Running SpinRite 6.1 on a UEFI only windows PC

Disclaimers:
this is a first draft and link references and footnotes are all messed up - so sorry refs like `¹² or [^12] or [^12^] are intermingled and messed up, will have to figure out how to fix my publishing pipeline 😊
Thanks for the feedback Peter Blaise
KNOWLEDGE required !!! You must be comfortable with Administration commands in both the Host OS of choice, as well as DOS and the VirtualBox application. You should NOT blindly follow this guide; you need to understand what the commands are, and why you’re doing them. These “How-Tos” will NOT tell you every single thing to click on; there is an assumption that you know your way around a PC. If that’s not you, DO NOT attempt this. YOU ARE DOING THIS AT YOUR OWN RISK, AS IT IS AN UNSUPPORTED METHOD TO RUN SPINRITE.
From Microsoft’s standpoint, you should be purchasing a license from them and Activate this instance of Windows To Go. My preliminary testing is that all runs fine without Activation, but I can’t speak to what, if anything, happens in the long run if you do not Activate this instance of Windows.

Step 1: Download Necessary Software

First, you need to download the necessary software. Here are the download links:

  • [Rufus][^1]
  • [VirtualBox][^4]
  • [VirtualBox Extension Pack][^6]
  • [FreeDOS USB Lite boot disk][^18]

Step 2: Create a Windows To Go USB Boot Flash Drive Using Rufus

  1. Launch Rufus.
  2. Select your USB drive from the Device drop-down menu.
  3. Click the Select button next to the Boot Selection field and then select your Windows 10/11 ISO image file[^10].
  4. In the Image option list, choose Windows To Go¹¹.
  5. Click the Start button to create the bootable USB[^10].

Step 3: Reboot the Windows PC Off of the USB Stick

  1. Connect the bootable USB flash drive to a USB port on your PC.
  2. Restart your PC.
  3. Press the appropriate key (ex: ESC, F2, F9 or F11) displayed for Boot Menu when you see the option available¹⁵.
  4. Choose the USB drive to boot from¹⁵.
  5. On windows 10 or 11 PCs you will likely have to use

Step 3 - alternative: Reboot the Windows PC Off of the USB Stick

  1. Connect the bootable USB flash drive to a USB port on your PC.
  2. Open the Settings app (you can do this by pressing the Windows key + I).
  3. Navigate to Update & Security.
  4. Select Recovery on the left sidebar.
  5. On the right panel, locate the Advanced startup option.
  6. Click the Restart now button[^31](https://www.thewindowsclub.com/how-to-boot-from-usb-drive-within-windows).
  7. After your PC restarts, you’ll see a screen with a few options. Choose Use a device.
  8. On the next screen, click or tap on the USB drive that you want to boot from[^32](https://www.thewindowsclub.com/how-to-boot-from-usb-drive-within-windows).
  9. Your computer will now restart and boot from the selected USB drive[^33](https://www.thewindowsclub.com/how-to-boot-from-usb-drive-within-windows).

Step 4: Install VirtualBox and Its Guest Extensions on the Windows To Go USB Boot Drive

  1. Launch the installer for VirtualBox that you downloaded earlier.
  2. Follow the prompts to install VirtualBox on your Windows To Go USB boot drive²⁴.
  3. Once VirtualBox is installed, click the Devices menu and select the Insert Guest Additions CD image option²⁴.
  4. Open File Explorer in the virtual machine, navigate to the VirtualBox Guest Additions disc, and double-click the VBoxWindowsAdditions.exe file to launch the installer²⁴.
  5. Follow the prompts to install the Guest Additions²⁴.

Step 5: Create a DOS VM Booting FreeDOS 1.3

  1. Launch VirtualBox.
  2. Click the New button to create a new virtual machine.
  3. Name your virtual machine, select Other for the type, and DOS for the version.
  4. Set the memory size and create a virtual hard disk.
  5. Once the virtual machine is created, select it and click the Settings button.
  6. In the settings window, navigate to Storage and click the Empty CD icon under the Controller: IDE section.
  7. Click the CD icon on the right side and select Choose a disk file....
  8. Navigate to the location of the FreeDOS USB Lite boot disk you downloaded earlier and select it²¹.
  9. Click OK to close the settings window.
  10. Start the virtual machine and follow the prompts to install FreeDOS²¹.

Please note that this guide assumes you have a Windows 10/11 ISO image file for creating the Windows To Go USB boot flash drive. If you don’t have one, you can either download it from the official Microsoft website, or the Rufus utility will also allow you to download it direct from Microsoft websites. Also, please be careful when following these steps as incorrect usage can lead to data loss. Be aware that in order for a Virtualbox VM to be able to access a raw physical device Virtualbox needs to be started or run with elevated or admin rights. Always backup your data before making any changes to your system.

