Cannot boot to Windows disc from external USB DVD drive.

I have a MacBook Pro 17" Early 2011 8,3. I have tried to use bootcamp to install Windows 7 from a external USB DVD drive. All I get, like many people, is a black screen with a blinking cursor, as if it never makes it to boot. I tried restarting to the OS selection for holding alt, and tried the DVD again, did not work.
I saw a few posts claiming that this didn't work on some models of Mac because of a EFI problem that would not allow booting from a external USB, which is really stupid because it would seems some models can... And MacBook airs can... Can someone please confirm this for me? Has anyone found a resolution?
If not, APPLE PLEASE FIX THIS.

Hi,
Thanks for the reply. Yes the MBP is currently running Tiger, I want to flatten this with a fresh install of Leopard. I can view the install DVD when in Tiger currently.
I haven't tried what you have suggested, but I have seen various posts suggesting this approach. I've also seen several posts explain how to create a partition on an external firewire Harddrive and this seems to have worked for various people.
This would however mean that I didn't really need the external Lacie drive at all, as I've got access to my G5s DVD drive over the network. The more I search on this, the more convinced I am the USB drive was a bad idea.
Once again thank for the response.

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Booting Windows XP from external USB disk drive

I'm trying to get to some legacy applications on my old Windows XP hard drive. Is it possible to boot my iMac G5 iSight to an external USB hard drive which has an NTFS partition and Windows XP on it?

Hi Cobyflier;
No. That is not possible.
Allan

Is it possible to install leopard from external USB DVD drive?

Hi all,
I've read through the various posts on the subject and there doesn�t seem to be a definitive answer on this. I've got a Lacie USB2 DL DVD drive which I'm trying to use to install leopard on an earlier MacBook Pro (core duo 2.0ghz). I've tried the various suggestions (hold c on boot, hold option key on boot, set dvd as startup drive), and so far been unsuccessful. The drive is just not recognized.
The DVD media is fine(I've got family edition of Leopard), I've successfully installed it on my G5. The Lacie drive recognizes it fine, when I'm in tiger on MBP and insert the disk it is mounted as I would expect. I did try dbl-clicking the install icon as well (in case you were wondering)
So, does anyone have any other ideas for me to try, or should I go and get a refund on the Lacie drive? The guys in the store (Apple authorized reseller, not Apple Store) assured me it would work, so I don't want to look like a clown if it is possible and I'm just doing it wrong
Anyway, thanks in advance for any replies.

Hi,
Thanks for the reply. Yes the MBP is currently running Tiger, I want to flatten this with a fresh install of Leopard. I can view the install DVD when in Tiger currently.
I haven't tried what you have suggested, but I have seen various posts suggesting this approach. I've also seen several posts explain how to create a partition on an external firewire Harddrive and this seems to have worked for various people.
This would however mean that I didn't really need the external Lacie drive at all, as I've got access to my G5s DVD drive over the network. The more I search on this, the more convinced I am the USB drive was a bad idea.
Once again thank for the response.

Satellite L20-100 can be booted from external USB hard drive?

I recently bought Toshiba Satellite L20-100 and I wonder if:
1. is there any possibility to boot this machine from external usb hard drive?
2. it is possible to attach another internal hard drive?
Supposing that the both answers above are 'no', how can I solve the following problem: I need hdd space, I need to boot 3 separate Wxp Operating Systems onto the same machine (Toshiba Satellite L20-100).

Booting from external USB HD - "No" would be the official, mcrsoft sponsored, answer. However, it is possible. Not easy but it can be done. I've seen it done with my own eyes and there are guides how to do this. Just look for it with search engine. But if you have enough disk space you better do what was suggested here - create 3 partitions and use boot manager.

