Can Windows OS be installed and run as read-only?

I have a DoD CentOS install on a CD, so even if the code in RAM is infected, a reboot eliminates the malware. But I am not a UNIX guy and would prefer to work with Windows.

I had an old vs of Windows on a CD that did the trick (but lost it). Is there a variant of Windows that I could install and then make read-only? I assume the swap file would need to be on a read-write drive.

Microsoft offered a program called Windows SteadyState. SteadyState was discontinued, but they did publish a TechNet Article on how to implement some of the same features.

There are also commercial applications, such as Deep Freeze.

You could also run Windows in a virtual machine, and use snapshots to roll back to a known good state.