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Windows XP to USB

Tags: Microsoft, Windows

Hello. New to all this. If anyone can help I would be grateful.
Just installed Windows XP SP3 with relevant software needed. What I would like to do is transfer it to a USB 2 flash drive in order that it can be run from the USB drive.

Thank you for any help give.

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Re: Windows XP to USB

In reply to Windows XP to USB

Not supported.
But you can try to install it to a virtual hard disk, copy that to a USB stick and run that from virtualbox or so,

Reply To: Windows XP to USB

In reply to Windows XP to USB

For computers with limited memory and processing power as well as no optical drive, running XP from a bootable thumb drive can make a noticeable difference. Free software enables you to copy the Windows XP installation disc to a thumb drive or create a live disk that runs entirely from the USB drive.

Re: free software

In reply to Reply To: Windows XP to USB

Can you tell what free software can be used to create a bootable USB-stick with an installed and fully operational Windows XP? That is what the OP ask for. Not for making a bootable USB-stick to install Windows XP.

Why would it be faster to run Windows XP from USB-stick than from a HDD for a PC with limited RAM (say 500 or 1000 MB) and a slow processor?

Mostly no. I’ve seen folk try and fail.

In reply to Windows XP to USB

First, it’s not supported.
Second, XP fails to boot and run on PCs you buy today.

So what to do? Maybe use Disk2VHD (see google for tutorials) and then run that in VirtualBox (see google for tutorials.)

It may still have issues since it’s not running on the original hardware but it’s the only method I’ve seen work.

Reply To: Windows XP to USB

In reply to Windows XP to USB

Earlier, there was a tool called Microsoft USB Tool to create a bootable USB flash drive that can be used to run Windows XP from the USB drive.

Given the fact that Windows XP has reached end-of-life status and doesn’t officially support installation over USB,

That would be Windows To Go.

In reply to Reply To: Windows XP to USB

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/deployment/planning/windows-to-go-frequently-asked-questions covers many aspects of this but no home user would pay that much for so little.

And this doesn’t begin to address the other issue about XP failing to install or boot on a new PC today.

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