Can I Install Windows 7 On An External HDD?

So I bought a 1TB external hard drive, freeing my old 320GB module. I have no room to install a proper partition on my MacBook Pro, so I was wondering if it's possible to install Windows 7 on my 320GB external hard drive and run it without problem.

Installing Windows on an external drive is not supported.

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Installing Windows Vista on external HDD

I know there's going to be problems and most people would be happy just to say 'it can't be done', but I really need to install Windows Vista on an external HDD using FireWire 800.
I have read some brief info on the Internet that some people have achieved this for Windows XP using an external USB 2 mass storage device 'HDD' (and even for large capacity flash drives).
Personally, I only intend to use a hand full of programs for Vista on a regular basis and prefer not to install what maybe a more stable and reliable XP version of Windows due to having such a dull looking interface that makes you want to jump off the nearest cliff (the interface and look is that depressing.. Really!). Anyway, I have the new MacBook Pro 17" 'unibody' and an external buss powered (on 800) G-Tech G-Drive mini with Firewire 800/400 & USB 2. I have already formatted the external G-Drive mini and installed Mac OS-X 10.5 on it and it works flawlessly via Firewire 800 once you've chosen it as the 'start-up disk' within System Settings (great for testing and not worrying about things too much if there's problems, having kept the MacBook Pro's own internal HDD intact and clean). I plan on partitioning the external G-Drive's 250GB capacity equally and thus have the mentioned Mac OS-X on one partion and hopefully eventually Windows Vista on the other equal partion.
This arrangement (if possible) I feel compelled to do because even though I can very easily install Windows Vista onto my MacBook Pro's internal HDD using Bootcamp with minimal hassel, I really don't want to infect my MacBook Pro's internal drive with Windows and all the troubles that Windows can bring. I feel I must keep my MacBook's internal drive clean and trouble free from any possible Windows viruses and spyware, besides I need the maximum capacity of the internal drive. If this all worked, then I would dismount the internal drive within disk utility once booted up in Windows, thus keeping it isolated from any Windows prone attacks or problems.
Only thing now is I have to find a way if there is one, Boot Camp won't partition the external FireWire 800 drive to ready it for Windows and Windows Vista may not have adequate drivers to enable it's boot from FireWire 800, although I could resort to the slower USB 2 interface that the drive also has on-board.
Anyone with any solutions? Would using Drive Genius to partition the external drive (on the fly) and readying the intended Windows Vista partition to a FAT 32 structure, help start the process?

Thoughts? ... I have plenty!
For now, I've had no choice but to install Vista on my MacBook Pro's internal drive using BootCamp, it will only be for the short term until I can find a way to do this on the external drive... it's also another worry to know that I may have problems with the 'boot table' after a few months, as you previously mentioned.
So setting up Windows Vista, updating, tweaking settings and getting it all working so that it functions properly to a half decent state is such a lengthy laborious tediously frustrating task with windows and taking huge amounts of time that it reminded me of just how much I have recently grown to hate windows and it now amazes me to think that until a year and a half ago I wouldn't move/budge from windows because of all the PC programs I had, but now I'm overwhelmingly relieved I made the jump and wonder why I put myself uneccessarily through so much pain and tourment.. well, even now windows isn't giving up without a fight as it continues to leave it's legacy because although I've now got it reasonably functioning under 'BootCamp' having installed Vista on my Mac's internal drive (for now), windows now bombards me with a routine of error messages upon boot-up stating:-
"Warning: Unrecognized partition table for drive 80. Please rebuild it using a Microsoft-compatible FDISK tool(err=4). Current C/H/S=266305/255/63 (hd0,2) Filesystem type is ntfs, partition type 0x7 chainloader /bootmgr"
it then repeats that error message several times during a few black screens (not the infamous blue screen) and on one occasion the error message refers to "(hidden sectors=0x1ee648800)" and there's plenty more double dutch info before it finally load Vista.. (I've only had Vista installed on BootCamp for a couple of day's now - since this reply) I'm considering trying my luck with installing Vista 64bit edition, having read that it is compatible on the Mac Pro and MacBook Pro's.
Meanwhile... with regard to using an external hard drive for a possible bootable Windows Vista over Firewire 800, I may have to consider the two 'close' alternative methods for doing this.. the first being the alleged workaround-fix shared on the internet for doing this using the USB 2 conection method, unfortunately this requires some time spent on editing some of the startup/installation sequence files which have to be extracted from the Windows installation '.iso' disk image using winiso, then edited and then inserted back into the '.iso' Windows install disk to burn onto a new DVD, trouble is this takes time which I don't have and it may only be a workaround solution for the very dull and bland looking windows XP version only which I don't want... Therefore I might have to go along with the more expensive option of having to invest in a slightly (actually a lot) more costly version of small portable external bus powered hard drive, the G-Tech G-Raid mini2 which has the inclusion of the eSATA interface making it a quad interface, therefore possibly enabling windows to boot from this as windows requires SATA connection for boot-ability. The only drawback for me personally with this second method is a). that I've already purchased the G-Drive mini1, b). the G-Raid mini2 is very costly, c). the mini2 is double the size being double the thickness and therefore not as tiny as the mini1 which you can squeeze into your MacBook Pro case's pocket, d). the mini2 will have a heavier battery drain having its two disks spinning instead of one like the mini1, and e). you have to have two cables connected between MacBook and mobile hard drive instead of one, one cable drawing the power from the Firewire 800 bus and the second cable transferring the data between the eSATA connection (if it works).
Alternatively.. Apple may save the day and at some point release a driver for BootCamp to enable Windows Vista 'Firewire 800 boot-ability support'. That would be very good! (but doubt that would ever happen with Apple's strange outlook on Firewire of late)
Or, G-Tech may put an eSATA connection interface/port on an updated version of the tiny, less power draining and more budget conscious G-Drive mini1 in the near future! (but that may be unlikely as well)
So, I'm not sure what to do at this moment.

