Windows To Go: A deployment guide for education

Windows To Go is a feature of the Windows 8.1 Enterprise operating system that enables the operating system to run from a USB drive. Using Windows To Go in an education environment provides numerous benefits to faculty and students alike. It enables faculty and students to use a personalized copy of Windows 8.1 on virtually any PC, at almost any location. This guide provides an overview of Windows To Go deployment for schools. It is for IT pros and discusses the benefits, limitations, and processes involved in deploying Windows To Go.

Windows To Go

A deployment guide

for education

January 2014

Table of

contents

1 Understanding Windows To Go

1 Windows To Go for IT

2 Windows To Go for faculty

2 Windows To Go for students

4 Preparing to use Windows To Go

4 Windows To Go limitations

5 Roaming with Windows To Go

5 Determine user setting storage

6 Determine remote access requirements

6 Determine host computer requirements

7 Select the USB drive for Windows To Go

7 Understand Windows To Go image creation

9 Creating a Windows To Go drive

9 Using the Windows To Go Creator Wizard

10 Using Windows PowerShell cmdlets

12 Starting a Windows To Go drive

13 Enabling the Windows Store

14 Activating Windows To Go workspaces

15 Managing Windows To Go

15 Group Policy settings related to the

Windows To Go workspace

17 Group Policy settings related to the host computer

18 Storing user data and settings

19 UE-V with Folder Redirection

19 Cloud storage

21 Configuring Windows To Go for remote access

22 Securing Windows To Go drives

23 Configuring BitLocker before distribution

23 Configuring BitLocker after distribution

25 Building multiple Windows To Go drives

26 Talking about Windows To Go

27 Conclusion

Windows To Go

A deployment guide for education

Windows To Go is a feature of the Windows 8.1 Enterprise operating system that enables the operating system to run from a USB drive Using Windows To Go in an education environment provides numerous benefits to faculty and students alike It enables faculty and students to use a personalized copy of Windows 8.1 on virtually any PC, at almost any location This guide provides an overview of Windows To Go deployment for schools It is for IT pros and discusses the benefits, limitations, and processes involved in deploying Windows To Go.

Understanding Windows To Go

Windows To Go creates a bootable Windows 8.1 image on a USB drive This means that the

standardized Windows image already used on institution-owned devices now becomes available with greatly increased portability and convenience Users do not need to lug around a laptop

• Cost savings IT does not need to deploy individual computers but rather can deploy the Windows To Go workspace on USB drives to provide a consistent, personalized Windows 8.1 experience It is easy to setup and configure, and distribution is simple

• Management Today’s IT infrastructure uses Group Policy and technologies like BitLocker Drive Encryption, Microsoft BranchCache, Application Virtualization, DirectAccess, and other

Windows To Go for faculty

Windows To Go gives faculty a consistent Windows 8.1 experience from almost anywhere Is

seating available in a computer lab? Need to move to another classroom? The educator’s personal Windows 8.1 desktop is available at all of these locations by booting into the Windows To Go workspace

Faculty members use numerous tools to provide the best learning experience for the classroom, such as Microsoft Office and the specialized Learning Management System (LMS) At the same time, computers with that specialized software are typically shared among two or more educators, making it difficult to find a time to get classroom-related administrative work done

With a Windows To Go workspace, sharing a computer becomes a thing of the past With Windows

To Go, any compatible computer, regardless of the operating system installed on it, can be used This means that faculty members can use a Windows To Go workspace at work, from home, or from an off-campus location, providing the same experience regardless of location Faculty are no longer tethered to a specific computer, room, or building

Windows To Go for students

Like faculty, students can benefit from the Windows To Go experience Students can use a

Windows To Go workspace to boot into their own Windows workspace from home or from a free seat in school They can have the same personal Windows 8.1 experience in each classroom

Students can also use Windows To Go workspaces to get their homework done and perform research-related tasks by using specialized software without needing to install that software on their own device All they need is a compatible computer and USB drive, and the workspace is up and running

You can customize Windows To Go workspaces for particular curriculums, grade levels, and so

on, then distribute them to students Doing so helps to facilitate the learning experience while minimizing the time invested in configuring the technology

Windows To Go workspaces have low replacement cost If a student loses the USB drive with the workspace on it or if the drive becomes damaged, it can be replaced at a much lower cost than a PC

• “Windows 8 Enterprise in Your Pocket” at http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/

enterprise/products-and-technologies/devices/windowstogo.aspx

• “Windows To Go: Frequently Asked Questions” at http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/jj592680.aspx

