Vista - Vista install on External Hard Drive

Hi,
I am currently running XP Pro and want to install Vista.

I have made a new partition on my _External_ Hard Drive.

I went into the install, and I get this message when doing a clean
install and choosing the partition:
Is there any way to make it work at all? If it helps, the external Hard
Drive is:

_Western_Digital_Elements_640GB_USB_2.0_External_DeskTop_Hard_Drive._

From my searching, there are no drivers as it is a "Plug 'n' Play" Hard
Drive, I will have a look for the box to see if any disks came with it
though so I could try to "feed" Vista the drivers?

Then, for the "This Computer's Hardware may not support booting....."
ect, how can I enable it in BIOS? I am using a Dell Inspiron 6400 (US is
E1505). If you need any more specs of my Laptop I will try and find them
out (but instructions on how to find them would be nice, I'm no PC
expert )

Thanks,
Jammiedodger546


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jammiedodger546 wrote:
No. Windows will not install on an external USB hard drive. The error
message is not lying to you. The only external drives on which Windows can
be installed are eSATA because they aren't really "external" in the
classical sense.

Malke
--
MS-MVP
Elephant Boy Computers - Don't Panic!
FAQ - http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/#FAQ

Hi,

I'm no expert either but I have an idea. Maybe somebody can tell us if this will work:
Install it to a partition on your computer's hard drive and then use Acronis or something like it to clone the installation to the external drive. I think that most of the newer computer's BIOS will support booting a USB (I know mine does). Good luck!

As far as I know none of the Windows operating systems have been able to
install to an external hard drive.

I tried it some years ago and got a similar message to the one you got, so I
never bothered again.

--

--
John Barnett MVP
Windows XP Associate Expert
Windows Desktop Experience

Web: http://xphelpandsupport.mvps.org
Web: http://vistasupport.mvps.org
Web: http://www.silversurfer-guide.com

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"jammiedodger546" <jammiedodger546.3ko3fc@xxxxxx> wrote in message
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"John Barnett MVP" <freelance@xxxxxx> wrote in message
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Someone came up with a very complicated workaround for XP

http://www.ngine.de/article/id/8


But I doubt that it would work with Vista.

At any rate it's certainly not supported by Microsoft.

forthe

As you say, Philo the process is very complicated, probably far beyond the
reach of the average user.

--

--
John Barnett MVP
Windows XP Associate Expert
Windows Desktop Experience

Web: http://xphelpandsupport.mvps.org
Web: http://vistasupport.mvps.org
Web: http://www.silversurfer-guide.com

The information in this mail/post is supplied "as is". No warranty of any
kind, either expressed or implied, is made in relation to the accuracy,
reliability or content of this mail/post. The Author shall not be liable for
any direct, indirect, incidental or consequential damages arising out of the
use of, or inability to use, information or opinions expressed in this
mail/post..


"philo" <philo@xxxxxx> wrote in message
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