Can't install windows 7 from external dvd drive

Hi,
I have a Late 2006 Macbook (I think). I am trying to install Windows 7 on it. The partitioning goes well. My Main issue is that my DVD drive is Busted. Whenever i try to install Windows 7 Ultimate 64 but from my Samsung External DVDRW Drive, The apple logo starts to flash with a Cross going through it. Are there any methods and solutions to install windows 7 on it?
I have also tried using rEFIt but when booting from a USB, it gives a whole list of Errors.
Plese Help Me
Thank you

HOLD ON GUYS THE PROBLEME IS MINOR AND THE SOLUTION SIMPLE, THE G585 WIN8 IS NOT THAT BAD AFTER U READ THIS OR GO DIRECTLY TO THE LENOVO SUPPORT LINK BELOW AND APPLY THE FIX..
I had the same problem with my new G585, I couldn't get any windows 8 upgrades done by undoing and reversing to pre-upgrade state right after reboot which made my system unstable and very slow to use and windows8 very buggy, it was very frustrating but I didn't give up and kept trying to upgrade with no success to the point I started to think that either something was wrong with my unit even though I had it for less than 2 weeks since I bought it from best buy or Lenovo effed up this time with this sluggish configuration and that I have to add RAM and see if its any better b4 returning it to them for servicing.. well IT TURNS OUT YES LENO EFFED UP BUT NOT WITH THE CONFIGURATION BUT WITH SOME BLOATWEAR CALLED NITRO PDF THAT WILL NOT LET U UPGRADE WINDOWS8 AND SPESIFECLY THE UPGRADE PART OF NITRO PDF FROM TRIAL VERSION TO FULL VERSION CALLED NITRO PDF PRO 7 OR SOME SH** LIKE THAT, THE GOOD PART IS NITRO IS OFFERING A DOWNLOAD FIX U CAN DO WHEN YOU USE THE BLOATHWEAR FOR THE FIRST TIME OR BETTER YET BY DELETING THAT APP AFTER THAT YOU WILL BE ABLE TO UPGRADE YOUR WINDOWS8 OS AND YOU WILL BE AMAZED BY HOW MANY UPGRADES YOU WILL GO THRU BUT YOUR SYSTEME WILL START RUNNING FASTER AND SMOOTHER FROM THE FEW FIRST UPGRADE. LET ME KNOW HOW IT TURNS OUT WITH YOU.
http://forums.lenovo.com/t5/Windows-8/Microsoft-Windows-8-Updates-may-fail-to-apply/td-p/926945

Can I install Windows through an external hard-drive onto bootcamp?

Is there any way for me to install Windows onto my mac by using an external harddrive that contains the install files to windows 7?

