of Microsoft Corporation as of the date of this presentation. Because Microsoft must respond to changing market conditions, it should not be interpreted to be a commitment on the part of Microsoft, and Microsoft cannot guarantee the accuracy of any information provided after the date of this presentation. MICROSOFT MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS, IMPLIED OR STATUTORY, AS TO THE INFORMATION IN THIS PRESENTATION.

28. FAQ • How do I boot from USB? • Review manufacturer documentation to determine how to modify the firmware boot order • This typically can be done by pressing an F1-12 key during boot • Does Windows To Go require volume activation? • No, the Windows Developer Preview will work with Windows To Go without volume activation • What computers can I roam to with my Windows To Go workspace? • The workspace handed out with the Windows Developer Preview can boot on any X64 based system that has a Windows Vista or Windows 7 system logo

29. FAQ • Why isn’t my computer booting from USB? • If booting from a USB 3.0 port, try booting on a USB 2.0 port • Some manufactures currently ship systems that are unable to boot to USB 3.0 • Systems designed for Windows 8 will support booting to USB 3.0 • Try updating your computer’s firmware to the latest version • If the Windows To Go workspace is connected to an external hub, try connecting it directly to the computer

30. FAQ • I plugged my Windows To Go drive into a running system and I can’t see the partitions on the drive, why? • Windows To Go volumes aren’t assigned driver letters by default to discourage offline access • I’m booted into Windows To Go and I can’t browse to the internal hard drive of the host computer. Why? • Internal disks are kept offline when booted into Windows To Go