Support NeoGAF

[UtadaBarkley]

I just picked up an 80 gigmaxtor 7200 external drive because I don't have enough power and or free space in my case to add an internal drive. I'm still stuck with a 5400 RPM drive internally, so I was planning on using this HDD to boot my o/s. Is that possible? Can windows xp be installed on an external usb drive? Anyone have any expereince with it?

 

[Tommie Hu$tle]

I would try looking at the Microsoft website first, I mean just a guess.

 

[gblues]

No, because your BIOS doesn't enumerate the external HDD as a boot device. Minimum, you'd need some kind of boot disk (CD, floppy) that would load the necessary USB driver and then continue booting off the USB device. To my knowledge, no such disk exists for Windows, and may not even be possible for Linux either.

Nathan

 

[Drexon]

Oh, what's this? 'Extremely high voltage'? Well I'm Homer Simpson so I don't ne... *BZZZZ*

IE. It's stupid to use external drives to boot OS'es from.

 

[Rockman]

Some motherboards support boot from usb (boot other devices on mine). Poke around in your system bios and see if you can.

 

[Vandiger]

I think only Win98/Me can be booted from a USB Device. Win NT as well as WinXP may not be possible since on boot up, the os reinitializes the usb bus thus disconnecting the USB device and probably cause windows to crash .

 

[Rockman]

I think only Win98/Me can be booted from a USB Device. Win NT as well as WinXP may not be possible since on boot up, the os reinitializes the usb bus thus disconnecting the USB device and probably cause windows to crash .

Yeah that could be the case with 2K/XP. I have booted a linux variant off usb so I do know it's possible if your mobo supports it. It may be possible to do 2K/XP depending on the board. For example I've had to install XP on some boards using serial ata hard drives and thanks to the mobo/bios windows treated them just like a regular eide drive ( F6 during install bootup for sata drivers was not needed) and installed fine.

 

[fart]

Some motherboards support boot from usb (boot other devices on mine). Poke around in your system bios and see if you can.

this is the only correct answer in the thread.

jesus, if you don't know the answer don't make one up people.

 

[DarienA]

Some motherboards support boot from usb (boot other devices on mine). Poke around in your system bios and see if you can.

This it the correct answer.

EDIT: Oh sorry fart.

Yeah some of the answers in this thread are funny as hell... what are you people doing?

 

[goodcow]

I know I can INSTALL XP to my USB2 and firewire hard drives... so I would assume you could boot off them as well.

 

[UtadaBarkley]

yes my mobo supports it... or I may just install my frequently used proggies on my external. that'll do the same essentially, sans bootup, right?

 

[DarienA]

yes my mobo supports it... or I may just install my frequently used proggies on my external. that'll do the same essentially, sans bootup, right?

If you are asking if you can install and run programs from your external HD... the answer is yes... make sure that you are aware of the drive letter assigned when you install programs. If this is a drive you unplug, and readd in along with other usb drives, (small usb keys etc). You want to make sure you always get the same drive letter back, and if not you can just play in computer management removing devices reassigning drive letters, if necessary.

 

[fart]

swap the drives. put the 5400rpm in the external casing and the 7200rpm in your machine. the usb2 overhead and limitations would very possibly negate the seek gains of the 7200 if you chose to boot from it externally.

 

[UtadaBarkley]

Great advice guys, thanks. BTW, where do I go to reasign drive letters and such?

 

[borghe]

control panel->administrative tools->computer management->drive management.

and yes, you can install 2K/XP just fine with a USB device. I already did this for the fuin of it. as long as your motherboard allows you to boot from USB, 2K/XP can see it as a valid drive and install to it.

to those who said it reinititalizes the USB bus.. umm.. what? it initializes the USB bus at the same time it initializes the SCSI, IDE, SATA, IEEE1394, COM ports, sound card, etc.. it initializes the HAL all at one time (not ever device all at once but when it initializes HAL all device drivers are loaded one right after another).