Last Updated on February 25, 2024 by Mathew Diekhake

Windows To Go is a feature in Windows 8 Enterprise, Windows 8.1 Enterprise, Windows 10 Education, Windows 10 Enterprise, and Windows 10 Pro (limited to “Education” or “Enterprise” image) that allows you to boot the operating system from a USB flash drive or external hard drive that has been signed by Microsoft.

Windows To Go was created so administrators can quickly provide users with the Windows operating system that reflects the corporate desktop. Since Windows To Go can offer operating system images, you can load the OS and its features the same on one computer to another.

Windows To Go can be booted from any number of computers. When Windows To Go is booted on a workspace, the host computer will automatically have associated drivers installed from Windows To Go so that the operating system and all its features can work seamlessly on the new computer. Read more: Windows To Go: feature overview

The following tutorial demonstrates how to enable and disable Windows To Go using Windows 10’s Sleep mode on any version of the Windows 10 operating system.

How to Enable/Disable Hibernate when Starting from a Windows To Go workspace in Group Policy

Here is how you can enable and disable the Hibernate mode when starting from Windows To Go workspace from the Local Group Policy Editor:

Note: You can only find the Local Group Policy Editor on one of the following Windows 10 editions: Windows 10 Pro, Windows 10 Enterprise, and Windows 10 Education.

1. Open the Local Group Policy Editor.

2. From the Local Group Policy Editor’s left pane, navigate through to the following folders:

Computer Configuration\Administrative Templates\Windows Components\Portable Operating System

3. With Portable Operating System selected, double-click on the Allow hibernate (S4) when starting from a Windows To Go workspace policy to make changes to it. (click to enlarge screenshot below)

4. From the Allow hibernate (S4) when starting from a Windows To Go workspace policy window, choose between Not Configured (to disable Hibernate when starting from a Windows To Go workspace), Enabled (to enable Hibernate when starting from a Windows To Go workspace), or Disabled (to disable Hibernate when starting from a Windows To Go workspace), and then click on the OK button at the bottom of the policy window to save the changes.

You can now close the Local Group Policy Editor and continue using your computer if you like.

That’s all.