My laptop won't boot form external USB DVD drive

Hi, I have HP pavillion dv6748us. My internal dvd drive is not recognized, cannot access and not listed in device manager & window explorer. I need to reboot from the external dvd but don't see the option listed in BIOS. Below is the sequence listed in my BIOS. I have recovery disk and would like to know if and how to add external USB DVD DRIVE into to BIOS.
Your help is greatly appreicated!
(1) ATAPI CD/DVD ROM DRIVE
(2) USB HARD DRIVE
(3) NOTEBOOK HARD DRIVE
(4) USB DISKETTE ON KEY
(5) USB FLOPPY
(6) NETWORK ADAPTOR

Have you tried 2? The BIOS may see the DVD drive as a mass storage device and not distinguish between a hard drive and an optical drive.

Problems Installing Win7 using External, USB DVD Drive

I have a mid 2010 15" i7 MBP which I upgraded to from 4GB to 8GB RAM courtesy of OWC. I recently upgraded the 500GB 7200RPM HD with a 240GB OCZ Vertex 3 and using an OWC Data Doubler, I replaced the DVD SuperDrive with the 500GB Hard Drive.
I used an External USB DVD Drive to install OS X SL On the SSD without issues. Also, I got all my updates and software installed and working without any problems.
I've been running great for about 2 weeks now, so I decided to install Windows 7 64bit Ultimate. I ran Boot Camp Assistant and partitioned the 240GB SSD in half 120/120. Everything went fine with creating the partition. I selected to Install from the Win 7 DVD media in the USB DVD drive and rebooted. I got a grey screen. I turned the computer off and turned it back on. Holding down Option, I selected the Install DVD from the Boot Menu. I then got a screen with the Apple Logo flashing intermittently with a Circle/Cross Hatch. So I can't get the Windows Install to start to save my life. I know the External, USB DVD works since I used it to install OS X and I have no problems using it in OS X. I Know the media works because I tried a test install, without activation in a VMWare Fusion VM.
Any suggestions are appreciated?

So here is the answer. The Firmware on the MacBook Pro only supports installation of OS X from External Media and will not install operating systems from 3rd Parties. I tried to install Windows XP, Win7 Ultimate 32 & 64bit, and Ubuntu 11.04 but no success.
Supposedly, the MacBook Air does support installation of 3rd party operating systems from external media, but I have no way to confirm this.
I ended up reinstalling the internal DVD drive installing Win 7 and Ubuntu on the SSD. Using rEFI, I'm able to triple boot all 3 operating systems. Then removed the drive again and reinstalled the 2nd HD. Everything seems to be working fine.
I'm looking for someone who has experience in Mac EFI Hacking to see if there is a way to enable booting 3rd Party OSes from external media. I'm guessing someone could examine the MBA firmware and figure out how to hack that capability into the MBP.

HP external USB DVD Drive not recognized by computer.

Have HP Mini-210 and HP external USB DVD Drive. When attached, the DVD drive lights and spins but computor will not recognize it. When checking Device Manager, it says no driver for DVD drive.. I try to reinstall the driver, and then it says I have the best one already. Device Manager continues to indicate that this drive has a problem. Tried to download a driver from HP support and it was not available on line.
Copied install disk that came with drive thru dropbox cloud to move it onto the computor. Was able to install the programs but still have no driver and unable to use DVD drive.

Try this wayne
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/kb/929461/en-us

Windows installation from external usb cd rom for portege 2000

[b]how can i install windows forom an external usb cd rom on my portege 2000

Hi
this is a common situation for users without an internal optical drive.
My main hint is to install from the HDD instead of installing from a CD or DVD.
How you reach that goal depend on your possibilities.
The most common solution is to boot the machine into the already installed OS, copy the contents from the install media into a temporary folder on the local harddrive.
Start the installation from there.
If you have a clean machine (no OS) then you need to be able to boot from one of the supported devices:
USB FDD (not USB HDD or USB CD).
PC Card CD/DVD
LAN
BR
Tom

MBP: boot to Windows 7 from external drive?