Preparing to use Windows To Go

This section describes the infrastructure-related items that you must consider for a Windows

To Go deployment and also provides considerations for that preparation In addition to the

considerations that the following sections describe, see Windows 8.1 deployment planning: A guide for education at http://www.microsoft.com/download/details.aspx?id=39682 for considerations affecting any Windows 8.1 deployment in an educational institution

Windows To Go limitations

Although Windows To Go is similar to a typical Windows 8.1 Enterprise installation on a PC, some differences exist:

• No access to internal disks By default, the host computer’s disks are not accessible by

a Windows To Go installation, and a USB drive with a Windows To Go workspace is not

accessible by the Windows operating system installed on the computer You can eliminate both of these limitations by using Group Policy However, these restrictions are in place to protect the security and privacy of the Windows To Go workspace, and to help prevent end-user confusion

• Recovery options are limited The Windows Recovery Environment (Windows RE) is not available in Windows To Go, nor are refresh and reset options You should re-provision the Windows To Go workspace onto the USB drive in the event a Windows To Go workspace becomes unrecoverable Because recovery options are limited, Microsoft does not

recommend storing user data on the Windows To Go USB drive Instead, use a network- or cloud-based solution like Folder Redirection or SkyDrive

• Trusted Platform Module (TPM) is not used The TPM is tied to a specific physical

by default Regardless of the Windows Store status, you can still sideload apps for which you have installation files For more information about sideloading Windows Store apps,

see Windows Store apps: A deployment guide for education at http://www.microsoft.com/

download/details.aspx?id=39685

• Hibernate is disabled Hibernation expects to find the same hardware when the operating system resumes Because Windows To Go workspaces will likely roam among computers, hibernation is disabled Like the Windows Store, you can re-enable hibernate, but only

enable hibernation if you are certain that the device will only be used on the same physical computer

Roaming with Windows To Go

During the boot process, Windows To Go examines the host computer’s hardware and installs the necessary device drivers This process generally works well, especially if people will be

using Windows To Go on host computers with similar hardware configurations However, if the workspace will be used on different hardware with different device configurations, then you might need to inject additional drivers into the image Testing the image on the hardware is a key step to ensure compatibility for the devices to be used with Windows To Go

Some applications can bind to specific hardware For example, an application might tie its licensing

or activation to the computer’s hardware If the Windows To Go workspace will be used on

multiple host computers with different hardware configurations, the applications might not roam Ensure that each application you are installing in a Windows To Go workspace supports roaming

or provide for an alternate method of using those applications, such as Windows Server 2012 R2 RemoteApp

Students and faculty are not usually aware of which type of firmware their computers have, and

so they will likely boot their workspaces on different types They can boot Windows To Go on computers with different types of firmware Computers certified for Windows 8.1 have Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI), while Windows 7 computers use the legacy BIOS firmware Rather than creating separate workspaces for different firmware types, Windows To Go can boot

on either firmware type

Determine user setting storage

Users need access to their data and settings within the Windows To Go workspace in addition

to their usual device Determine how best to provide this access, whether through a user state virtualization (USV) technology or through other means Options include local storage, Microsoft User Experience Virtualization (UE-V) with Folder Redirection and Offline Files, SkyDrive, Microsoft Office 365, and other cloud-based storage solutions Windows 8.1 also enables logon with a

Microsoft account, which includes the option of roaming for many user settings This aspect of Windows To Go is discussed in the section “Storing user data and settings” on page 18 in this guide

Determine remote access requirements

or Apple platforms.

H ost firmware H ost processor

arcHitecture

w indows t o G o arcHitecture

BIOS 32-bit 32-bit only

BIOS 64-bit 32-bit and 64-bit

UEFI 32-bit 32-bit only

UEFI 64-bit 64-bit only

Select the USB drive for Windows To Go

NOTE

You can also use Microsoft System Center 2012 R2 Configuration Manager

to distribute workspaces See the Microsoft TechNet article “How to Provision Windows To Go in Configuration Manager”

at http://technet.

microsoft.com/en-us/ library/jj651035.aspx for more information.

