BootCamp on External HD

Ok i have an external hardrive for my macbook and i was wondering if i can create a bootcamp file on that external hd so when i have that hd plugged in then i can use Microsoft Windows. And if i can do i just go about the same instructions just add everything to the external hd? thanks for any help in advnace

As of now Boot Camp will only install to an internal drive.

Similar Messages

No bootable device installing w7 w/ Bootcamp and external DVD reader

Hello¡ Good night!
Lets see if anyone can help me find a solution since google, youtube and forums cant. (Wanted to call the apple support, but since my mac is from 2010, they want me to pay 19 S)
I have a MBP 17 inch from mid 2010, with MC OS X 10.6.4.
I installed Windows 7 like 2 or 3 years ago.
Everything was working fine, didnt give a single problem. Installed it easy by doing the partition and then with the original copy of Windows 7 32 bits did it quite easy and fast. (with bootcamp)
I used Windows and mac for all this years.
Last week, I decided I wanted to format my windows partition (since it was full of trash).
I had with me my original copy of windows and the installation of mac drivers (the same cd I used to set the drivers after the first intallation. Its the original, came with the mac).
I deleted the partition from the windows on the Boot Camp assistant, and re did it. And then the nightmare started.
After I prepared the partition from the bootcamp assistant (its the 3.0.1) I select the install windows now. Then the cd dvd from my Mac Book Pro started running but after a while it shut down, pulled out my windows cd and a message on screen saying , insert an original copy of windows and click yes... .. After trying for a while I decided to put in another cd, which was doing the same. Discovery, the cd,dvd from my MBP was broken. I checked up online to see if there was a problem and I discovered that this was not something new. A lot of people was having troubles with their optical drive stopped working out of nowhere and the only solution was changing it. Thing I cant do right now, since just that costs 120 euros...
I readed in some forums that you can use an external CD DVD reader so I bought one for 20 euros (Samsung SE 208A) which works perfectly fine in all the computers, even the MC OS X reads it and I can use it perfectly.
I put my original copy from windows 7 on the CD DVD, and click start windows installation in the Boot Camp Assistant. Which just reboots the computer perfectly.
And when the windows installation is supposed to start I get a message
No Bootable device... Please insert bootable device and press any key.
I tried all the solutions I saw online, nothing worked.
Pressing Option key while startup only opens the MacintoshHD
Pressing Option key with MAC OS X installation CD and then changing it to windows. (Windows cd appears on the bootable device, I select windows and I get back to the same back screen . No bootable device)
Pressing C and selecting Windows (From the CD DVD) and restart.

Thanks for the answer, but I dont have the windows anymore...
._. I have been reading a lot of forums (which is being hard, since everyone seems to have problems and not answers).
We managed to downdload a tool called rEFIT and we are now being abled to select the windows cd, but it's giving still problems. (Changing the list data from boot camp allows it to detect other boot routes) <- starting to feel like a hacker...
But we are still stucked.
We are trying to update my Boot camp to 3.1 (that seems to solve that problem) but for now it's being impossible, everything in the apple download website are .exe, which are the drivers ONCE you have windows INSTALLED. Clicking to Upgrade Software doesn't upgrade it.. So I'm looking into it...
I'll keep you guys informed if we manage to solve it.
Thanks for your time!

Issues using macbook with bootcamp and external apple monitor

I am having issues using an apple external monitor connected to my macbook with bootcamp - in particular, if i connect the monitor to the computer when the computer is already on, it won't work. Also, when i disconnect the monitor fromt he computer, the computer screen will go black and I'll have to re-start
Anybody experienced the same and can help?
Thx

just make sure that while its standing on its side there aren't any plugs or cables on that side. I'm not familiar with the mb port setup, but having power, two usb, and a display cable could prose a problem for sideward standing if they are on separate sides of the machine.
as the first commenter mentioned the orientation of your computer is irrelevant, but you wouldn't want to have the weight of the laptop sitting ontop of a usb or video plug that's coming out the side.

Boot into bootcamp with external monitor

Has anyone been able to boot into bootcamp with an external monitor? I have a macbook pro (nvidia), and every time I start windows I have to open up the laptop and re-select my cinema display as the primary monitor. I know it doesn't sound that bad but I'd like to be able to boot into windows and not have to reselect the display each time.

I too am very interested in doing this. Perhaps there is a .bat file someone has written to do this somewhere?
Any ideas on how to do that?
Anyone? Anyone?

