Question:
Ext. HD with XP
Hi,
I just brought a 200G external harddrive, is there anyone knows. If I can install a window xp on that ext. harddrive? And how can I boot up the window if I just plug in the USB?
Thanks everyone!
Answer:
You have to see if your motherboard allows you to boot from a usb device. Check the boot sequence in the bios, if you see usb thats a good start.
I know things, things that could get me killed
Answer:
If your BIOS supports booting from a USB device (most new ones do), you should be able to boot your system from the etxrendal HDD. I know many people have successfully been able to implement Linux-based OS installed on iPods and booting their systems using that. How kool is that!
Although I found some posts on the web which mention problems with booting off external HDD on WinXP, I also found a more credible Microsoft post on this:
http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/device/storage/usb-boot.mspx#EFAA
So I'd say, play with your BIOS settings and give it a shot!
Answer:
Thanks for all the input.
If my bios doesn't have usb boot to choose, is there any other way that I can use the winxp from my ext. hd to boot up?
I have a sony vaio A190.
Answer:
The Sony A Series is a very new notebook, it will have USB boot support. Especially since this notebook doesn't come with a floppy drive built-in.
The one thing you must look for (don't know if this is different on the Sony's) is USB Legacy Support. You have to enable this for USB drives to boot. The only issue is that you lose USB 2.0 fucntionality (USB 1.1 only) with this option enabled, but it's the only mode that will work with bootable USB drives/memory keys.
Also, I wouldn't recommend booting XP from an external USB HDD. Since XP is a BIG OS that takes a while on a standard desktop HDD connected directly to the systemboard to load, it's gonna take WAY longer to boot via USB running at 1.1 speeds (12Mbits/sec). Linux based OS's have a lot less overhead vs Windows and will therefore boot a lot faster. Personally, I wouldn't bother.
-Vb-
Answer:
Not sure why you'd want XP on an external hard drive and boot from that but if a portable operating system is what you want then I'd definitely look into Knoppix which is a Linux distro and it fits on one CD and runs from it! Or you could look for Knoppix variations that even fit on a USB thumbdrive.
I never got used to using Linux but Knoppix is a GREAT security/backup tool that fits on a CD and can be used to access your files in an emergency when your Windows XP won't boot up for whatever stupid reason.