Can't install Windows 7 64bit in External hard drive.

[penguinmines]

Hey people! I just built a PC and i decided to install windows 7 on my external hard drive. I put in the windows 7 installation disk in( i also have an external dvd drive) and right before the installation I have to choose a drive to install windows 7 on. I click my external hard drive and windows gives me a message that says i can't install windows windows on a usb device. Can anyone help please?
My hard drive is a WD passport ultra 500Gb
MY dvd drive is an asus external slim dvd-rw

 

[johnnyb105]

windows like the c : drive the main one example if you have 3 drives a b and c windows wants c: drive the main boot drive....

 

[penguinmines]

windows like the c : drive the main one example if you have 3 drives a b and c windows wants c: drive the main boot drive....

The Only hard drive in my system is the external hard drive.

 

[johnnyb105]

wow you have no internal drives supported in your system!!!!


http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/41248-63-install-windows-external-hard-drive

 

[Dereck47]

You cannot install an Operating System to an external drive.

The main purpose of an O/S is to manage your motherboard, CPU, RAM, & Graphics in order for software to run.

Your drive has to be connected to an internal port on your motherboard in order for you to install Windows on it.

 

[penguinmines]

You cannot install an Operating System to an external drive.

The main purpose of an O/S is to manage your motherboard, CPU, RAM, & Graphics in order for software to run.

Your drive has to be connected to an internal port on your motherboard in order for you to install Windows on it.

so is there no way around it

 

[penguinmines]

You cannot install an Operating System to an external drive.

The main purpose of an O/S is to manage your motherboard, CPU, RAM, & Graphics in order for software to run.

Your drive has to be connected to an internal port on your motherboard in order for you to install Windows on it.

so is there no way around it

 

[Dereck47]

No. The O/S needs to know what type of motherboard, cpu, ram, graphics, etc. that it will be controlling. It can't know these things if it is connected to an external drive.

 

[johnnyb105]

You need a internal drive as I mention otherwise you will continue to have these errors yeah I know it seems old school but its a ms thing and they are protecting there assets these days now you can run a live Linux dvd with probably with a external but that's off the disc it wont help you...

 

[alyoshka]

"Dereck47 said:
You cannot install an Operating System to an external drive.

The main purpose of an O/S is to manage your motherboard, CPU, RAM, & Graphics in order for software to run.

Your drive has to be connected to an internal port on your motherboard in order for you to install Windows on it."

So then how do you explain booting from a DVD drive using a Live Disc... or as a matter of fact booting from a pen drive with win7 or linux on it???

To the OP....
Something is wrong with the BIOS settings or the WD External drive.....
Try the same thing with a 32GB pen drive, it will work....
The Passports are for external storage... I don't exactly think they are bootable....
But cheap 3.5 External Drive bays are bootable with Seagate HDD for sure....

 

[Dereck47]

So then how do you explain booting from a DVD drive using a Live Disc... or as a matter of fact booting from a pen drive with win7 or linux on it???

Yes, you can boot from a DVD using a Live Disc.

Installing and booting are two totally separate issues. This thread is regarding installing.

Yes, you can burn a Windows .iso or a Linux distro to a DVD or a pen drive, but after you do that and begin the installation process, the drive you are installing to has to be directly connected to your motherboard so that Windows or Linux knows what it is working with and install the appropriate drivers.

 

[alyoshka]

To the OP... try the lexar usb flip tool
that'll most probably solve the problem ....
Here's a quote from one of the answers to your question....in 2009
"A tool that can flip the bit and should work with most usb flash drives is Lexar’s USB format tool. It is a portable tool that has been designed for Lexar USB drives but it works with other brands as well. The main interface can not only be used to flip the removable bit but also to format the usb drive, set a volume label and a partition to be bootable. You only need to press the flip removable bit button if you want to prepare the flash drive for use with multiple partitions. The drive has to be removed and connected again to the computer system afterwards."

This tools makes the Removable HDD look like a fixed HDD to the system... thus enabling you to install and Boot from it like any other fixed internal HDD....