Installing Windows on an External Hard Drive

1.Check that the size of the external hard drive meets the system requirements of the Windows operating system. Windows XP requires 1.5 gigabytes of free hard drive space. Windows Vista requires 20 gigabytes (for the Home Basic edition) or 50 gigabytes (for all other editions). The system requirements for older, outdated versions of the Windows operating system, such as Windows Me and Windows 98, can be found on the official Microsoft Windows Web site (link in the Resources section).

2. Connect the external hard drive to the computer with which you plan to use the hard drive. Use the hard drive's original cables included by the drive's manufacturer. It does not matter what connectivity standard you use. Windows will automatically detect the external hard drive.

3.Click the Start menu in the lower left-hand corner of the PC screen and select My Computer.

4.Right-click the icon for the external hard drive. Click Format from the pop-up menu. Format the external hard drive in the NTSF format.

5.Insert the original Windows installation disk into your computer's CD-ROM drive. Close the Installation Wizard when it appears on the screen.

6.Return to the My Computer window from Step 3. Write down the drive letters assigned to the CD-ROM drive and the drive of your external hard drive. For the sake of this article, we will use the example of D:\\\\ being the external hard drive and E:\\\\ being the CD-ROM drive. These are typically the letters assigned to CD-ROM and external drives in the Windows operating system.

7.Click the Start menu button and select Run.

8.Type \"E:\\I386\\winnt32.exe /syspart:D: /tempdrive:D: /makelocalsource /noreboot\" (without quotation marks) and click OK. This launches the Windows installer file on the Windows installation disk in drive E:\\\\ and commands it to install on the D:\\\\ drive (your external hard drive). The Windows Installer Wizard screen will appear.

9.Select the Full Install option in the Windows Installer Wizard. You will then be guided through the Windows installation disk. Follow the on-screen prompts to complete the installation. Depending on the speed of your computer's processor, this may take several hours. Be prepared to enter important information, such as your Windows registration key to register your copy of the Windows operating system. Do not close the installation window until the installation process is complete.

10.Shut down the computer and disconnect the external hard drive. You can now use the external hard drive to boot up another computer using the installed copy of the Windows operating system.