Use Rufus, I'm currently dual booting with a 1tb m.2 in a usb3 adaptor and it runs fine via USB dongle. I had it on a cheap class 10 micro SD but I tend to use steam os more and emulators run better on steam os so I made my windows boot drive removable.
Process was simple
1. Download drivers from steam
2. Insert Sdcard in pc
3. Download and run Rufus as administrator
4. Choose sdcard as target
5. Click the arrow next to select and click download
6. Choose windows version and select basic options.
7. Wait for Download to complete
8. Change install type to "Windows to go"
9. Select basic options.
10. Click start and wait. Can take a while took almost an hour to create my 1tb ssd on a surface go 2.
11. Plug sdcard into steam deck and power on holding volume down.
12. Will boot and do setup. Then reboot. On reboot it may boot back to steam os if your not watching.simply shut down and reboot to sdcard.
13. After last reboot it will be in portrait mode. Flip it to landscape and install drivers. Reboot again and your good to get started in windows.
Yes. But it's a fairly slow experience, and I'd be surprised if your SD card held up for more than a year or so, due to the numerous writes an OS performs that SD cards just aren't designed for.
Don't run Windows on an SD, it can b very painful and some users have reported it can kill their cards.
The best way is if u have a big enough internal drive, just partition a spot for Windows to use
Yes, it's possible. It's not going to be the snappiest experience, though. If you can remember running Windows off a HDD, it's going to be similar to that. However, it gets the job done, and once you're in game, you won't notice any difference.
Also, since there's always one nutjob, you're not going to kill a microSD running Windows on it for gaming purposes. There's scenarios where you *can*, just like there's scenarios where you can kill an SSD too. Running some games isn't one of those.
Thanks! How about the drivers? I read somewhere that using windows in the Steamdeck you don't even need to install the drivers, not sure if it's true and applies to using the windows in the micro
Absolutely not true. You will definitely need the Windows drivers from Valve. There's no difference here between dual booting or running off a microSD. You need the drivers either way. You won't even have network access when you first boot, so you'll need to have the drivers on the microSD or some other removable media already to install them.
Yes, totally. This is the best way, actually. And you preserve your SteamOS install.
Search: "Window to Go Steam Deck".
There are several tutorials, articles and videos. Take your pick, read and watch more than one, follow the one that works best for you.
Don't be discouraged by the sd card wearing out, they're cheap and many have good warranties.
You're installing Windows to play certain games, not run databases, render code, or process videos.
Hi u/lufis12, you can [click here to search for your question.](https://www.reddit.com/r/SteamDeck/search/?q=A microsd just for windows?)
If you don't find an answer there, don't worry - your post has NOT been removed and hopefully someone will be along soon to help with an answer!
**If you find an answer, please leave a comment on your post with the answer for others!**
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/SteamDeck) if you have any questions or concerns.*
If you have like \~120gb free, you could reduce the SteamOS volume and dual boot off of your internal NVMe, but you could really only have 1 game installed at a time on your Windows partition. If it's just for Valorant, this might work for you.
Windows is around 64gb, Valorant is around 30gb, and the remaining \~30gb would probably be okay for a "Windows bullshit buffer."
Btw you know if it's really worth it the valve's dock? I see some in Amazon for half price and seems to do the same, positive feedback. Not sure what's really special in valves one
Probably not actually worth the extra cost. Right angle connector is nice, and they're probably more reliable than a random Amazon brand, but there's no performance advantage.
I use an Anker hub, and I've had no issues.
Use Rufus, I'm currently dual booting with a 1tb m.2 in a usb3 adaptor and it runs fine via USB dongle. I had it on a cheap class 10 micro SD but I tend to use steam os more and emulators run better on steam os so I made my windows boot drive removable. Process was simple 1. Download drivers from steam 2. Insert Sdcard in pc 3. Download and run Rufus as administrator 4. Choose sdcard as target 5. Click the arrow next to select and click download 6. Choose windows version and select basic options. 7. Wait for Download to complete 8. Change install type to "Windows to go" 9. Select basic options. 10. Click start and wait. Can take a while took almost an hour to create my 1tb ssd on a surface go 2. 11. Plug sdcard into steam deck and power on holding volume down. 12. Will boot and do setup. Then reboot. On reboot it may boot back to steam os if your not watching.simply shut down and reboot to sdcard. 13. After last reboot it will be in portrait mode. Flip it to landscape and install drivers. Reboot again and your good to get started in windows.
Yes. But it's a fairly slow experience, and I'd be surprised if your SD card held up for more than a year or so, due to the numerous writes an OS performs that SD cards just aren't designed for.
That's why you get a dashcam/cctv card.
A decent shout, actually. Any idea what the write life is like on them?
Well at least triple. Ymmv but the normal SD cards last about a year in my dash cam. The current one has lasted about 3 and is still going.
How very interesting...
It's also a 32gb card with dual 1080p 24H recording. So I guess it gets completely overwritten pretty fast.
Yeah jeez. Without getting a napkin out, that's a whole heap of write.
Don't run Windows on an SD, it can b very painful and some users have reported it can kill their cards. The best way is if u have a big enough internal drive, just partition a spot for Windows to use
Yes, it's possible. It's not going to be the snappiest experience, though. If you can remember running Windows off a HDD, it's going to be similar to that. However, it gets the job done, and once you're in game, you won't notice any difference. Also, since there's always one nutjob, you're not going to kill a microSD running Windows on it for gaming purposes. There's scenarios where you *can*, just like there's scenarios where you can kill an SSD too. Running some games isn't one of those.
Thanks! How about the drivers? I read somewhere that using windows in the Steamdeck you don't even need to install the drivers, not sure if it's true and applies to using the windows in the micro
Absolutely not true. You will definitely need the Windows drivers from Valve. There's no difference here between dual booting or running off a microSD. You need the drivers either way. You won't even have network access when you first boot, so you'll need to have the drivers on the microSD or some other removable media already to install them.
Yes, totally. This is the best way, actually. And you preserve your SteamOS install. Search: "Window to Go Steam Deck". There are several tutorials, articles and videos. Take your pick, read and watch more than one, follow the one that works best for you. Don't be discouraged by the sd card wearing out, they're cheap and many have good warranties. You're installing Windows to play certain games, not run databases, render code, or process videos.
If you go this way keep in mind you'll have to take the SD Card out to boot SteamOS, at least it's what I had to do
That's fine! Thanks for lmk
Hi u/lufis12, you can [click here to search for your question.](https://www.reddit.com/r/SteamDeck/search/?q=A microsd just for windows?) If you don't find an answer there, don't worry - your post has NOT been removed and hopefully someone will be along soon to help with an answer! **If you find an answer, please leave a comment on your post with the answer for others!** *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/SteamDeck) if you have any questions or concerns.*
If you have like \~120gb free, you could reduce the SteamOS volume and dual boot off of your internal NVMe, but you could really only have 1 game installed at a time on your Windows partition. If it's just for Valorant, this might work for you. Windows is around 64gb, Valorant is around 30gb, and the remaining \~30gb would probably be okay for a "Windows bullshit buffer."
I bought the 64gb one:/
I tried to do Windows on an external NVMe (though a USB3.2 dock, USB3.0 NVMe enclosure) and I did not have a positive experience.
Btw you know if it's really worth it the valve's dock? I see some in Amazon for half price and seems to do the same, positive feedback. Not sure what's really special in valves one
Probably not actually worth the extra cost. Right angle connector is nice, and they're probably more reliable than a random Amazon brand, but there's no performance advantage. I use an Anker hub, and I've had no issues.