I think you can install Windows from a PC and then run it on potentially any computer since it's in fact a Windows To Go installation.
Let me know if you're successful with that...
Let me know if you're successful with that...
I think you can install Windows from a PC and then run it on potentially any computer since it's in fact a Windows To Go installation.
Let me know if you're successful with that...
oh crap... so that could be due to your external drive itself then...
I got everything working up until the point where I reboot with the prepared drive connected to perform the Windows installation. Once I do that, I get the startup screens of Windows 7 where the colored blobs start to fly together, followed by a very-quick blue screen, then a system reboot.
I'm trying to install Windows 7 X64 using an external laptop-sized hard drive in an old Kingston USB2 enclosure (figured I'd try on that before investing in a USB3 or Thunderbolt enclosure).
I also tried to boot to SafeMode, but it had the same result. Think the enclosure matters? Not quite sure what to do now.
This is on a new 2012 iMac w/ 3tb fusion.
Thanks for the guide - I feel like I'm very close.
The USB drivers aren't loaded in this stage of the Windows boot, which is why you get the blue screen... Thunderbolt drivers are loaded very early during a Windows boot (just like Sata and RAID drivers).
Is there any work-around for that, or am I just out of luck trying to do this with a USB drive?
I have a LaCie Rugged Thunderbolt SSD drive on which i have installed Windows 7 (of course this also works for Windows 8 or even Vista... The installation is fully independent from the internal Mac drives. Absolutely nothing is installed onto the internal drives.
For anyone else that is interested in my method... Read on
There are some requirements to get this working of course:
-Access to a Windows (7 or 8) computer.
-An external Thunderbolt drive which also has a USB connector (unless you have access to a Windows computer which has a Thunderbolt port. Or you could open up the external case take out the SSD and connect it to a Windows computer in any other way..)
-A Windows driver for the Thunderbolt drive.
(The LaCie Rugged SSD has a USB connector and comes with a Windows driver, which is the reason i chose this one.)
The installation method is done using official Microsoft tools.
Step by step guide (with pictures ):
https://docs.google.com/document/d/18TBlULjR_qr5WO_HaGrFO4QoKMnCPlObhFL0KahSQuQ/edit?usp=sharing
Nice writeup ... thanks for posting. I am interested in the LaCie driver you inject into the Windows boot ... is that just for the USB interface or does it also enable the Thunderbolt interface? I wish there was a Windows driver for the LaCie "Little Big Disk" dual drive Thunderbolt enclosure and perhaps the one you used might work there as well.
Also wondering if you have tried adding a virtual-machine such as VMware or Parallels to the bootable Windows installation for vm access from within OS X? I have been unable to do so from any "standalone" external Windows installation which didn't have a OS X boot disk Windows boot partition.
-howard
Just successfully got Windows 8 installed on my external Touro USB 3.0 hard drive. Literally no issues. I followed the same process as the Windows 7 guide - just used the evaluation Windows 8 WIM file for my install.
Looks like I'm upgrading to Windows 8 whether I want to or not for gaming.
I wish there was a Windows driver for the LaCie "Little Big Disk" dual drive Thunderbolt enclosure and perhaps the one you used might work there as well.
I just read this somewhere: All of LaCie's Little Big Disk models employ the same Intel CV82524EF/L Thunderbolt and Marvell 88SE9182 SATA controllers.
So you probably need an Intel Thunderbolt driver for the above chip.
Correction, i just found out that the LaCie Rugged driver is nothing more than the driver for the ASmedia Sata controller which resides in the LaCie enclosure. So the bottomline is that i injected the required Sata driver and all the iMac drivers into the wim file. Meaning that if you can find the Marvell Sata/Raid controller driver, the Little Big Disk might actually work with Windows.
Thanks for the research and information ... I will have to do a little experimenting now.
The LaCie "LBD" boots fine in OS X, and is fast with RAID-0 SSDs, but what I am trying to create is a single OS X SSD along with a single Bootable Windows SSD, all in the dual-drive Thunderbolt enclosure. If I can get the Windows driver to work ... I will have it!
Thanks,
-howard
I know where you can download the Marvell controller driver, if you haven't found it already. I know the Asrock X79 Extreme 7 motherboard also had this controller, you can download a Windows driver from the Asrock website.
I see that LaCie just posted a Little Big Disk Thunderbolt Windows driver on the support page today (2/26/13)
http://www.lacie.com/support/support_manifest.htm?id=10549
hmmm i will do the same , lacie rugged 256 ssd but with Thunderbolt
i´m not sure if i should order the lacie(329 euro apple.at) if it does not work,can anyone say about the speed of Windows 8 on a SSD?
sorry for my bad english
The speed will be excellent. SSDs are all faster than hard drives. The LaCie is not the fastest driver, however. If you want the absolute fastest,
you can buy an internal SSD (SanDisk Ultra Plus or Extreme series, Intel 830, etc) and put it in a Thunderbolt enclosure or sled. I did this for my Windows install. I also created a detailed install guide
http://kevtg-compuproductive.tumblr.com