Possible to boot Win from an external drive?

I've recently replaced my original drive with both Mac OS X and a small partition for windows installed.
My windows partition is now on an external drive: the only difference is, i'ts now connected via USB instead of the internal SATA connector.
(I can still boot off of my old Mac OS X partition)
Is it possible to Boot from a bootcamp partition on an external drive?
if yes? Can I clone it to other drives?

ok thanks man.
I'm now cloning that old partition to an external drive... guess I have to buy some old crappy pc system to acces some old programs.
I'm not doing the bootcamp partition anymore because someone advised me partitioning startup disks makes them slower. And I maybe use windows once every 6 months to find an old file.

Similar Messages

Booting system from an external drive; Folder with Question Mark

Hello all. I am trying to setup an external USB hard drive as a bootable device for my Tiger install. This is on a Core Duo Mac Mini. I have successfully partitioned it using GUID into two partitions; A small 5gb partition for the minimal OSX install, and the remainder for data. I installed OSX onto it via my included Tiger discs that came with the Mini, no problems. However, when I try to boot from it I get a Folder icon with a question mark in the center. I can boot the Mini normally and browse the external partition. It shows no problems. Disk Utility also shows no errors on the drive. What have I missed?
For any who are curious, my goal here is to use NetRestore to make a backup image of my main Mini hard disk. Then by booting to the external USB drive, I will be able to restore the backup image (stored on the data partition of the external drive as well) to the internal Mini hard disk.
Mac Mini Core Dio Mac OS X (10.4.7)

Just letting everyone know that I am still unresolved on this one. I have tried it all; Zero-overwrite erased the external drive before partitioning it, used Carbon Copy Cloner to clone the boot disk, you name it. Every situation leads to the same result; no ability to boot from the USB drive, It just acts like it can't read it. Are there "undocumented" problems booting from USB on Intel macs?

Booting MBP from SATA external drive/hard disk

I have an external SATA HD 120GB portioned in to 4 partitions. It is in an ICY BOX SATA house. Connected direct to the MBP via an USB cable. No external power supply.
I have cloned the OS from the MBP to one partition on the external disk (using SuperDuper!).
I can see the external device in the System preference window ‘Start-up Disk’ I can select it, but it refuses to start up from it. When I do a restart it starts up from my internal HD.
If I hold down the Alt key at start-up I do not see the external HD.
I also have an other non SATA disks connected via FireWire with a cloned version of my OS and here I have no problems.
Any suggestions as to how to be able to boot form the external SATA disk?
Thnaks

In Disk Utility/Partition/Options we can read:
- GUID Partition Table (GPT) "to use the disk to start up an Intel-based Mac".
- Apple partition Map (APM) "to use the disk to start up a PowerPC-based Mac or to use the disk as non startup disk with any Mac".
At http://developer.apple.com/technotes/tn2006/tn2166.html we have very important secrets of the GPT:
- Any Mac running Mac OS X 10.4 and later can mount GPT-partitioned disks.
_ Intel Macs can boot from GPT. By default, the internal hard disk is formatted as GPT.
- While Intel Macs can boot from GPT and APM, Apple only supports booting Mac OS X on these machines from GPT. Apple's GUI tools, like the Installer, will prevent you installing Mac OS X for an Intel-based Mac on non-GPT disks.
Many posts In this forum telling ius that it is mandatory to format disks GUID partitioned to boot MBP.
But, in other forums there are some opinions about APM too:
. http://www.macosxhints.com/article.php?story=2006061610374449
. http://www.macfixitforums.com/postlist.php?Cat=&Board=Forum38 "How to make a triple-boot service drive"
. http://www.micromat.com/index.php?option=com_simpleboard&Itemid=42&func=view&cat id=7&id=786
We are discuss the boot capability of external drives and I wish someone can clarify this question to isolate software (include cloning software) or hardware problems.
MacBook Pro 2 GHz Mac OS X (10.4.8)