MBP: booting to Windows 7 from an external drive? Is this poss?
Further, is it possible with a 1TB external drive to partition it to two 500MB volumes, and have one (a) with a bootable clone of the OSX, and the other (b) with 64 bit Windows 7?
I would keep (a) ready in case of a HD failure on my MBP, and use (b) for a couple of PC progs I have that I don't want to go to the trouble of buying the Mac version. They run fine on a PC.
Also would be good for checking cross-platform compatibility of websites.
Would these work with eSata connections (Time Machine doesn't)? or else I'll go FW800.
Cheers!

No, as mentioned 10's of dozens of times, Windows won't.
OS X has always allowed booting from Firewire, and now USB (but that is slow).
Casper 6 will backup Windows to another drive, as will Windows Home Server to external devices.
Many programs can be run through a VM like VirtualBox, Paralells, Fusion.
SuperDuper is just one of the more popular programs to backup (clone) OS X and have it bootable.
Never rely on just one backup set or drive.
If you can go with eSATA (ExpressCard) that is faster but FW800 would be okay and be bootable, eSATA probably not.
Check http://www.macsales.com/firewire for both

C30: Booting from external USB hard drive

I carry my OS on an external portable USB drive, and then make use of whatever hardware is available where I visit.
I recently attempted to boot a Lenovo C30 Thinkstation with this external drive, and was unable to do so. In looking at the BIOS settings, there is no option to boot from USB (other than floppy(?!?) or memory stick).
Is it possible to boot from an external USB hard drive, and if not, why?
jerry

The boot sequence section of our setup menus has been troublesome to say the least (at least through the development phase). There are various reasons why it is the way it is now....from spec requirements to customer requirements. So long story short it really needs to be this way, even though situations like the one you encoutered is inconvenient.
The USB issue is actually done for security reasons. For example, many large customers don't want users to have the ability to just walk up and plug in a USB device and allow the system to detect that and attempt to boot to it right away as it is a risk to their image/security. For this reason, USB devices don't automatically get added to the boot order, and must be added throught he setup menu if needed.

Cannot boot into Windows XP, should I replace hard drive?

THE PROBLEM: I have not been able to boot into or use Windows XP (SP2) for almost 3 years. I have been using Linux instead for 3 years and am using it now. The Windows Recovery process only half works, it works up until you have to boot up the computer from the hard drive. Then it no longer works. The computer will load the files from the TOSHIBA Recovery and Applications/Drivers DVD that came new with the computer onto the hard drive. But when you get to the point of booting off the hard drive, with newly added Windows & Toshiba files, nothing happens. It does not boot up into Windows XP. In fact I can see the newly added Windows & Toshiba fileson the hard drive when I boot into Linux (Live) off the hard drive.
THE HARD DRIVE (Specs below): I ran a SMART Data check using a Linux (Ubuntu) Disk utility on the hard drive and it passed everything except for Reallocated Sector Count. There are 20 bad sectors. I called the Toshiba 800 # on the DVD and they told me that the problem may be the hard drive. A new TOSHIBA Recovery and Applications/Drivers DVD costs $40. Toshiba also said there is no Windows XP Recovery Console on the DVD.
CAUSE OF THE PROBLEM: I think, and TOSHIBA agreed it is either the hard drive or corrupteD files on the TOSHIBA Recovery and Applications/Drivers DVD
POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS: I have found a couple of sites that seem to have instructions for making a Windows XP Recovery Console CD. And I have thought I might try to run some Windows XP Recovery Console commands from such a CD, such as fixboot, fixmbr, etc. The try to see if I can boot into Windows XP from the hard drive. If I can, then that might suggest he problem is corrupted files on the TOSHIBA Recovery and Applications/Drivers DVD. If I still cannot boot into Windows, then maybe I should replace the hard drive. This should be very easy to do.
QUESTION(S): Does anybody have any comments or suggestions? Does my approach sound good? Do you have any other suggestions?
I have a TOSHIBA Satellite L25 S1216 that I bought new in early 2006. It has a 40 GB (5400 RPM) Enhanced IDE (ATA-6) 9.5 mm height hard disk drive in it. User removable, i.e., it is easy to replace.
Thank you,
Bob
Solved!
Go to Solution.