Can't install Win7 as Lion Bootcamp with external optical

It's rare that a problem occupies so much of my time without my being able to resolve it. This one is really a massive pain.
I replaced my internal optical drive (MBP 17" Mid 2010) and now use an OWC DataDoubler to run 2 hard drives at the same time, a Mercury Extreme Pro SSD and the original 500GB HD.
I am trying to install bootcamp solely for the purpose of flashing the SSD to the latest firmware (I use Fusion for everything else).
I was successful with this procedure on a Mac Pro with internal optical, so I know it works. I am very reluctant to take apart the laptop again, uninstall the SSD/reinstall the optical drive, I would just prefer to install a bootcamp partition in the laptop and flash it there.
I absolutely cannot get WIn7x64 to boot from the external optical, neither can I get a USB key to boot (created using the Windows USB Download Tool.)
http://www.microsoftstore.com/store/msstore/html/pbPage.Help_Win7_usbdvd_dwnTool
I have tried rEFit, booting with another computer running firewire target mode, restoring the .iso to the bootcamp partition, using fdisk to select it, and then trying to option-boot into that; everything I can think of.
It just doesn't work! I am a VMware Fusion user and I have heard of some users who may have used Parallels or Fusion to get the files into a bootcamp partition and then make it bootable, however I don't understand how to do that. When I install a Fusion Guest into that partition, it just comes up as a .vmwarevm file.
Any help sincerely appreciated.

I finally found a solution to "trick"the Windows install!
The first install will run also from external drive. The problem ist the reboot!
On every reboot simply plug out your external DVD and press option-key. Select Windows harddisk and the installation
will continue. Plug in your external DVD once you see "Starting Windows".
Repeat this on every reboot until Windows is installed!
That´s it.

Installing win7 using bootcamp on external HD

Hi
I am on late 2008 macbook running mountain lion, i want to install win 7 but on an external hard drive. Is it possible?
Cause when i open bootcamp it tries to make a a partition on my primary HD and it can't see the external one.

Connected to an internal SATA port, or to a bootable PCIe controller.
Which means - never used laptop - there could be some Express card slot PCIe device for MacBook Pro - but I don't know of any.
I do have eSATA on some PCs that do allow install and booting but they are connected directly to the motherboard.
Paragon has a utility for Windows to put Windows on external devices but I think it is overkill and not what you want - useful for taking Windows with you.

Another bootcamp and external monitor question

my external display works fine and looks good, however, while running xp pro with SP 2, i cannot tell windows to make my external monitor the primary display. is there a way around this? thanks.

bootcamp drivers for the GPU unit lack that functionality. Instead you can use more recent drivers for your GPU. Before installing any, make sure you uninstall the current one.
For ATI:
Alternative 1: Go to http://www.omegadrivers.net/ and download ati driver.
Alternative 2: Download latest ATI driver for your chipset from ATI but not mobility one. For instance if your GPU is ATI Mobility Radeon X1600, download Radeon X1600 driver from ati. Then mod it with modtool from http://www.driverheaven.net/modtool.php
For NVIDIA:
Download your driver from http://www.laptopvideo2go.com/

Possible to install Windows 7 BootCamp on External HD?

I just got my macbook pro retina 2.3 ghz with a 256GB SSD. I want to install Windows 7 + Bootcamp on an external hard drive, and be able to boot from it, and access programs, games, and any files on it. Is this possbile? I havent yet purchased an external hard drive. Thanks in advance.

Usually applications' installers give you a default installation location and prompt if that's where you want to install it. You can change that to a different location, such as an external drive. This will likely slow down the game a bit if it has to load data from an external drive instead of the SSD.
You need to decide whether it's better to install everything on the SSD, thus, requiring a larger allocation of space for the Windows partition.

Want to BootCamp, add external HD and go to OS 10.6. Questions

I've got a MacBook Pro that I bought off Ebay while in Afghanistan, so I'm trying to plan this out and do this all at one time.
The MacBook Pro is 2.16 GhZ, 15", 2 Gigs of RAM and 250 G of HD. What I want to do is: dual boot, add external hard drive and upgrade to Snow Leopard. I've overloaded it with music and only have about 48 gig left.
Questions are: What order should I do this? Are there ramifications of the type of external HD used relative to dual booting? What is the easiest way to install (meaning, OS 10.6 first, then boot camp, or other way)?
I found on Walmart's website a Mac specific HD that is the Mac formatting, but I don't want to find out I can't access it when booting as a PC. I want to keep vital files. Also, I want to set up time machine. I have an iMac at home later and so I'm also debating on a Network Drive as the external, but since I'm using a wireless network on base (that I don't control) I don't know how I'll set it up.
Also, I got no disks with this Mac. I do have disks at home, but it'd be impossible to get my wife to find them and ship them out. I need to know EXACTLY which version of Windows is the easiest. There are "Haji" shops out here where you can buy full windows install disks very "inexpensively".
I think that's about it. Thanks for the help.

