Cyber Akuma Posted January 16, 2009 Share Posted January 16, 2009 I tried to Google this, but every guide told me how to INSTALL Windows 7 beta off a USB drive. This is not what I am trying to do. I already have it installed on a SATA laptop drive, and have a USB dock for SATA drives. I want to know if there is any way to boot Windows 7 off of the drive once its connected by USB. I am aware that this is possible with Windows XP and Windows Vista, but only after applying a 3rd party patch that changes the way the system handles USB connections on boot. And yes, I am also aware this will make it run slower too off USB 2.0 instead of the internal SATA connection, thats fine. So, has there been any method discovered yet to boot Windows 7 off a USB drive? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeChipshop Member Posted January 16, 2009 Member Share Posted January 16, 2009 check it: https://www.neowin.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=722492 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sweetleaf Posted January 16, 2009 Share Posted January 16, 2009 So you are wanting the OS to be installed and booted from the usb device? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olemus Posted January 16, 2009 Share Posted January 16, 2009 check it: https://www.neowin.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=722492 but every guide told me how to INSTALL Windows 7 beta off a USB drive.This is not what I am trying to do. 10 out of 10 for not reading the whole post. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeChipshop Member Posted January 16, 2009 Member Share Posted January 16, 2009 Strangely i read the title, thought i'd help someone out by tracking down the thread i was reading earlier. In my hurry to help out a fellow Neowiner i forgot to completly read the whole post, wont bother next time. Not worth the attitude you get off of some posters round here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bjgrem Posted January 17, 2009 Share Posted January 17, 2009 Works for vista, might work for win7. Haven't tried it yet, but will soon. Not extactly what you were looking for but it may come in handy. http://www.instructables.com/id/Create-a-B...e-with-VistaPE/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mordkanin Posted January 17, 2009 Share Posted January 17, 2009 It'll be slow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ambroos Posted January 17, 2009 Share Posted January 17, 2009 At this moment, it's just impossible. The USB stack in Windows is written so that whenever you connect or disconnect a USB device, the whole USB stack reinitializes. This makes Windows lose the connection to the USB stick for a very short time, and in that time it cannot write to the swap file or do anything else. When that happens Windows just freezes and it stays frozen until you reboot. I'm afraid it just won't work. One possible solution would be an eSATA disk... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cyber Akuma Posted January 17, 2009 Author Share Posted January 17, 2009 One possible solution would be an eSATA disk... Yes I know, that would be the PERFECT solution..... unfortunately, my laptop has no eSATA ports :( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fuzzychin Posted August 4, 2009 Share Posted August 4, 2009 Yes I know, that would be the PERFECT solution..... unfortunately, my laptop has no eSATA ports :( Buy some? PCMCIA or Express cards are cheap as chips... Also people are doing it from USB - http://kmwoley.com/blog/?p=345 Happy days :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Techload Posted January 23, 2010 Share Posted January 23, 2010 I tried to Google this, but every guide told me how to INSTALL Windows 7 beta off a USB drive. This is not what I am trying to do. I already have it installed on a SATA laptop drive, and have a USB dock for SATA drives. I want to know if there is any way to boot Windows 7 off of the drive once its connected by USB. I am aware that this is possible with Windows XP and Windows Vista, but only after applying a 3rd party patch that changes the way the system handles USB connections on boot. And yes, I am also aware this will make it run slower too off USB 2.0 instead of the internal SATA connection, thats fine. So, has there been any method discovered yet to boot Windows 7 off a USB drive? What is the 3rd party patch for Windows XP and Vista for running off a USB drive? Thanks, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swiftie Posted January 23, 2010 Share Posted January 23, 2010 What is the 3rd party patch for Windows XP and Vista for running off a USB drive? Thanks, You could just try this.. http://store.microsoft.com/Help/ISO-Tool Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hdood Posted January 23, 2010 Share Posted January 23, 2010 You could just try this.. http://store.microsoft.com/Help/ISO-Tool That is for installing Windows from a USB drive, not installing it to a USB drive. The two are very different things. I've yet to see any 7 patches that will let you do it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subject Delta Posted January 23, 2010 Share Posted January 23, 2010 It can be done with XP, although the hack to achieve it is somewhat complicated, and it is somewhat flaky. don't think it can be done with 7 or Vista yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joey_oggie Posted January 24, 2010 Share Posted January 24, 2010 (edited) Here you go :) Install Windows 7 on a USB hard drive I installed it on my 320GB WD hard drive and it's working fine on my desktop PC where I installed it from and on a netbook which has XP installed but unfortunately it's not working on a laptop I have which has Vista installed; it just BSODs while booting. I know why it's doing that, but don't know how to fix it yet. If you face the same problem, you can PM me and if I know a solution by then I will tell you. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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