Elitebook 8440p - recovery disc creation & booting from an external drive

I have a brand new Elitebook 8440p & I have a couple of issues that I cannot seem to resolve.
1. I expected to get some sort of system install, or recovery or repair discs - or the ability to create such disks with this laptop. Nothing came with it, and I cannot find any place to create some sort of system recovery disks, nor is there anything listed for this laptop on the HP site to acquire them from HP. I am not comfortable having no way to recover this computer should a hard disk go south. Any ideas how to create or get an op system disk or recovery discs or something?
2. I have an encrypted company/business hard disc inside the laptop for work. I also have the original hard disk that came with the computer in an external eSata/USB case. I have configured and installed software on the external drive to include my personal software and programs, leaving the company hard disc inside the laptop for business use only. However, I cannot make this laptop boot from the external drive if the company drive is inside the laptop. I have read and tried everything, but if a drive is inside the laptop, it will not boot from the external eSata/USB drive. If I simply remove the laptop hard drive, it boots perfectly from the external drive via eSata and works fine. How do I manage to get this laptop to boot from my external drive without having to remove the internal hard drive?
Any help or ideas someone can offer are greatly appreciated. Thanks very much.

Hi, Rich:
If you live in the USA or Canada, you can get a set of restore disks from HP for $10. I am surprised you didn't get a set but maybe they only come with the business desktops.
Here is how you order them:
1. Write down the part number and serial # on bottom of the computer on the white tag. The model # is an HP-Compaq 8440p, but the part number will be found on that white tag below the serial #.
2. Call HP at 1-800-952-7689, option 1 (ordering restore disks is part of the list in the option).
3. Provide the info asked by the rep that answers the phone. Some just ask for the serial #, some want both, or they will just want the serial number and type of computer (8440p).
4. Have a Master Card or Visa ready for purchasing. They don't take Discover. You will be charged $10.00.
You will receive the disks by First Class Mail or you can pay an additional $10.00 for FedEx shipping.
Sorry, I can't answer your second question. I assume you have already tried hitting the F9 key at the HP splash screen to select the device to boot from?
Paul

Run Windows from an external drive......

I want to boot Windows from an external drive. Why would Apple not allow this to be done. It makes no sence to me at all. You would still have to run Windows from the intel-Mac. To make you waste good MacOS space on the internal drive is a shame. I know... I can remove Windows and re-gain my "lost" space. However, my kid needs to run some school programs that are in the Windows format only. I hope that someday Apple will let BootCamp run from an external drive also.
Apple //GS

I run OS X from one drive, have my home account on a second drive and improves performance.
VMware image is on non OS X boot drive which I think helps so there isn't I/O contention.
OS X shouldn't really be doing much paging regardless of what you are running if you have enough memory. A lot of system and application paging 'maps' to VM, and you can't disable or want to with either Windows or OS X. The Windows \C: is going to be wherever the VM client is located.
Now, whether VMware or Parallels running as an application is paging and using OS X swap, that just depends on your system memory, and goes to OS X boot drive like any application.
OS X can run off external and you could install some windows programs to use an external drive (FAT or NTFS partition) to free up space also. Or use Parallels and put the VM there.

Can I set up my Macbook Pro to boot to Win 7 from an external drive?

Rather than partition my internal drive for having to work with Windows & Office 2010 (specifically Access 2010) can I set up my macbook pro to boot to Win 7 from an external drive?

No, not with Boot Camp. I've never even tried it with a VM (which I use) - I keep all the data on my internal drive. I'm not saying that it couldn't be done with a VM, I've just never tried it.
Clinton

Can I boot from an external drive with a "Virtual CD"