Some relevant URLs used to produce this:

  • [^1] Rufus - The Official Website (Download, New Releases). https://rufus.ie/.
  • [^2] Downloads - Oracle VM VirtualBox. https://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/Downloads.
  • [^3] Oracle VM VirtualBox - Downloads Oracle Technology Network Oracle. https://www.oracle.com/virtualization/technologies/vm/downloads/virtualbox-downloads.html.
  • [^4] FreeDOS 1.2 (USB “Lite” installer) : Free Download, Borrow, and …. https://archive.org/details/FD12LITE.
  • [^5] Using Rufus To Create Windows To Go USB Drive. https://www.intowindows.com/rufus-to-create-windows-to-go-usb-drive/.
  • [^6] How to install Windows 11 & Windows 10 on a USB drive (Windows To Go). https://www.digitalcitizen.life/install-windows-to-go/.
  • [^7] How to boot from a USB drive (4 ways) - Digital Citizen. https://www.digitalcitizen.life/boot-your-windows-10-pc-usb-flash-drive/.
  • [^8] How to install VirtualBox Guest Additions on Windows 11/10. https://www.thewindowsclub.com/how-to-install-virtualbox-guest-additions-on-windows.
  • [^9] How to Run FreeDOS 1.3 on Windows 11 with Qemu. https://www.trishtech.com/2023/03/how-to-run-freedos-on-windows-11/.
  • [^10] Index of /downloads - Rufus. https://rufus.ie/downloads/.
  • [^11] Rufus - Create bootable USB drives the easy way. https://therufus.org/.
  • [^12] Oracle VM VirtualBox. https://www.virtualbox.org/.
  • [^13] Downloads – Oracle VM VirtualBox. https://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/Downloads?source=….
  • [^14] Download Oracle VM VirtualBox Extension Pack- Direct Links. https://www.itechscreen.com/virtualbox/oracle-vm-virtualbox-extension-pack/.
  • [^15] Windows 11 und 10: Bootfähigen USB-Stick erstellen – Anleitung. https://www.giga.de/downloads/windows-10/tipps/windows-10-von-usb-stick-installieren-anleitung/.
  • [^16] Einen USB-Stick bootfähig machen und den PC retten. https://www.ionos.de/digitalguide/server/knowhow/usb-stick-bootfaehig-machen/.
  • [^17] Create Windows To Go USB Drive Using Rufus in Windows 10. https://www.thepcinsider.com/create-windows-to-go-usb-drive-rufus/.
  • [^18] Windows 7 vom USB-Stick installieren. https://praxistipps.chip.de/windows-7-installation-per-usb-stick_27924.
  • [^19] How to Boot from USB Drive within Windows 11/10 - The Windows Club. https://www.thewindowsclub.com/how-to-boot-from-usb-drive-within-windows.
  • [^20] Boot from USB Drive on Windows 10 PC Tutorials - Ten Forums. https://www.tenforums.com/tutorials/21756-boot-usb-drive-windows-10-pc.html.
  • [^21] The FreeDOS Project. https://www.freedos.org/download/.
  • [^22] How to install FreeDos onto a USB stick? - Super User. https://superuser.com/questions/1388931/how-to-install-freedos-onto-a-usb-stick.
  • [^23] Clarification on using Rufus to create a bootable live FreeDOS USB …. https://superuser.com/questions/1688959/clarification-on-using-rufus-to-create-a-bootable-live-freedos-usb-drive.
  • [^24] FreeDOS Books. https://www.freedos.org/books/get-started/14-manual-install/.
  • [^25] Chapter 4. Guest Additions - VirtualBox.org. https://www.virtualbox.org/manual/ch04.html.
  • [^26] How to Access USB from VirtualBox Guest OS - LinuxBabe. https://www.linuxbabe.com/virtualbox/access-usb-from-virtualbox-guest-os.
  • [^27] undefined. https://www.qemu.org/download/.
  • [^28] undefined. https://qemu.weilnetz.de/w64/.
  • [^29] undefined. https://www.virtualbox.org/svn/vbox/trunk.
  • [^30] undefined. https://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/Downloads?source=.
  • [^31] How to Boot from USB Drive within Windows 11/10 - The Windows Club. https://www.thewindowsclub.com/how-to-boot-from-usb-drive-within-windows.
  • [^32] How to boot from a USB drive (4 ways] - Digital Citizen. https://www.digitalcitizen.life/boot-your-windows-10-pc-usb-flash-drive/.
  • [^33] 2 Easy Ways to Boot from USB on Windows 11 - UUByte. https://www.uubyte.com/boot-from-usb-on-windows-11-pc.html.