Hi John,
I can't help with everything, but a few ideas for you:
You need increased storage. You're getting down to the minimum free space you should have on your HD, so I'd clean up the HD first (installing a larger capacity would be even better).
After that, I'd run Repair Disk from my install disc, but given you don't have it (you should really try to get ahold of one), at least do a boot into Safe Mode and/or run fsck. You could also clone your HD to the external, and run Repair Disk from Disk Utility on that.
When you get the external HD (I'd get at least 1TB, but 1.5 or 2 would be nicer yet! ), partition it as GUID with at least 2 partitions (I'd do 3) and format all but one of the partitions Mac OS Extended (Journaled). I do not run Boot Camp/Windows, so I'm not sure what you need for that, but I would save 1 partition for Windows (format it as FAT32 or ?)
On one of the Mac Partitions, set up and run Time Machine backups. On another, I would do full clones (SuperDuper! or CarbonCopyCloner) on a periodic, maybe weekly basis, and do one before messing with anything on your HD. The third would be Windows stuff, out of my league.
Now that you're safely backed up, I would run Repair Disk (yes, again), Repair Permissions, and upgrade to 10.6 (and repair permissions after upgrade).
Sorry I can't help with everything, but hope that gives you some ideas. For the Boot Camp/Windows stuff, I would post over in the forums for that.
Message was edited by: tjk

Bootcamp and external hard disk?

ok so i'm going to be getting a mbp in the next week and was wondering whether boot camp can be set up on an external disk? this would be very helpful for me as it would allow me to be able to get a 128gb ssd in my macbook and keep that clean with just os x.
I am fully aware of the arguement that ssds are currently over priced but the speed factor is very appealing to me so that is why i am going for that option

thank you
this was just an option but i will most likely have both os' on the ssd and then just program files for windows games on the external drive, i know those games would not benefit from the speed of the ssd, but at least windows overall would

Bootcamp Question: External HD

First off, my hats off to the Mac community. I'm a recent convert from PC to Mac.
Here is what I want to do, and tell me if its possible. I want to use Bootcamp to get Windows XP on my computer in order to run alot of the windows software that I cant live without and simply dont have the money to buy the mac versions.
I DO NOT want Windows anywhere near my internal harddrive. SO I went out and bought a 1TB harddrive. I want to put the Windows OS on that harddrive and keep my Snow leopard on my internal HD. When I start the bootcamp application it does not give me the option to apply the windows operating system to the new harddrive...it only gives me the option to put it on my INTERNAL harddrive. I dont want to do this at all. IS there anyway to keep the different operating systems seperate? Thanks.

"As a side note: I've already tried Bootcamp with W7 which works (install same way as with Vista), but could not get the wireless keyboard to work."
Huh.. I use VMware Fusion to run W7 (it is pretty slow, but I only use it for poker sites) and the wireless keyboard works fine. It IS the older keyboard with the clear plastic base, perhaps that is the difference? Or is it the virtual windows? As I type I think I answered my own stupid question. Mac OS is still running the hardware with the virtual windows running.
Anyway. It's a possible solution. Use VMware Fusion.
I was going to do the bootcamp, but it wouldn't partition the hd because apparantly the physical space on the hard drive that would be partitioned is being used by files that can't be moved. It makes sense that the entire NTFS partition needs to be together physically. My computer is telling me I need to do a clean install of OSX and then try bootcamp again.
My question is... If I back up using Time Machine and then do the bootcamp to install W7, can I then just restore the backup onto the smaller partition? Or does Time Machine want to put stuff back into the same physical address on the harddrive?

Can I install Bootcamp on an External Hard Drive?