Welcome to Apple Communities
You can install it with a USB drive. Connect it, open Boot Camp Assistant and follow steps

How can I install window 8 on external hard drive on mac mini

So, I have mac mini and I'd like to install win8 on external hard drive and can anyone give me guides to do it?
also I wonder would I be able to run win 8 after installation using parallels desktop?
thanks in advance

I have to agree that Windows8 is a waste of time, especially if you don't have a touch screen and compatible apps.
However, the latest version of Parallels supports running Windows8, Parallels can either run Windows from a 'virtual disk' file which can be stored wherever you want including on an external drive, or it can also be configured to run Windows from a Boot Camp partition created using Apple's Boot Camp Utility.
See http://download.parallels.com/desktop/v7/update2/docs/en/Parallels%20Desktop%20U ser's%20Guide/32733.htm
In order to run Boot Camp from an external drive and therefore be able to setup the Boot Camp partition on the external drive you first have to install and run OS X on the external drive. Then the Boot Camp utility will let you add the Boot Camp partition on the external drive. You cannot run OS X and the Boot Camp utility from an internal drive and try adding the Boot Camp partition to the external drive. The Boot Camp Utility only lets you add the partition on the same physical drive it is running from.
Personally I have legal XP and Windows7 licenses (currently using Windows7) and even if the Windows8 upgrade was totally free of charge I would not bother with it. I would also not bother with it at work as an IT Manager.

How can I install windows 8 on a mac without superdrive?

Hi there.
I have an old Macbook pro (early 2007) which is still quite good, except from the superdrive which got broken.
I would like to completely wipe out OSX (Lion) from that and install Windows 8 instead.
Problem is, I cannot install it from optical drive, since it's broken (and plus, I don't have access to an external drive).
Is it even possible to install windows 8 from USB on this computer? If so, what should I do?
Thank you!

You can only install Windows from an external disc drive or an USB drive in one of these computers:
- MacBook Pro with Retina display.
- MacBook Air.
- iMac (Late 2012).
- Mac mini (Mid 2010 and newer).
As you don't have any of these computers, you need the SuperDrive to install Windows 8. In your case, you have to install a SuperDrive in your MacBook Pro in order to install Windows by using Boot Camp

What is the best way to run/install games onto an external HDD?

I would like to either install Windows on another partition on my 256GB SSD on the new rMBP and run games off an external, or install Windows on an external and games as well. What would be the most efficient (price wise) way to do this without having to sacrifice speed? I was thinking I could use an external thunderbolt hard drive, but it seems like they are all over $300 and over 1TB. I would only really need around 500GB with preferably 7200RPM speeds. Would USB 3.0 be fast enough or would I need to use thunderbolt? I prefer not to have to install 30GB games on the Windows partition on a small 256GB SSD, though I guess I could uninstall and reinstall them as I need (but does this wear down the SSD write speeds over time?) I couldn't get myself to pay another $600 to get a 512GB SSD logic board on the rMBP.
Thanks for any help. If there are alternative solutions for running games on an external feel free to recommend them.

If it is possible to install Windows on an external HDD without Bootcamp, then I'd be fine with that. The only problem I see with that is installing the necessary boot files, but it seems like it could be possible to do it manually. I've never done it before though.
Running programs off an external should be fine so long as they don't have to access Windows OS files directly (supposing Windows was installed on the internal SSD), no?

Can I install windows 7 on my portable HDD from my Mountain lion? and how i need to do it?

Can I Install Windows 7 on my portable HDD from Mountain lion ? And how i need to do it?

Welcome to the Apple Support Communities
Because of a Microsoft restriction, Windows can't be installed on an external drive (there are workarounds, but you need Windows). Apart from that, Boot Camp only works with the hard drive where you have installed OS X, so you can't use it to install Windows on an external drive

Can I install windows 7 to an external USB 3.0 drive via bootcamp?

with the new airport extremes supporting USB 3.0, can I install windows 7 to an external USB drive via bootcamp?
i'm not willing to sacrafice any of the limited space on the SSD, but i'm very willing to get a good performing USB 3 drive, and use it as necessary with windows.
if this wouldn't work via bootcamp, can it be done on a windows PC and plugged in subsequent to the install to work on the road?

Installing Windows on an external drive is not supported.

