Windows 10: Booting Windows 10 from external hard disk

Greetings.

I have a laptop (Predator Helios 300) with Windows 10 (Home, upgraded to Pro with Win7 key) installation that I like to keep clean. From time to time I will have to find a new piece of software for certain task. Normally I would start by trying out programs from various vendors to see which one suits me best. This requires me to install each program, try it out for a while and then uninstall it, if I don't like it. I would like to avoid doing this on my main OS, so, I thought I'd create a disposable Win10 installation on an external disk and boot into it whenever I plan to test new stuff.

The problem is I can't seem to be able to pull this off. I tried installing Win10 (I think it's build 20.04) from a bootable USB installation key that I made with the media creation tool. The target was an HDD in a docking station connected over USB, but the installer refused to install. Said something like windows can't be installed on disks connected over USB or firewire(?) interfaces. Next I connected this 2.5" disk over the internal SATA interface (removed current disk) and retried the installation. The system installed normally, booted normally and fully updated itself. Then I removed the disk, placed it back into the docking station and tried to boot from it. It started to boot fine because I saw the small animated orbiting dots icon, but then the machine suddenly rebooted. Afterwards it started to boot again and rebooted again until the PC repair showed up. It failed to fix anything and the system just booted and rebooted over and over again.

What's the proper way to install/boot a fully functional Windows 10 from an external disk i.e. without Windows2Go? I swear I was able to do it in the past when I cloned my older installation onto a 3,5" disk and I was able to boot from it fine from a docking station. No idea why it doesn't work this time. Disabling FastBoot didn't seem to do anything.

Ideas?

:)

 

External Hard disk contents are not visible.

Hi Pranoti,

For us to narrow down your concern with your external hard disk, we would like to know the following:

• Were there any changes made on your computer prior to the issue (e.g., updates, software installation)?
• To make sure that we have not missed on anything, what troubleshooting steps have you done so far?
• Do you hear any clicking sound when connecting your hard disk?

In the meantime, we suggest that you update all your device driver.

We look forward to your response.

 

Help with external hard drive

Hi Debbra,

Welcome to Microsoft Community.

I appreciate your interest in windows 10 and also for trying the troubleshooting steps to fix the issue. I understand the inconvenience you faced. I will certainly help you with this.

I would suggest you to plug in hard drive then check in disk management you can see the drive or not.

Follow the steps to check Drive in Disk Management.

• 
  Go to the Control Panel then click on the
  Administrative Tools. .
  
• 
  Under the Administrative Tool Click on Computer Management.
  
• 
  Click on Disk Management and check the External Hard Drive.
  

Also check in BIOS whether External Hard Drive is listed or not.

For help with the BIOS settings, refer to the computer manual or contact the manufacturer.

If it doesn’t work then, I would suggest you to update BIOS for updating BIOS contact Lenovo Support.

Follow the link:

http://support.lenovo.com/in/hi/

Disclaimer :

Modifying BIOS/complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) settings incorrectly can cause serious problems that may prevent your computer from booting properly. Microsoft cannot guarantee that any problems resulting from the configuring of BIOS/CMOS settings
can be solved. Modifications of the settings are at your own risk.

Hope this information is helpful. Please do let us know if you need further assistance, we’ll be glad to assist you.

Thanks.

 

external hard drive

Hi Chrpee,

If you can't find external hard drive on Disk management than the next step is using the diskpart via command line, please follow the steps below:-

On the keyboard hit ((Windows logo key + R key)) than type ((CMD))

Now the windows command line will appear, the next steps is to type ((diskpart))

After that type ((list disk)) to show you the list of hard disks with partitions

If you found your external hard drive one of the list than you need to type ((select disk number)), note: the number is a disk number

Once you selected the hard disk or partitions than type ((clean))

than type ((create partition primary))

than type ((select partition 1))

than type ((active))

than type ((format fs=ntfs quick))

than type ((assign))

last type ((exit))

Check if the external hard drive appeared, if not please see the link below for more info and let me know if you need any assist

https://uk.pcmag.com/dvd-burners/120624/what-to...