If you do not customize the image, then you will need to provide for the resulting Windows To Go workspace to be joined to the domain and for applications to be installed in the workspace You can use Group Policy to manage the workspace, and you may want to customize certain settings for your environment See the section “Managing Windows To Go” on page 15 or the section

“Image deployment and drive provisioning considerations” in the TechNet article “Deployment Considerations for Windows To Go” at http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/jj592685

aspx#wtg_imagedep for more information on these Group Policy settings and Windows To Go deployment

You can create a Windows To Go workspace by using the Windows To Go Creator Wizard or Windows PowerShell cmdlets After you have provisioned the workspace onto a USB drive,

you can duplicate the workspace onto other USB drives (assuming that the workspace has not yet been started for the first time) See the TechNet article “Windows Deployment Options” at http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/hh825230.aspx for more information on Windows Deployment Options and the topic “Windows PowerShell equivalent commands” in “Deploy Windows To Go in Your Organization” at http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/jj721578.aspx#BKMK_manualwtgimage for more information on manual Windows To Go image creation.Additional resources:

• “Deployment Consideration for Windows To Go” at http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/jj592685.aspx

• “Windows To Go: Feature Overview” at http://technet.microsoft.com/library/hh831833.aspx

• “Tips for configuring your BIOS settings to work with Windows To Go” at http://social.technet.microsoft.com/wiki/contents/articles/12911.tips-for-configuring-your-bios-settings-to-work-with-windows-to-go.aspx

Creating a Windows To Go drive

You can use either of two primary methods to create a Windows To

Go drive:

• The Windows To Go Creator Wizard

• Windows PowerShell cmdlets

The method you use depends largely on the goals of the deployment

Customizations

needed • None

• Customized image

• Custom provisioning (e.g., offline domain join, partitioning, BitLocker) required

Skills • IT generalist • IT pro with Windows

PowerShell experience

Using the Windows To Go Creator Wizard

The Windows To Go Creator Wizard is a simple way to create a

Using Windows PowerShell cmdlets

Use Windows PowerShell cmdlets to create Windows To Go

Go workspace.

The tools used to create a Windows To Go workspace are essentially the same tools you use to manually provision and deploy Windows images They include:

• Disk partitioning cmdlets such as Clear-Disk, Initialize-Disk, New-Partition,

Format-Volume, and so on

• Deployment Image Servicing and Management (DISM)

• Bcdboot

You use these tools to perform the same steps manually that the Windows To Go Creator Wizard performs The process includes the following tasks:

1 Partition the USB drive, including FAT32- and NTFS file system–formatted partitions

2 Use DISM to apply the Windows image

3 Use Bcdboot to enable the system to start on UEFI and BIOS systems

4 Use DISM to apply a storage area network policy to prevent the internal disks from being used

5 Create an answer file to disable Windows RE

Like the Windows To Go Creator Wizard, the result when using Windows PowerShell is that

you have a Windows To Go workspace on the USB drive See “Deploy Windows To Go in Your Organization” at http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/jj721578.aspx#BKMK_4wtgdeploy for more information about scripting Windows To Go provisioning by using Windows PowerShell.Additional resources:

• “Deploy Windows To Go In Your Organization” at http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/jj721578.aspx

• “Getting Started with Windows PowerShell” at http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/hh857337.aspx

• Windows PowerShell User’s Guide at http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc196356.

aspx

Starting a Windows To Go drive

configuring-your-bios- settings-to-work-with- windows-to-go.aspx for more information.

articles/12911.tips-for-Enabling the Windows Store

The Windows Store is enabled by default on Windows To Go drives running Windows 8.1 Users can start the drive on any number of host computers, access the Windows Store, and run their apps

In Windows 8, the Windows Store is disabled in a Windows To Go workspace by default, because apps purchased through the Windows Store are tied to the device’s hardware and can be installed

on as many as five devices This means that the app will not run if the Windows To Go workspace is booted from more than five different devices

You can enable the Windows Store by using the Allow Store to install apps on Windows To Go

workspaces Group Policy setting found at \Computer Configuration\Administrative Templates\

Windows Components\Store Use this policy setting when the workspace will be booted from the same or a limited number of computers

If the Windows Store will remain disabled, Microsoft recommends that you remove the default Windows Store–related apps, such as Sports or News, from the Windows To Go workspace image These apps are updated through the Windows Store and therefore cannot be updated with the Windows Store disabled Educational apps that you sideload are unaffected by this policy and can still be loaded, run, and managed through normal app management processes

Additional resources:

• Windows Store apps: A deployment guide for education at http://www.microsoft.com/

download/details.aspx?id=39685

• “Management of Windows To Go using Group Policy” at http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/c598d28c-5829-42ce-8d43-a7a5a4382537#BKMK_wtggp

• “How to Add and Remove Apps” at http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/hh852635.

aspx

• “Managing Client Access to the Windows Store” at http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/hh832040.aspx

• “Prepare Your Organization for Windows To Go” at http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/

library/0fd52a81-c871-4567-aaaf-bd29c2ee65d4