# Install XP Pro on External USB Hard Drive & Boot



## marelle (Sep 21, 2005)

If I can boot from a usb flash drive can't I install XP on an external usb hard drive a boot my os from the external drive? Does anyone foresee any issues with this? Thanks.


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## V0lt (Sep 14, 2002)

It can't be done. The reason for this is that windows loads its own USB driver, and so it has to take the USB offline while it loads it, and so it will stop when it gets to that point.


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## dai (Jul 2, 2004)

http://www.oreillynet.com/pub/wlg/5735


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## BMR777 (Apr 27, 2005)

IBM is experimenting with the Soulpad concept, where you could boot XP from a MP3 Player or IPod. You may want to look inot this if you need it for travel.



BMR777


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## V0lt (Sep 14, 2002)

Was I mistaken? Not challenging you, I had just heard it wasn't possible.


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## dai (Jul 2, 2004)

ms says it cannot be done and so do most of the comments at the end of the link,i bought a 1g stick to try it but have not had time to mess around with it


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## siftekhar (Sep 12, 2005)

this page explains how portable usb drives can be made bootable ... 

if this helps:
http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=10215

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1895,1849716,00.asp
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1895,1846805,00.asp

http://www.tomshardware.com/howto/20050909/index.html


some more info:



> HAVING AN EXTERNAL USB cd-writer or hard disk works wonders as long as your operating system is in good shape. But if someday the system stops booting, you are lost. Booting from good old MS-DOS or Windows boot diskettes - even fitted with the needed third party NTFSDOS or EXTFS drivers - gives you access to your fixed hard disk only, but none of the USB peripherals can be accessed from the DOS command line.
> Before you start scratching your head, let me repeat that this is not related to your favorite linux distro's or Windows XP/W2K/98/ME's USB support, this has to do with people like me, booting some flavor of DOS to copy files around or using DOS-based partition back-up software.
> Imagine that you want to use Paragon Drive Backup, Powerquest's Drive Image, or Norton Ghost, to backup your hard disk partitions to that nice 120gb external USB 2.0 hard disk you just bought. You can't do it. Or if your wife/husband has managed to mess up her/his system so badly that it can't boot anymore, yet she/he wants you to have a copy of those nice digital pictures stored on a compactflash card plugged into the compactflash reader?. No way, Jose. Not from DOS, used to be the phrase.
> Well, now you CAN.
> ...


there are some softs too:

The Ultimate Boot Disk v4.3l (630 KB)

Application Homepage: http://www.startdisk.com/Web1/ubd/ubd.htm
DownLoad: http://www.startdisk.com/Web1/ubd/ubd.htm

MadBoot 7.0.43 (1.3 MB)

Application Homepage: http://www.madboot.com/
DownLoad: http://www.madboot.com/

MD Boot Disk Maker

http://www.watermidz.com (check the freeware)


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## leroys1000 (Aug 16, 2005)

I tried cloning to a USB drive,and it started to boot,but just crashed
when drivers started loading.


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## jhmac77 (Jul 30, 2007)

I found web site http://www.ngine.de/index.jsp?pageid=4176 that might solve the problem but even that solution is too technical for me. Is there any better solution?


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## dai (Jul 2, 2004)

jhmac77
this thread is nearly 2yrs old 
please start your own thread for your own problems


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