Windows to Go and Portable VirtualBox

Transcription

1 Windows to Go and Portable VirtualBox Creating a portable virtual machine test bench Originally presented at the Maine Technical User s Group Conference, June 2014

2 Steps in the Process Create a Windows to Go bootable USB device Resize the %systemdrive% and create a new partition on the device Download Portable VirtualBox and the VirtualBox binaries Install the Portable VirtualBox wrapper Create your VMs

3 Windows to Go Windows to Go (WTG) is a new feature of Windows 8.X and Windows 10 Allows the creation of a full blown version of Windows 8 or 10that boots from a USB flash drive or USB hard drive - UFD or UHD

4 Windows to Go Requirements WTG Software Requirements: Enterprise version of Windows 8.X or 10, or Education version of Windows 10 *Microsoft licensing for WTG requires a volume license with software assurance *Can be done with the evaluation versions * Downloadable for free from Microsoft You can use IMAGEX.EXE to create a WTG device using the Pro versions of Windows 8.X or 10 * *Not part of this demo

5 Windows to Go Requirements WTG Hardware Requirements: The original Windows 8.0 WTG application had a very short hardware compatibility list (HCL) - Including: *Kingston DataTraveler UFD *Spyrus Portable Workspace UFD *Western Digital My Passport Enterprise UHD

6 Windows to Go Requirements WTG Hardware Requirements: The Windows 8.1 and 10 versions of WTG support many more USB devices = non-certified drives - Including: *Virtually any UHD *All UFDs that mount as a fixed disk * Ex: Sandisk Cruzer *Most UFDs mount as a removable disk which cannot be used with the Windows to Go application

7 Windows to Go Requirements WTG Hardware Requirements: To boot from your WTG device you need a system that: - Meets the HCL for Windows 8.X or 10 - Is capable booting from a USB device *Virtually any system, laptop or desktop, made within the past two or three years

8 Using Windows to Go Why use Windows to Go? For your remote workers you have created and secured the OS Contractors / consultants visiting your company your security policies don t allow BYOD Taking your work home or on the road with your personal stuff all your applications, files, and settings go with you again, you have setup and secured the device - Think Bitlocker

9 Building Your WTG Device Start by finding the Windows to Go application

10 Building Your WTG Device Run the program

11 Building Your WTG Device Assuming a compatible device is connected, it will be found

12 Building Your WTG Device After clicking next, the program searches for a Windows 8.X or 10 INSTALL.WIM file (image)

13 Building Your WTG Device You will need the proper version of Windows.iso file, or install DVD for this step You can mount the ISO file as a disk in a DVD drive with Windows 8 or 10

14 Building Your WTG Device There seems to be a bug in Windows 8.1 when trying to mount an ISO But, when you look, the file has been mounted

15 Building Your WTG Device Choose add search location if your mounted ISO or installation DVD is not automatically found

16 Building Your WTG Device The program has now found the image required

17 Building Your WTG Device Would you want to use Bitlocker to Go? Another new feature of Windows 8.X or 10

18 Building Your WTG Device You are now ready to create, note that the process will reformat the drive

19 Building Your WTG Device This might take a while Approximately 35 minutes on my Dell i5 4GB system

20 Building Your WTG Device In progress

21 Building Your WTG Device Completed

22 Setup Windows on the WTG Device You are now ready to boot from the WTG UFD or UHD and setup Windows Booting from a USB device may need a change in the BIOS or UEFI settings on your system It may be as simple as pressing the boot options key at startup and selecting the boot from USB - Usually F11 or F12 - If prompted, choosing the non-uefi option is recommended

23 Setup Windows on the WTG Device As WTG boots for the first time you will see: Startup Loading Drivers Continuing to Build the HAL System Reboots Language Settings EULA

24 Setup Windows on the WTG Device Configuration and account settings: Computer Name Settings Create an Admin User Use your Microsoft Account Passport / LiveID / Hotmail / etc. Create a Microsoft Account Create a Local Account

25 Setup Windows on the WTG Device Settings: If you choose Customize on the Settings window, you will be presented with options to turn on or off: - IE SmartFilter - App location awareness - Windows update settings - Etc.

