How to Clone Windows 10 to USB Flash Drive as Portable Windows 10

Written by Luna
Technical Editor at Hasleo Technology, focuses on data protection and practical solutions.
Updated on June 9, 2026 | WinToUSB

• Clone vs Install: What's the difference?
• Tutorial to clone Windows 10 to a USB flash drive as a portable Windows 10
• Recommended USB flash drive specifications
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Conclusion

We are a trading company, and we are planning on cloning Windows 10 to the USB flash drive from the employee's Windows 10 PC. The plan is really for emergency backup, if the PC hard drive fails or some other issue comes up, the worker would be able to continue to work from the Portable device. Can WinToUSB help us do such things?

Yes, Hasleo WinToUSB is the world's first software that can clone Windows 10 to a USB flash drive while guaranteeing the cloned system boots successfully. Hasleo WinToUSB allows cloning a live Windows 10 installation from an internal hard drive to a USB flash drive as a backup of the current system. Afterwards, you can use this portable Windows 10 USB flash drive to continue working or restore the original system when your Windows 10 crashes or becomes unbootable.

Clone vs Install: What's the difference?

Cloning an existing Windows 10 to a USB flash drive is different from installing a fresh copy. Cloning creates an exact replica of your current system including all installed applications, personal files, settings, and configurations. This means you can pick up exactly where you left off without reinstalling any software. In contrast, a fresh installation requires setting up everything from scratch. For emergency backup purposes, cloning is the preferred method as it preserves your complete working environment.

Tutorial to clone Windows 10 to a USB flash drive as a portable Windows 10

Step 1. Connect the USB flash drive to your computer. Download, install and run Hasleo WinToUSB, then click the "Windows To Go USB".

Step 2. Click "Select installation source" and then select "Current Windows OS" from the pop-up list.

Step 3. Click "Select destination drive" and choose the target drive from the pop-up list.

Step 4. Select your preferred partition scheme and installation mode. Optionally, you may specify additional drivers or enable BitLocker encryption for the Windows To Go drive, then click "Proceed".

* Tips:

1. We recommend choosing the VHD/VHDX installation mode for better compatibility when creating a Windows To Go on a USB flash drive.
2. For detailed information about "Partition scheme", "Installation mode" and "Enable BitLocker", please refer to: How to Clone an Existing Windows to a USB Drive as a Windows To Go Workspace?
3. If you select "Keep the existing partition scheme" option, you need to manually prepare the USB drive partitions before this step. View guide: How to Manually Prepare Partitions for Windows To Go?

Step 5. After clicking "Proceed", a confirmation dialog will appear asking whether to continue formatting the drive. Click "Yes" if you accept the operation.

Step 6. After clicking "Yes", Hasleo WinToUSB initiates Windows cloning on the destination drive. Cloning time depends on the size of the data being cloned.

Step 7. Wait for the cloning process to finish. Upon successful completion, restart the computer and enter UEFI/BIOS settings to boot from the USB flash drive.

Recommended USB flash drive specifications

For the best Windows To Go experience, choose a USB 3.0 or USB 3.1 flash drive with at least 32 GB of storage and fast read/write speeds. USB flash drives with SSD controllers (often called "high-speed" or "performance" USB drives) offer significantly better performance than standard flash drives. Brands like SanDisk Extreme Pro, Samsung BAR Plus, or any drive with sequential read speeds above 200 MB/s are good choices. Avoid using very slow or older USB 2.0 drives as they will result in poor system responsiveness.

Frequently Asked Questions

Conclusion

Using Hasleo WinToUSB, you can clone Windows 10 to a USB flash drive as a portable Windows 10, and the drive is really useful when your system crashes. Additionally, you can create portable Windows 10 systems by cloning to external hard drives or either USB flash drives.

As a professional Windows To Go creation tool, Hasleo WinToUSB can also create portable Windows 11 and portable Windows 8.