diff --git a/spec/atom-portable-spec.coffee b/spec/atom-portable-spec.coffee
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..4665621ff
--- /dev/null
+++ b/spec/atom-portable-spec.coffee
@@ -0,0 +1,49 @@
+path = require "path"
+fs = require 'fs-plus'
+temp = require "temp"
+rimraf = require "rimraf"
+AtomPortable = require "../src/browser/atom-portable"
+
+describe "Check for Portable Mode", ->
+  describe "Windows", ->
+    describe "with ATOM_HOME environment variable", ->
+      it "returns false", ->
+        expect(AtomPortable.isPortableInstall("win32", "C:\\some\\path")).toBe false
+
+    describe "without ATOM_HOME environment variable", ->
+      environmentAtomHome = undefined
+      portableAtomHomePath = path.join(path.dirname(process.execPath), "..", ".atom")
+      portableAtomHomeNaturallyExists = fs.existsSync(portableAtomHomePath)
+      portableAtomHomeBackupPath =  "#{portableAtomHomePath}.temp"
+
+      beforeEach ->
+        fs.renameSync(portableAtomHomePath, portableAtomHomeBackupPath) if fs.existsSync(portableAtomHomePath)
+
+      afterEach ->
+        if portableAtomHomeNaturallyExists
+          fs.renameSync(portableAtomHomeBackupPath, portableAtomHomePath) if not fs.existsSync(portableAtomHomePath)
+        else
+          rimraf.sync(portableAtomHomePath) if fs.existsSync(portableAtomHomePath)
+        rimraf.sync(portableAtomHomeBackupPath) if fs.existsSync(portableAtomHomeBackupPath)
+
+      describe "with .atom directory sibling to exec", ->
+        beforeEach ->
+          fs.mkdirSync(portableAtomHomePath) if not fs.existsSync(portableAtomHomePath)
+
+        it "returns true", ->
+          expect(AtomPortable.isPortableInstall("win32", environmentAtomHome)).toBe true
+
+      describe "without .atom directory sibling to exec", ->
+        beforeEach ->
+          rimraf.sync(portableAtomHomePath) if fs.existsSync(portableAtomHomePath)
+
+        it "returns false", ->
+          expect(AtomPortable.isPortableInstall("win32", environmentAtomHome)).toBe false
+
+  describe "Mac", ->
+    it "returns false", ->
+      expect(AtomPortable.isPortableInstall("darwin", "darwin")).toBe false
+
+  describe "Linux", ->
+    it "returns false", ->
+      expect(AtomPortable.isPortableInstall("linux", "linux")).toBe false
diff --git a/src/atom-environment.coffee b/src/atom-environment.coffee
index 2619d5773..f98e1b835 100644
--- a/src/atom-environment.coffee
+++ b/src/atom-environment.coffee
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 crypto = require 'crypto'
 path = require 'path'
+ipc = require 'ipc'
 
 _ = require 'underscore-plus'
 {deprecate} = require 'grim'
@@ -203,6 +204,15 @@ class AtomEnvironment extends Model
 
     @observeAutoHideMenuBar()
 
+    checkPortableHomeWritable = ->
+      responseChannel = "check-portable-home-writable-response"
+      ipc.on responseChannel, (response) ->
+        ipc.removeAllListeners(responseChannel)
+        atom.notifications.addWarning("#{response.message.replace(/([\\\.+\\-_#!])/g, '\\$1')}") if not response.writable
+      ipc.send('check-portable-home-writable', responseChannel)
+
+    checkPortableHomeWritable()
+
   setConfigSchema: ->
     @config.setSchema null, {type: 'object', properties: _.clone(require('./config-schema'))}
 
diff --git a/src/browser/atom-portable.coffee b/src/browser/atom-portable.coffee
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..a8cbd2d41
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/browser/atom-portable.coffee
@@ -0,0 +1,32 @@
+fs = require 'fs-plus'
+path = require 'path'
+ipc = require 'ipc'
+
+module.exports =
+class AtomPortable
+  @getPortableAtomHomePath: ->
+    execDirectoryPath = path.dirname(process.execPath)
+    path.join(execDirectoryPath, '..', '.atom')
+
+  @isPortableInstall: (platform, environmentAtomHome, defaultHome) ->
+    return false unless platform is 'win32'
+    return false if environmentAtomHome
+    return false if not fs.existsSync(@getPortableAtomHomePath())
+    # currently checking only that the directory exists  and is writable,
+    # probably want to do some integrity checks on contents in future
+    @isPortableAtomHomePathWritable(defaultHome)
+
+  @isPortableAtomHomePathWritable: (defaultHome) ->
+    writable = false
+    message = ""
+    try
+      writePermissionTestFile = path.join(@getPortableAtomHomePath(), "write.test")
+      fs.writeFileSync(writePermissionTestFile, "test") if not fs.existsSync(writePermissionTestFile)
+      fs.removeSync(writePermissionTestFile)
+      writable = true
+    catch error
+      message = "Failed to use portable Atom home directory (#{@getPortableAtomHomePath()}).  Using the default instead (#{defaultHome}).  #{error.message}"
+
+    ipc.on 'check-portable-home-writable', (event) ->
+      event.sender.send 'check-portable-home-writable-response', {writable, message}
+    writable
diff --git a/src/browser/main.coffee b/src/browser/main.coffee
index 990002671..48485486b 100644
--- a/src/browser/main.coffee
+++ b/src/browser/main.coffee
@@ -60,6 +60,8 @@ setupCrashReporter = ->
 setupAtomHome = ->
   return if process.env.ATOM_HOME
   atomHome = path.join(app.getHomeDir(), '.atom')
+  AtomPortable = require './atom-portable'
+  atomHome = AtomPortable.getPortableAtomHomePath() if AtomPortable.isPortableInstall(process.platform, process.env.ATOM_HOME, atomHome)
   try
     atomHome = fs.realpathSync(atomHome)
   process.env.ATOM_HOME = atomHome
diff --git a/static/index.js b/static/index.js
index 72a974242..c21cd6327 100644
--- a/static/index.js
+++ b/static/index.js
@@ -17,6 +17,8 @@
       })
 
       // Ensure ATOM_HOME is always set before anything else is required
+      // This is because of a difference in Linux not inherited between browser and render processes
+      // issue #5142
       setupAtomHome()
 
       blobStore = FileSystemBlobStore.load(