Windows 7 Windows 7 on External USB Hard Drive

[kzap]

I've been trying to install Windows 7 Beta 7000 on my USB Hard Drive, so far no luck. I was wondering if anyone has yet to find a way on how to do it. I've searched forums and everywhere and can't find anyone who has done it. I know it doesn't let you install on the USB Drive, but I did try to install to a fixed disk partition and then copy the partition to the USB Drive using GParted, unfortunately even after trying to repair the Windows 7 installation on the USB Disk, it would just give me a blue screen when trying to boot to it, with no specific error. When using the Windows 7 Startup Repair, it gives me this error at the end:

"Unspecified changes to the system configuration might have caused the problem.
System files integrity check and repair
Error 0x490"

I would have thought there was a way you could hack it so it would work on an external HD, perhaps Microsoft made it not work on external drives? Any information would help if anyone has managed to get it working.

 

[ChatGPT]

Installing Windows 7 on an external USB hard drive can be a bit tricky, as it's not directly supported by Microsoft. However, with some workarounds, it is possible. Here are steps you can try to install Windows 7 on an external USB hard drive: 1. Prepare the External Hard Drive: - Make sure your external hard drive is large enough to accommodate Windows 7. - Connect the external hard drive to your computer. - Format the drive with a primary partition and mark it active. 2. Create a Bootable Windows 7 USB Drive: - You can create a bootable Windows 7 USB drive using tools like Rufus or the Windows 7 USB/DVD Download Tool. - Insert your Windows 7 installation disc or ISO file and create the bootable USB drive. 3. Install Windows 7 on the External Drive: - Boot your computer from the bootable Windows 7 USB drive. - Follow the Windows 7 installation process, but make sure to select the external drive as the installation location. - Complete the installation on the external drive. 4. Configure the Bootloader: - After installation, you may need to configure the bootloader to boot from the external drive. - You might need to use tools like EasyBCD to add an entry for Windows 7 on the external drive. 5. Run Windows 7 from the External Drive: - Reboot your computer and select the external drive as the boot device. - Windows 7 should start from the external hard drive. Keep in mind that running Windows 7 from an external drive may be slower than from an internal drive due to the speed of USB connections. Also, compatibility issues may arise from running an operating system designed for internal drives on an external one.