Windows systems are one of the most common operating systems today, despite their bugs. At the same time, many users do not pay much attention to the shortcomings and prefer to use these systems as the main ones, installing them on removable media in order to work, so to speak, in a familiar environment when connected to other computers. The following will show you how to install Windows on an external hard drive for a laptop or desktop computer using the simplest steps provided for both IBM-compatible devices and Mac systems.
Options for installing Windows on external media
As for the choice of system installation option, there are not so many solutions. Roughspeaking, you can install Windows on an external hard drive in two ways: either it will be a stationary HDD / SSD, which, after installing the operating system, will be installed on another computer as the main device or a second drive when creating a RAID array, or it will be USB - a drive used as a portable device. The standard system installation process in terms of the actions performed by the Windows Installer and the stages of installing the main components is the same for both cases. But the preliminary steps differ quite significantly.
Standard installation steps
To begin with, briefly about how to install Windows 10 on an external hard drive, if the device belongs to the class of standard HDD hard drives or more modern SSD solid state drives. Actually, before starting the installation of the system, assuming that the user is dealing with a new device that has never been connected to a computer, it will only be necessary to make its correct connection, perform initialization in the operating system already on the main hard drive, create a simple and format the device. Without such preparation, at the stage of selecting a partition for copying system files, the installer will give an error or not recognize the disk at all.
In a sense, all actions performed are akin to installing a second OS in a logical partition, the role of which will be performed by the connected device.
However, there are some nuances. The thing isthat the main drivers will be installed only for those devices that are present on the computer used to install the system. If you connect the hard drive to another computer or install it in a laptop, of course, the system will install additional drivers on its own, and if necessary, you will need to get rid of other installed software (if necessary) by deleting the disabled components along with their drivers in the "Dispatcher devices.”
How to install Windows on an external USB hard drive: preliminary breakdown
Now let's look at a similar situation, but already connected with the installation of Windows on a USB HDD, when connected, the operating system available on it can be used when connected and loaded on another computer device.
Initially, we assume that the device has a factory initialization, and for convenience, we will talk about how to install Windows 10 on an external hard drive, since this particular system has recently been given the greatest preference. The first step is to create an installation area, for example, if the disk has a capacity of, say, more than 200 GB. How to install Windows on an external hard drive in the easiest way? Some experts advise partitioning and then creating a system partition via the command line, but it can be quite difficult for an ordinary user to perform such operations, so we will perform the initial operations in the AOMEI Partition Assistant program.
In the list, simply select your device, and on the left in the menu, use the item to resize the partition. In a new window, you just need to move the slider, freeing up at least 100 GB for the system (for Windows 7, you can use less - 60 GB). Next, action confirmation buttons are pressed.
Actions with partitions for installation
Now, speaking of how to install Windows on an external hard drive, you should consider that it is not yet ready for installation.
The next step will be to call the standard disk management partition in a running system, where via RMB on the appeared unallocated area of the external USB HDD, you need to select the creation of a simple volume, and at one of the final stages, agree with formatting in NTFS. After completing the Wizard, you can start installing the operating system directly.
Creating a bootloader and installing the system in WinNT Setup3
Today, there are quite a lot of programs for installing systems in this version, but one of the simplest and most understandable for any unprepared user can be called the WinNT Setup3 utility. It goes without saying that the installation image of the system has already been downloaded and saved on the main hard drive of the computer and mounted in a virtual drive (on Windows 10 this is done by simply double-clicking on the image file). Now - attention!
In the first field by pressing the buttonof choice, we find the sources folder on the virtual disk and specify the install.wim file in it. The second field indicating the disk with the bootloader is left unchanged (the choice is required only in case of splitting via the command line).
In the third field, specify the portable device and click the install button.
Installation process
Now, speaking about how to install Windows on an external hard drive, it is worth saying a few words about further actions, because it is too early to rejoice.
In the BootSect bootloader selection list, specify the primary system that is installed on the computer (BIOS or UEFI). And only after confirmation will the installation process start. When prompted to restart, we confirm the action and select a new system (for example, the tenth modification of Home Single Language). Then it remains to follow the instructions and prompts, after which the system will be completely ready for use.
Note: when connecting a removable device to another computer in the primary system, the device with the OS installed on it will need to be specified as the first one to start.
How to install Windows on an external hard drive for macbook: initial steps
It's not so easy with poppies. If you install the system in the previous way, it will not work. Therefore, a different technique should be used. How to install Windows on an external hard drive for Mac systems? The most important thing is to download from your "poppy"from the official Microsoft website a special image of a 64-bit system adapted for installation on "apple" devices.
For ease of installation, additional applets are required (BootCamp Assistant and applications for creating bootable media Rufus).
The easiest Windows installation method for Apple computers and laptops
Now let's focus on the installation process itself. To complete the installation, you need to take several basic steps:
- on the Mac via Boot Camp, we download all the necessary drivers and Windows support software (the WindowsSupport folder on the Desktop will be created automatically);
- copy the WindowsSupport directory and the downloaded system image from the "poppy" to a USB flash drive (not to an external drive);
- connect a flash drive and an external drive to a Windows computer, and in the Rufus program create a bootable external drive from a flash drive, select an image and switch to Windows To Go mode;
- copy driver folder (WindowsSupport) to external HDD;
- connect disk, mouse and USB keyboard to Mac;
- when rebooting, hold down the alt=""Image" key and select an external USB HDD, then follow the instructions of the installer (during the installation process, the "mac" can be rebooted several times, so when restarting, you will constantly need to select an external media, again, by pressing the "Image" key at startup);</li" />
- after the installation and initial setup of Windows is completed, go to the BootCamp folder located inWindowsSupport directory on an external device, and by running the installer file (Setup) we complete the installation of the drivers.
Summary of results
So we figured out how to install Windows on an external hard drive, considering several typical situations. As already clear, the process is quite complicated,. Therefore, when choosing each action and at any step, be extremely careful (it is especially important not to confuse connecting a flash drive and an external drive to different computers and choosing actions with them). In some cases, it also makes sense to pay attention to connecting a stationary hard drive, which will later be installed on another computer (correct setting of Master / Slave modes). If the connected external hard drive is not detected, you will need to perform initialization in the working system yourself, and at the same time format the disk in NTFS.