Can i install windows 7 on my iMac 2012 using a external drive

Can i install windows 7 on my imac 2012 using a external cd drive ?
Thanks

Welcome to the Apple Support Communities
If you have a Late 2012 iMac (without a built-in SuperDrive), you can use a USB drive to install Windows with Boot Camp and you shouldn't have any problem

I have mac pro i7 , 8GB RAM , 750 HDD , can i install windows 7 ultimate 64 as a parrallals desktop?

i have mac pro i7 , 8GB RAM , 750 HDD , can i install windows 7 ultimate 64 as a parrallals desktop?

Hello and welcome to Apple Support Communities!
Yes, you can install Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit in your Mac using Parallels for Mac. Just follow the instructions of the virtualization programs during the install. Should you need any assistance with the installation process, I strongly recommend contacting Parallels Tech Support (you must register with Parallels in order to have tech support).
Alternatively, you can always use Apple's BootCamp if you want to run Windows natively in your Mac. Check their support page, Apple has a lot of good links explaining this solution.
Hope this helps!

I want to install windows 8 on external hard desk on mac . how i can install that

Hello kindly i want to install windows 8 on external hard desk on my macbook pro How . AND Witch programe i must use use it

Windows will not install and boot from an external drive using Bootcamp Assistant. You could install Windows in a virtual machine using Parallels, Fusion, or VirtualBox.

Can't install windows XP on Satellite Pro A200-1N2

hi,
I have a Toshiba Satellite A200-1N2 PSAE3E and I don't want Vista on my laptop. i downgraded the bios to V5.30 But still can't install windows xp and from the bios still there is no optin for SATA.
Can anybody help me?
Thanks.

Hi
Did you install the SATA drivers firstly?
You need this driver to recognize the HDD!
You should download the Intel Matrix Storage Manager. You should find it either on the Toshiba driver page or on the Intel website.
You must perform the installation from an external USB FDD drive using the F6 button while the Win XP setup.

Install Windows XP on External Hard Drive

Is there anyway I can install Windows XP on my WD 500GB External HD? It serves as my Time Machine for my MacBook, which doesn't have a whole lot of HDD space left. I'd like to install XP and be able to run it on my Mac, but it takes up way to much space.
If I can't install XP to my external drive, is there any suggestions for clearing space on my MacBook? Any way to remove unwanted applications?

Jerid Lucas wrote:
I don't quite understand your answer, or maybe you don't quite understand my question. Here are a little more details.
I have an Early 2008 Macbook with a 160GB HDD with Tiger installed.
For BootCamp you need OSX Leopard since the BootCamp Beta from OSX Tiger no longer works.
I'm interested in running Windows XP on my MacBook, but I'm concerned with it taking up space on my already small HDD. However, I do have a 500GB external HDD that I have plenty of space on.
My question remains, is there anyway that I could install Windows XP on my external drive while keeping Leopard on my laptop HDD. Would I be able to use BootCamp to assist me. If not, how would I access/boot XP?
See my first post. Windows is not intended to be booted of an external harddisk.
This is prevented by Microsoft and BootCamp can not change this.
Windows XP itself needs about 10GB of harddisk space. Add to that the amount of disk space that will be used y the Windows programs you want to run plus the space used by the data files.
So something about 20-25GB for Windows might be sufficient.
How much free disk space do you have right now ?
What is 'eating' up your disk space ?
I know these are several questions, and difficult ones at that, but I believe there is an answer somewhere.
The answer is given, but the technical limitations of Windows prevent the answer from being what you want to hear.
Stefan

Can't install Windows 10 on Yoga 2 13 inch

Hello, I have a Yoga 2 13 inch with the 500GB Hybrid drive. When i try to upgrade to Windows 10, either via internet connection or USB drive created with MediaCreator, I get the message: "You can't install Windows on a USB flash drive using setup" It seemt that setup is seeing the Hybrid drive's 32GB of flash as if it were an external USB drive. Anyone know how I can fix this? Thanks,Ski

Yes, you should check the Disk Management also again. The SSD should be displayed there, if it is not being displayed then change the Boot Mode from UEFI to Legacy and try to install windows. (And Yes SecureBoot needs to be Disabled)
Ideally, the SSD should be initialized first from the Disk Management (But after all tries if you still can't see it, just try the above method.
Current System - Lenovo Y510P, GT755M SLI, 8GB RAM, 1TB HDD + 24GB SSD
When your plans fail, your Real Story begins!!

Can I Install Windows 7 On An External HDD?

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