Windows 7 on iMac, install from external drive

Windows is just not designed to run from an external/removable drive.

You have three options.

• Dedicate a small boot partition on your internal (15-20 GB)
• Use VMWare Fusion/Parallels/VirtualBox and store your image file on the external
• Follow the guide here http://guides.macrumors.com/Boot_Camp_Windows_XP_On_External_Drive and modify Windows to enable USB boot.

Another approach is to use VMWare to create a generic install and modify that to run on physical hardware.

http://www.msfn.org/board/install-w...ard-disk-t136401-pid-902121.html&#entry902121

B

Mafetapaz said:

What about the first option? creating a small boot partition? and then how should i proceed?

Click to expand...

Just follow the standard Boot Camp instructions and use the external for data. You can create an NTFS partition on it with Disk Utility and use that for Windows.

I wouldn't go any smaller than 20 GB on the internal.

B

I apologize profusely. I completely misread your original post and apparently no-one has chimed in to correct me!

Here's Microsoft's step-by-step guide on how to do what you really want http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/magazine/dd535816.aspx

If you don't have access to a Windows machine, use your ISO to install it in VMWare (DO NOT ACTIVATE IT YET) and use that to follow the guide.

B