My plan is to try to use the TOSHIBA Recovery and Applications/Drivers DVD to load the WIndows XP files onto the hard drive, then use the Windows XP Recovery console CD I downloaded from here
http://www.proposedsolution.com/downloads/download-windows-recovery-console/
by using commmands such as fxmbr, fixboot, etc to see if I can get the computer to boot up into Windows XP.
Good plan, Bob!
Description of the Windows XP Recovery Console for advanced users
A backup plan would be to obtain a Windows XP installation CD from eBay or wherever. They are super cheap now. Then you could install Windows clean and add the drivers and utilities from the website here. Or you could use it to repair-install Windows.
How to Perform a Windows XP Repair Install
You are entitled to activate Home Edition for free. I understand that even after Microsoft no longer supports Windows XP (in April), they will honor activation attempts.
I wouldn't mess with SSDs. And stick with IDE PATA drives. You won't need to worry about advanced-format technology since that didn't come along until the very recent SATA drives. Your BIOS should support 120GB (KB303013). Some here.
-Jerry

Satellite A300 PSAGCE: Is it possible to boot from external CD/DVD drive?

Hi,
Somebody could tell me if it is possible to boot the toshiba satellite a300 psagce from an external usb cd drive?
Best Regards,
Miguel Alves

Hi
The BIOS supports following bootable devices:
- USB FDD,
- Primary HDD,
- Optical devices,
- Network(LAN)
So *USB ODD* is not supported by this BIOS

How do install Windows 7 from a USB optical drive?

I have a 27" 2013 iMac with no optical drive so I borrowed an Apple USB portable optical drive. How do I install Windows on BootCamp from the USB Optical drive?

iirc, you won't be able to or at least you shouldn't, it will take much longer than using a usb install
CHECKLIST
use only a +8gb USB2 flash drive
disconnect ALL devices except kb, mouse
STEPS
do a PRAM reset
open disk utility, confirm you have 1 partition (‘mac HD’ unless you renamed it) and repair permissions TWICE
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insert your usb flash drive and open boot camp assistant, choose all options making sure you used the new ISO just dl'd
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http://support.apple.com/kb/ht5634
w7 ISOs
http://techverse.net/download-windows-7-iso-x86-x64-microsofts-official-servers/

Can't Import From External USB Optical Drive

I have an External USB cdrom drive that I want to use to rip my music collection to my iTunes library. When I put in a CD, iTunes looks up the information and offers to import it to the library. I click okay and it goes ahead. It takes a whooping 5 seconds to rip the whole cd . The files are only 51Kb or 80kb in size and are unplayable. The built in DVD Burner in my laptop works fine for ripping cds but I don't want to put the un-needed wear on it because portable drives don't last long. The drive inside the enclosure is brand new and has previously worked fine at everything else. Has anyone else encountered this problem? Any solutions?

hmmmm. do you have "Error correction" switched on in your Importing preferences? if so, does switching that off help with the importing issues?
if no joy there, perhaps some of the other usual suspects from the following document are worth checking on:
You can't import or play music from an audio CD in iTunes for Windows
... and these resources might be helpful with that:
Using CD Diagnostics in iTunes for Windows to troubleshoot CD/DVD drive issues
iTunes for Windows: Updating the firmware on your CD or DVD drive
Updating the drivers on your Windows PC
Where to find firmware for your CD/DVD drive

Can I install a retail os10.5.6 from an external usb dvd drive?

Since the internal dvd combo drive does not read double layer dvd, I tried to install the new version from an external usb dvd. The installation starts but when I have to restart the computer goes back to the first screen.

Apple does not require any particular type of dvd Just says "an external dvd"
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Cannot boot to Windows disc from external USB DVD drive.

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