*Bootcamp on External Hard Drive?*
Can I install Bootcamp on an external Hard Drive? I don't see why it wouldn't work. Do I need to install the Mac OS on the external Hard Drive first, then Bootcamp?
Parallels
Another question. Does Parallels allow you to not have to use the "option" key to boot into Windows? I mean if I use Parallels can I use XP or Vista at the same time as my mac applications?
What, (if any) are the drawbacks to using "Parallels"?
*What Options are there...*
Is it possible for Apple to allow users to program a key on their keyboard, when pressed will bring up Windows so they don't have to always restart? I need to switch between Windows and mac OS quite often and it's a real pain to always restart. What options do I have?
Thanks

Hi Paint Guy,
*Bootcamp on External Hard Drive?*
Can I install Bootcamp on an external Hard Drive? I don't see why it wouldn't work. Do I need to install the Mac OS on the external Hard Drive first, then Bootcamp?
By Microsofts Design no Windows can be installed and booted from external HDs. BootCamp just follows this.
However, according to this http://tubeshards.wordpress.com/2006/12/05/install-windows-to-a-macintosh-usb-dr ive/ it can be done.
Parallels
Another question. Does Parallels allow you to not have to use the "option" key to boot into Windows? I mean if I use Parallels can I use XP or Vista at the same time as my mac applications?
What, (if any) are the drawbacks to using "Parallels"?
Parallels is an OS X application which don't need a restart of your Mac to run Windows.
Therefor you can run OS X and Parallels Windows side-by-side.
Main drawback is, that Windows runs not native (on the real hardware) but in a virtualized environment.
While this is more than acceptable for 'standard' Office programs, any program that needs direct hardware access (especially games and 3D-programs) either do not run at all or run at noticeable slower speed.
Also you have to realize that the amount of RAM in your Mac is divided between OS X and Parallels Windows.
*What Options are there...*
Is it possible for Apple to allow users to program a key on their keyboard, when pressed will bring up Windows so they don't have to always restart? I need to switch between Windows and mac OS quite often and it's a real pain to always restart. What options do I have?
BootCamp is no option then, since it needs a reboot everytime you want to switch between OS X and Windows.
Parallels (and VMWare Fusion and VirtualBox, BTW) run alongside OSX.
Thanks
You're welcome. Hope it helps.
Have Fun
Stefan
Message was edited by: Fortuny

External Backup Method - Alternate procedure

I normally do a backup of my Macintosh HD partition to an external drive using SD (all files to an image on external drive) and also do a backup of BOOTCAMP when within Win 7 x64 using Acronis True Image (again using all files option to a single file image).
Naturally both procedures above are executed using 'file by file' backup which is quicker than sector by sector backup. I have a 1TB WD Scorpio Blue stuffed in the Macbook Pro with apprx 700GB partitioned for Mac OS 10.6.5 and the remaining 300GB allocated to BOOTCAMP, the external backup drive is also 1TB with equally matched sized partitions
I would prefer to change my backup/copy method to just copy the 'entire disk' within the Macbook pro and mirror that to the external disk of the same size, a snap-shot mirror in one foul swoop with no messing about between two different OS's as stated above.
What would be the best procedure for this?
Would it involve booting externally from my OS X SL DVD disk and then running a disk copy within the utility? Best practice suggestions appreciated.

I have indeed had three drives with hardware failure already and another three or more instances where the data and/or structure of the data on the drive, i.e. B-Tree file index structure on a drive, had become corrupted and in some cases could not be repaired by any utility software as it was beyond fixing. First drive hardware failure was a desktop Lacie d2 but luckily it was just one of the connection interfaces that failed (firewire 800), fortunately it had a triple interface and I was able to salvage the data through the USB-2 interface only, this was probably a good thing as the drive was excessively noisy anyway and therefore may not have lasted much longer. Second drive to have hardware problems was a portable WD MyPassport Essential 1TB, for some reason this produced a fault when only a few months old and was not recognised by the OS, however bizarrely if I turned the unit upside down and laying it flat (as these drives are not the standing-up type being portable) and then plugging it back into the Mac, it would then work! Because of this I then got a portable Seagate GoFlex 1TB ultra portable in order to transfer the data from the upside-down WD MyPassport Essential and then take that back to the store, however this turned out to be the worst mistake because the Seagate GoFlex 1TB Ultra portable completely and entirely failed after only a mere 4 weeks of careful use,it would not appear at all on the desktop and no software could help it with some reporting a hardware failure code. It's worth pointing out that a desktop Western Digital MyBook Studio 1TB drive that I've had for some time now has been fine, I've had the MyBook Studio before and during the problems encountered with the two small mobile drives I'v had mentioned above and the MyBook Studio continues to perform well (even with the taxing task imposed by Super Duper when using the convert image to Read-Only mode for backing up all files - you can usually hear the drive become very noisy with the read-write head going ballistic as it converts & compares)
From the responses to this post I can see there's quite a lot to bare in mind when doing a sector by sector backup, such as replicating file-system errors or damaged data from any bad blocks, non defragmentation. I usually do a verify/repair & permissions repair first, as well as to clean up the system with utility software that runs the Mac daily/weekly & monthly housekeeping scripts in one go, the clearing of logs, resetting and emptying of all browsers and by then some automated background utility has completed it's full disk scan in the background for any bad blocks. To be honest I'm looking forward to the day I can affordably buy a decent 1TB SSD to eliminate the mechanical wear & tear factor with improvements increasing with the performances, wear levelling management, MTBF (mean time before failure - usually 2 million hours/228 years, for decent ones), transfer rates and power saving gains. OWC sell what appears to be a very decently specified 480GB SSD and soon they may have a 1TB version with lower future pricing per GB. Must point out though that Pure Silicon have had a One terabyte 1TB SSD SATA 2.5" 9.5mm MLC (multi layer cell type) drive for 2 years now since January 2009 when it was announced and the even more vastly superior SLC (single layer cell type) at an unheard of 500GB two years ago, but these are for military applications as well as medical, government and specialist enterprise server applications.. so they wont sell you one, but consumer companies are catching up.
http://www.puresi.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&layout=blog&id= 4&Itemid=9
Anyway, I've been going off subject a little myself here so in light of the different methods available, I think what I'm kinda looking for was a method of just backing up the whole drive in one go without having to do so from within the two separate OS's installed. Also this would be useful if or when I eventually get a 1TB SSD and therefore transfer the Mac OS partition and Bootcamp Windows partition straight over without upsetting them in case there would be problems using other methods. It's obviously not that straight forward doing sector backups, so I will have to experiment when I get another drive. Also being put-off with the failures I've had from previous external drives I'm therefore considering the RAID 1 disk mirroring route for my next external drive (cost permitting though).