I just purchased a Hitachi LifeStudio external hard drive for use as my Time Machine backup. When I plugged it in to my MacBook running 10.6.4, I realized that it had one of those "Virtual CDs" that contained the manufacturers crapware, similar to Western Digital's MyWare or whatever its called. It shows up in disk utility as an actual separate disk and not just another partition that can be wiped.
I reformatted the drive using GUID and and created 3 HFS+ Journaled partitions. One was going to be for the 10.6 installer, one for the 10.6 boot, and one for my time machine backup. I restored a 10.6 install dvd disk image I created using disk utility to the 10.6 installer partition (with erase destination checked) then option booted my mac and the partitions did not show up. The only thing I could see was my internal hard drive.
I have done this many times before and it has always worked so Im trying to figure out what Im doing wrong. The only thing I can think of is that the "Virtual CD" that Hitachi put on this external drive is stopping the Mac from seeing the bootable partitions I created. I even went into system preferences>startup disk and blessed the 10.6 install partition. That didn't work either, the computer just booted to my internal drive.
So my questions are. Is it because of this "Virtual CD" that I can't boot from my external drive? If so, is there a way around it? I already searched their web site and emailed their tech support asking for a firmware update to remove the virtual cd.
Thanks in advance.

Yes, it's a known issue. You've already referred to the issue with WD systems. WD has a long list of products that are either not compatible with Macs or won't boot a Mac.
There are practically no problems with bare drives, but once installed in an enclosure there is no guarantee that the package will function as a bootable device. This is especially the case if the manufacturer uses some sort of "virtual" scheme intended for using the device as a sort of one button backup device.
External drives don't have to specifically say anything about being Mac bootable or compatible. It's up to the consumer to verify compatibility and usability.

Going from 10.3 to 10.5... can i still boot 10.3 from an external drive?

I want to switch from 10.3 to 10.5, but I have some important software and hardware that only works with 10.3. Can I copy my current hard drive information to an external drive, and then essentially boot up my old computer setup from that external drive whenever I need to use 10.3?
How would I go about doing this?
thanks!

System Preferences >> Startup Disk >> choose the one you start from and press restart. Or boot to Startup Manager.
-mj

Can't boot my Macbook from an external drive

Hi there,
After my internal hard drive failed, I put an older (temporary, and somewhat small -- 100gb) internal hard drive onto my Macbook, and using a time machine used an external drive to recreate the data and OS that were on the internal drive that failed. Part of the reason I did this, rather than just buying a new internal drive, is that I live in Germany and my family is coming to visit in a month with a brand new mac, so I'm hoping to just run everything off this external drive until I get the new computer and can transfer all my data over.
Anyway, I can't get the computer to boot from the external drive. It has the right partitioning scheme (GUID), my mac is willing to assign it Bootup Status, and when I browse the contents of the external drive, it basically looks fine. The termporary internal drive, incidentally, is running 10.6.7 as well, and using time machine I put my old applications on it, but not my user data. I can boot from that internal drive, but when I try to boot from the external drive I get stuck on the grey screen. Any idea what might be the problem and how I might fix it? Or a suggestion about how I can run my computer off this external drive until the new mac arrives next month?
A few technical details:
My macbook is about 5 years old, and when I check the "about this mac" tab it says it is running 10.6.7 OS, with a 1.83 GHz Intel Core Duo processor and its memory is 2BG 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM.
The external hard drive is LaCie, 500gb, firewire 800 cable (and with the option to use a USB port too), which uses the macbook as its power source.
Thanks for your help and advice.
Bernie

Hi,
Thank you for your time.
Even if Disk Warrior can help recover/restore my files i think replacing the hard drive is necessary, right ?

Can you boot with Windows XP from an external drive?

Just curious really. If you have Windows XP on a bootable external drive, I know other PCs can boot from it, but can a Mac?

On a G5 or other PPC Mac, the answer is no (unless you count running XP with VirtualPC). On the Intel Macs, it's a different story, although I have no idea if they support booting from an external drive with Boot Camp.

Will Mac allow you to boot from an external drive...specifically for windows programs?

Will a new Mac allow you to boot from an external drive...specifically for windows programs?

ps...I've read the threads on Bootcamp.

Booting From An External Drive in OS 9.2?

I have a G4 with a bad internal ROM drive. I am currently running OS 9.2.
I would like to upgrade to OS 10.
I have an Iomega USB 2.0 external drive connected to my computer via the USB port in the back.
How can I boot from the disk in this external drive?
I tried holding "option"- it only found my regular hard drive.
I tried holding "cmd-opt-shift-del" but my mac got very confused and blinked a ? at me.
How can I boot from the external drive so I can upgrade?
Thanks
O.