26 Setup Windows on the WTG Device Finishing the setup: Thank You So Much I ll Be Sure to Do That Gotta Love the Colors Finally. Logged in

27 Setup Windows on the WTG Device You will only have to run through the configuration and account setup the first time you boot your WTG device When you use it on different systems in the future, it will run through the Getting Devices Ready (only once for each different system) and reboot at least once Usually takes a few minutes for each different system

28 Using Your WTG Device Now, what can you do with it? Run the Windows updates Install your Anti-Malware solution Install your apps Office, etc. Customize for your use Add users Join a Domain

29 Setting Up Portable VirtualBox Why Portable VirtualBox? Portable VirtualBox (PVB) is a wrapper for the VirtualBox (VB) hypervisor that allows it to run as a portable app *Not a true portable app fails to run properly on some systems By using PVB, running on a separate partition from the %systemdrive%, you can access and run PVB and work with your VMs from your WTG device without booting to the WTG interface on a system

30 Setting Up Portable VirtualBox Although VirtualBox is not as feature rich as other Type II hypervisors, like VMWare Workstation, it is a capable VM platform, and provides versatility when used with the PVB wrapper in a WTG environment Theoretically, you could use the Windows 8.X Hyper-v service on a WTG system, but I have not found this to be possible on all systems

31 Setting Up Portable VirtualBox Download to your WTG device: The VirtualBox installer: - The Portable VirtualBox installer: -

32 Setting Up Portable VirtualBox We could install and run PVB from the %systemdrive%, but for reasons we will talk about shortly, it is better to install and run PVB from a partition separate from the %systemdrive% Run the disk management console in WTG to do this

33 Setting Up Portable VirtualBox Use the disk management console to: Shrink the %systemdrive% Choose the Size Create a New Volume Running the Wizard Choose the Size Important! Assign a Drive Letter

34 Setting Up Portable VirtualBox Use the disk management console to: Name and Format Complete Make Sure of the Drive Letter as this Will Be Important Later

35 Setting Up Portable VirtualBox Move the downloaded files to a folder on the V: drive before installing

36 Setting Up Portable VirtualBox Run the PVB installer from the V: drive: Extract to Path Extracting Run the PVB Program UAC. Language Search for Vbox Installer

37 Setting Up Portable VirtualBox Run the PVB installer from the V: drive: Run the Vbox Installer Now Run the PVB Program Again Almost Ready to Create VMs

38 Setting Up Portable VirtualBox Create your virtual machines in PVB:

39 Using Portable VirtualBox Although PVB is supposed to be a portable app, it does not work consistently on all systems, including WTG It will work much better if you install Virtual Box on the host machine, but run the PVB version You should install the same version of Vbox that you used to setup PVB

40 Install Virtual Box Installing Vbox on a host system: Run the Installer Start the Install Choose Packages Options Head s Up Install

41 Install Virtual Box Installing Vbox on a host system: UAC Installing Installing Unsigned Drivers Done Run PVB Not VBox

42 Using Portable VirtualBox So now that we ve setup WTG and PVB Why? Your new Windows to Go device creates a versatile OS on a UHD or UFD that can be used for many purposes that were identified earlier Portable VirtualBox allows you to take your test bench VMs with you But, there is an added value to this device

43 Using Portable VirtualBox Added value: You can now use the PVB and VMs on any system by connecting, but not booting to the WTG device As the PVB files are all stored on the second partition you can access the partition from any Windows system and run PVB with booting to WTG Again, it is recommended that you install VirtualBox on the host systems, but run the PVB version

44 Using Portable VirtualBox One issue: When you connect your WTG device to a running Windows system, by default the WTG %systemdrive% will not be mounted this is a characteristic of the WTG installation The second partition that has PVB and your VMs on it will most likely be mounted, but not assigned a drive letter

45 Using Portable VirtualBox One issue: You will need to run the disk management console on the host machine and assign a drive letter to the partition with PVB on it

46 Using Portable VirtualBox Use the disk management console: Drive Mounted but No Drive Letter Change Drive Letter Add Important! Choose V: Done

47 Using Portable VirtualBox Important! You must assign V: to this PVB partition as this was the drive letter you assigned earlier before you installed and configured PVB If you don t use the same drive letter you assigned in WTG, PVB will have issues with the paths to the VMs

48 Done! Questions? Suggestions to make this process better? Download the instructions at: Thanks Howard Burpee, Professor of Computer Technology at SMCC Also, sole propietor of Indivdual Effort Technology Consulting