Can I read mail on an external hard drive without importing the account?

HI - I have a large mail account on an external hard drive which i do not want to import on my mac due to hard drive space limitations. Can I review the mail within the Mail app, (or some other app) without importing everything into mail or onto my hard drive? Thanks very much!!

Hi Paint Guy,
*Bootcamp on External Hard Drive?*
Can I install Bootcamp on an external Hard Drive? I don't see why it wouldn't work. Do I need to install the Mac OS on the external Hard Drive first, then Bootcamp?
By Microsofts Design no Windows can be installed and booted from external HDs. BootCamp just follows this.
However, according to this http://tubeshards.wordpress.com/2006/12/05/install-windows-to-a-macintosh-usb-dr ive/ it can be done.
Parallels
Another question. Does Parallels allow you to not have to use the "option" key to boot into Windows? I mean if I use Parallels can I use XP or Vista at the same time as my mac applications?
What, (if any) are the drawbacks to using "Parallels"?
Parallels is an OS X application which don't need a restart of your Mac to run Windows.
Therefor you can run OS X and Parallels Windows side-by-side.
Main drawback is, that Windows runs not native (on the real hardware) but in a virtualized environment.
While this is more than acceptable for 'standard' Office programs, any program that needs direct hardware access (especially games and 3D-programs) either do not run at all or run at noticeable slower speed.
Also you have to realize that the amount of RAM in your Mac is divided between OS X and Parallels Windows.
*What Options are there...*
Is it possible for Apple to allow users to program a key on their keyboard, when pressed will bring up Windows so they don't have to always restart? I need to switch between Windows and mac OS quite often and it's a real pain to always restart. What options do I have?
BootCamp is no option then, since it needs a reboot everytime you want to switch between OS X and Windows.
Parallels (and VMWare Fusion and VirtualBox, BTW) run alongside OSX.
Thanks
You're welcome. Hope it helps.
Have Fun
Stefan
Message was edited by: Fortuny

AutoCAD /Bootcamp

I have heard that there is a patch or a way to fix the break in a licensing problem for Auto CAD. I was wondering if someone could help direct me or let me know that I am a total fool for getting a Mac to run Auto CAD. I am required to register my program every time and have subsequently ran out of activations. Please help.
SCC

Hi,
The fix was created by Autodesk and resolve issues related to internal SATA hard drives (no problem with IDE drives). Autodesk does not specify specific operating system (you'll find the link to the fix by following the link from my post above).
Have you read my post of 09/10/08?
Did you check if you have a SATA controller running under BootCamp?
External drives FireWire or USB should not be lit to start BootCamp (outside of AutoCAD, this is not recommended anyway) - after the session opened, you can switch on and launch AutoCAD when you want without problem .
What error number reference Autocad?
Are you also Parallels Desktop?

BootCamp on External HD

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for