//flex table opened by JP
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Click to See Complete Forum and Search --> : Connecting an external HDD that containe an OS

rounder
06-30-2007, 10:55 PM
If I connect an external HDD in an e closure (my old harddrive that still contains the OS, Win XP) and turn it on, will it try to boot over the OS that is already running? My assumption is, yes it will, but I do not know what the result will be.
rounder
06-30-2007, 11:24 PM
Second question: If it is "internally" hooked up to the enclosure via IDE, yet the enclosure is connected via USB, how do I set the jumper? Master, slave, cable select, etc.?
Ol'Tunzafun
06-30-2007, 11:45 PM
It has to be set in the BIOS to boot from USB.
Set the jumper to master.
Crashman
06-30-2007, 11:57 PM
The system will boot from whichever device is set to boot first in BIOS. You can add as many OS drives as you like and boot from whichever one is selected.
rounder
06-30-2007, 11:57 PM
Thanks, ol' tunzafun!

Crashman, I originally plan to power rhe device after boot.
Sterling_Aug
07-01-2007, 08:11 AM
If the BIOS of the computer will not allow booting to USB, then you will be out of luck unless you install the hard drive internally.
Ol'Tunzafun
07-01-2007, 09:35 PM
Actually, you are going to run into trouble with that because Windows does not support booting the Windows operating systems from USB devices. I suppose that if someone were to write the necessary drivers that it could physically be done but there would still be outstanding licensing issues. The closest you are going to get to it is installing a PE version of XP to a USB flash drive.
http://www.tomshardware.com/2005/09/09/windows_in_your_pocket/
Sterling_Aug
07-02-2007, 08:13 AM
Windows does support booting from a USB device because I have seen it done.

http://www.nu2.nu/pebuilder/

Depending on which USB thumb drive you get, you can install BartPE on it and boot.