How to Run Windows 10 and 11 from SD Card?|Step-by-Step Guide

If you want to run Windows 10 or 11 from SD card on a notebook or tablet computer, you can first use AOMEI Partition Assistant software to move Windows 10 or 11 onto SD card, and then boot from it successfully.

Emily

By Emily / Updated on May 12, 2023

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Can I run Windows 10 or 11 from an SD card?

"I am working with a desktop with Windows 10 installed in my company, and I use a Windows 7 latop at home (just for games or videos). However, sometimes I need to work at home with the familiar Windows 10 OS, so can I move the Win 10 on my company desktop to the SD card and run Windows 10 from it at home?"

If you always travel but don’t want to carry a heavy laptop, or need to work with computers that do not have the apps or programs you need for work, then you can consider making a portable Windows 10/11 SD card or USB flash drive. With it, you will have less to carry, and all your preferences come with you.

An SD card bootable software can help

In order to load and run Windows 10 or 11 from SD card, you can make use of AOMEI Partition Assistant Professional. This software can move Windows 10 or 11 onto SD card, make it bootable and then allows you to load Windows 10 or 11 from it on other computers, even the brand-new one. Better than some other SD card bootable software, it provides two ways to make a portable Windows 10/11 SD card:

1. Create a bootable SD card with system disc/ISO: if you have a system installation disc or downloaded the Windows 10/11 ISO files, this method is perfect.
2. Create a bootable SD card with current system: Without the system disc or Windows 10/11 ISO file, you can use this method to directly move the OS partition (usually the C drive) to the SD card.

Now you can download its Demo version for a free trial.

Try Demo Version Win 10/8.1/8/7/10/XP
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Firstly, move Windows 10 or 11 on SD card/make SD card bootable

Now. Let’s get started. In the first step, please use AOMEI Partition Assistant Professional to make a Windows 10 bootable SD card.

What you will need to do this:
◆Prepare a 32GB or 64GB SD card. Plug it into the proper card slot, located either directly on the PC’s console or via an SD card adapter attached to a USB port.
◆If there are vital files on the card, please back up the SD card beforehand because everything will be deleted during the process.
◆A Windows 10/11 installation disk, or .iso file equivalent (if you decide to create Windows to go with ISO).
◆Verify the motherboard you’re installing Windows 10/11 on supports booting from an SD card/removable storage drive.

1. Install and launch AOMEI Partition Assistant Professional. Right-click “Tools” > “Windows To Go Creator”.

Win To Go Creator

2. Choose “Create Windows ToGo for personal computer” and click “Next”.

Create Win To Go For Personal Computer

PS.: If you want to run Windows 10 from SD card on Mac, you can choose the second option “Create Windows ToGo for Mac computer”.

3. Tick “Create Windows To Go with system disc/ISO”, choose the prepared ISO file and click “Next”.

Create Win To Go With Windows Files

4. Choose the inserted SD card and click “Proceed”.

Confirm

If the Windows 10/11 ISO file is not available, you can use the second method to create Windows bootable SD card with current system.

Secondly, boot Windows 10 or 11 from SD card

Once done, you have moved Windows 10/11 operating system onto SD card. Now, take the below steps to load Windows 10 from the bootable SD card.

1. Connect the bootable SD card to the computer from which you want to boot Windows 10/11. Restart the PC and press a certain key or combination of keys when the splash screen with the manufacturer’s logo is displayed to enter BIOS. (The key differs in different brand computers, usually being F1/F2/F10/Delete/Esc.)

2. In the BIOS interface, use your arrow keys to access and enter all menus to go to the Boot Order/Boot Priority tab. It might be hidden under submenus.

Change Boot Order

3. Once you found the boot order menu, you can see the structure of your boot order, which determines which devices your computer will try to boot from first, second, etc. Use arrow keys to move the bootable SD card to the top to set it as your first boot device.

4. Press "F10" to save and exit BIOS.

To make a Windows 10/11 bootable SD card, you should keep in mind that SD card tends to be slow in data writing and reading speed. So it is more recommended to use a 3.0 USB drive or an SSD drive.

Summary

Under the help of AOMEI Partition Assistant Professional, you can easily create a bootable Windows 10/11 SD card and run Windows 10/11 from SD card on any computer. The same steps can also help make Windows 7 and Windows 8/8.1 bootable SD card. Besides, it also supports migrating only OS drive to SSD/HDD, cloning bootable SD card, extending system drive without reboot. If you want to create a Windows Server bootable drive, you can try AOMEI Partition Assistant Server.

Emily
Emily · Staff Editor
Emily is an English editor of AOMEI Technology; she has a great passion for providing easy solutions for people to tackle with all disk or partition management problems. In addition to writing articles about disk/partition management, she also edits great tutorials on how to back up and restore disk for data security. In her spare time, she loves to learn computer skill to improve herself or stay with her family to enjoy a good day.