Booting Win Xp Pro from an external Usb Hdd

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Guest

I've tried to install my new Windows Xp Pro with Sp2 to an external disk,
and it all went fine until i got to the part where to choose the hdd to
install to. When i choose the external usb disk, i got a message from Windows
setup saying that the computer could not access the partition or free space
chosen, and that the setup could not install windows in that hdd. Still, i
could go back, and erase and create partition(s) on the hdd, but got always
the same message. All my hardware is working ok, and i've even upgrade my
motherboard bios to the latest version. The external disk also works fine,
since i installed Windows on the internal ide hdd and, inside Windows, i
could access, read and write to the external disk. I've tried Diskpart
according to Windows help, but was no use. Any help?

Thanks in advance ;)
 
You cannot install Windows XP on an external drive.
Windows XP can only be installed on an internal drive.
External drives are designed for file backups and storage only.

--
Carey Frisch
Microsoft MVP
Windows - Shell/User
Microsoft Community Newsgroups
news://msnews.microsoft.com/

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

:

| I've tried to install my new Windows Xp Pro with Sp2 to an external disk,
| and it all went fine until i got to the part where to choose the hdd to
| install to. When i choose the external usb disk, i got a message from Windows
| setup saying that the computer could not access the partition or free space
| chosen, and that the setup could not install windows in that hdd. Still, i
| could go back, and erase and create partition(s) on the hdd, but got always
| the same message. All my hardware is working ok, and i've even upgrade my
| motherboard bios to the latest version. The external disk also works fine,
| since i installed Windows on the internal ide hdd and, inside Windows, i
| could access, read and write to the external disk. I've tried Diskpart
| according to Windows help, but was no use. Any help?
|
| Thanks in advance ;)
 
You cannot install Windows XP on an external drive.
Windows XP can only be installed on an internal drive.
External drives are designed for file backups and storage only.
Click to expand...

Correct, but there are a few exceptions. For example, there are
external SATA drives that work just like internal ones and can
boot Windows.

And I can boot a Windows XP version named BartPE from a USB
memory stick on my computer. Not every computer can do this, but
newer BIOS versions allow it. I'm sure a normal Windows
installation can be shifted to an external drive and booted, if
it's done right.

There are also special USB sticks that pose, for example, as an
Iomega Zip drive and can be booted.

But we're into specialties now.

Hans-Georg
 
Carey said:
External drives are designed for file backups and storage only.
Click to expand...

And what better backup is there than a drive that you can actually boot
the operating system from?

My boss is going to China soon and she is taking her laptop. She wants
to backup her internal drive to a USB drive such that if her internal
drive crashes she'd be able to boot her machine from the external drive.
This seems like such a reasonalbe thing to be able to do that I
would have thought that somebody (Microsoft?) would have figured out how
to do it. The best that I can come up with I think (or is there another
way?) is to image her internal drive and then put it in her USB
enclosure. She can then continue to backup her files to it but if a
crash occurs she could replace her internal drive with the USB drive.
She doesn't really want to have to do such a procedure though. I don't
blame her even though it isn't a huge task. At least it would be better
than nothing.

Does anyone have a better procedure for doing this?

Thanks,

Steve
 
You can buy an external HDD that plugs into the USB port (USB2)
then just mirror or backup the drive onto this drive "Unplug" and restore
when ever there is a need.

The drive is 120GB external drive called a "passport" drive.

I have one on my laptop (Velcroed to the lid) they are briliant..
 
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