Disk Cloning Scenarios #2: Create Portable Windows Disks

How to create portable Windows disks? This post explains the definition of Windows portable disks, preparations for creating portable Windows USB, and specific operations.

If you want to carry your Windows working environment in your pocket and use it on different computers and places, you may want to create portable Windows disks. In this article from EaseUS, you can have a closer look at the portable Windows disk and specific operations.

About Windows Portable USB

If you are familiar with Windows To Go (WTG), you will see that it is similar to what we commonly call portable Windows. The key benefit of Windows To Go is that it allows Windows to roam between numerous computers, allowing us to bring our Windows working environment and utilize it in various settings, including home, work, and school.

Thus, the portable Windows disk refers to installing a fully functional Windows 11/10 on a USB drive and then being able to boot Windows 10/11 from the USB drive on any PC.

Generating a portable version of Windows is equivalent to backing up your operating system. Having an exact copy of your original OS can help you avoid data loss if you encounter a system crash, disk boot failure, system corruption, or other issues.

Preparations for Creating Portable Windows Disks

To create portable Windows disks, you need to prepare the following items:

Create Portable Windows Disks

Since there is a critical constraint on the version of Windows supported by WTG, this disk cloning software, EaseUS Disk Copy, offers non-tech users a more straightforward way to make a portable Windows disk.

It makes Windows portable by cloning your operating system (including all content on the system partition) on your connected USB stick. Then, you can transport your system and any files or apps to the system partition with a USB. EaseUS Disk Copy allows you to construct portable Windows without being bound by WTG.

Before cloning:

• Install or connect the destination disk that you want to move OS to your computer, and make sure it can be appropriately recognized.
• Ensure the target HDD or SSD has enough capacity to accommodate your system files. Generally speaking, Windows 11 requires at least 64GB of storage, and Windows 10 takes about 16-20 GB for a 32-bit or 64-bit installation.

Step 1. Launch EaseUS Disk Copy and choose System Mode.

Install EaseUS Disk Copy system migration software on your computer, launch it, and choose System Mode. EaseUS Disk Copy will select the current system you use by default, including all system-related files and boot sectors.

*If you apply dual-boot system, you can select another system by yourself.

Step 2. Select the target HDD/SSD.

Choose the destination HDD/SSD that you want to move OS to.

Step 3. Adjust target disk layout.

Specify the target layout as your preference. You can choose among:

• Autofit the disk: makes some changes by default on the destination disk layout so that it can work at its best.
• Copy as the source: create a 1-to-1 copy of your source disk, the layout is the same as the source disk.
• Edit disk layout: allows you to manually resize/move the partition layout on this destination disk.

*The option Auto-alignment to 4K will be checked automatically to optimize the performance of your SSD.

Step 4. Start cloning OS.

Click Proceed, and a message will appear, warning you that data will be lost. Confirm the message by clicking Continue. Now, it will start cloning OS to the new disk.

Now, it will start cloning OS to the new disk.