Welcome to Apple Discussions!
Mac OS X will not boot from USB drives on a PowerPC.
You need a Firewire optical drive to boot, and an AGP PowerMac G4 at that to boot Mac OS X. To identify your PowerMac G4, see this article:
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=58418
Once you've identified it, boot the machine into Mac OS 9 on the hard drive and make sure your firmware is up to date:
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=86117
And then you'll be able to install Mac OS X. Follow these precautions on my FAQ before doing so:
http://www.macmaps.com/upgradefaq.html
If it turns out you have a PCI PowerMac G4, you'll have to replace the optical drive internally to boot Mac OS X or Mac OS 9.
Also make sure your clock battery is under 4 years old before attempting to upgrade the firmware. It is a 3.6 V 1/2 AA battery you can buy from Radio Shack item 23-026.

How Do I Always Boot From An External Drive

I successfully installed Mac OS X 10.4.8 on an external hard drive. It boots successfully into OS X, but only if you press option on boot and select the drive or if you boot from the drive inside my Mac Mini and go to startup disk and select the external. Is there any way to just always boot from the external drive without doing anything? Thanks in advance for all of your help.
Mac Mini PowerPC Mac OS X (10.4.8)

If booting from a cold start doesn't work but restarting after selecting the drive does work, then most likely the drive isn't ready when the Mac is doing the cold boot.
Try turning the drive on several seconds before turning on the Mac.

How do you boot from an external drive when internal drive is dead?

The internal drive is dead, but I have a complete dupolicate on my fire-wire external drive. I think I remember reading that there is a combination of keys to press down when starting to allow one to choose which drive to use as a startup volume. As it is, the thing won't start up at all.
So I know it's supposed to run from the external drive, but how do you get it to boot from it without having designated it as the startup when it was last running?

Hold down the Option key when booting the computer.
When I asked the question I was working on my daughter's ibook.
Now I'm back home and I have a firewall external drive, so I tried pressing option when I started and icons for startup drive come up BUT there is only one icon -- that being for my internal drive. I know that the external drive, which has a duplicate of the internal, is capable of starting it up ok, because when I go ahead and , after starting it up on the internal drive, then pick the external drive to start and then restart it, it goes to the external drive ok. But again, if it has been preferrenced to start on the internal drive and I do the thing by pressing with option when I start, it doesn't give me the option to use the external drive. (The external drive is partioned, and the duplicate startup is in one of the volumes, but I don't think this should have anything to do with anything, since it can start up using the appropriate external hard drive volume when I have selected it in my preferences.)
G4 tower Mac OS X (10.3.9)
G4 tower Mac OS X (10.3.9)

How do I boot from an external drive?

I've just Carbon Cloned my 60GB drive to a firewire external drive. I'm about to replace the 60GB with a 160GB drive and the CCC instructions say boot from the external drive I'd just created once the new disk is installed. Then CCC the cloned drive back to the new hard drive.
So, how do I boot from an external drive? Do I have load anything to the new drive? Will the macbook detect the external drive and boot from that? Or what??????
Thanks
Dick

Thanks DWB. Being the rash impetuous guy I am I didn't wait for replies and just switched on the macbook after installing the new disk (which was so easy it was unbelievable - had to go and buy a a little torx bit though) to see what would happen.
Blow me down with a feather if it didn't just boot off the external drive all by itself :-O It did come up with the disk was unverified and I could see it in FINDER and I was prseented with a screen to ERASE/RESTORE etc.
When I went to CCC the external drive back to the new hard drive it didn't give show me the new hard drive so I guessed I'd have to do something to format (?) the hard drive.
I don't know if I did the right thing but I went to disk utilities and chose ERASE in the vague hope it would maybe format the disk in some way.
Seems to work now and the CCC replaced the system perfectly as far as I can see.
Basically very impressive all round. Piece of proverbial to replace the disk and CCC made life so easy.
Thanks again.
Cheers
Dick

Possible to boot Win from an external drive?

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for