Hello, longtime posting to the front page, but maybe my first time in the support forums. I have a Mac Mini 2018 running MacOS Catalina and I am trying to install Windows 10 with Bootcamp onto an external Samsung X5 thunderbolt 3 drive. I bought this drive specifically because I learned it is seen as an internal drive when installing bootcamp. From searching the forums here and elsewhere, it is a costlier, but more straightforward solution when an external drive is necessary for this installation. After my research, I went through the steps of going into Security settings so that my Mac Mini allows me to boot from an external drive. I also disabled filevault to avoid potential issues.
Try #1, I partitioned the Samsung X5 in half. Partition 1 would be my Windows 10 boot drive, and Partition 2 would be an external drive for MacOS usage. Bootcamp process started fine, and it re-booted to the Windows 10 installation screen. After selecting that I would enter my Windows 10 key later, as soon as it tried to begin to install I received the error:
"Windows cannot locate the disk and partition specified in the unattend answer file's <ImageInstall> setting. Make sure the setting references a valid partition and restart the installation."
I researched and saw that it may be confused of where to install Windows due to other drives being present. I needed to make sure to disconnect any other drives - any usb connected drive, and I shut down my NAS that has my Time Machine backup. The only drive connected was now the Samsung X5, since this is where the install is going. I ran Bootcamp again and received the same error. My thought is that it does not like that I partitioned the X5, perhaps the other partition is creating a conflict. So I decided to dedicate the X5 to Windows 10 only.
Try #2, I reformatted the drive and with a fresh reformat I went back into bootcamp. Now this gave me less progress than before. After selecting the Samsung X5, Bootcamp gets stuck a few seconds after that on "Downloading Windows Support Software". In my try #1, this part only took a couple minutes at most. However this time, I tried it several times, always getting stuck. I left this on overnight once, and still no luck.
I have seen some Windows To Go methods of installing, requiring virtual machines and other paid software. But it would never have the latest windows, and just seems like more of a hack job than using bootcamp. It seems fine, but those workarounds seem more for those that are not using thunderbolt 3 drives, since they don't have another choice.
Yes, I made the mistake of buying a 128gb SSD Mac Mini, so as much as I would like to just install Windows on the internal drive, it's quite the tight fit. I have thoughts about moving my MacOS apps to an external drive so that I can dedicate as much of the internal I can to windows, but it would be nice to dedicate this Samsung drive for it. I may try to split the internal drive, and split the x5 among the two systems for extra storage. My main goal is to have a Windows 10 partition for occasional gaming using an eGpu. Any advice or help would be appreciated please. Thank you.
Try #1, I partitioned the Samsung X5 in half. Partition 1 would be my Windows 10 boot drive, and Partition 2 would be an external drive for MacOS usage. Bootcamp process started fine, and it re-booted to the Windows 10 installation screen. After selecting that I would enter my Windows 10 key later, as soon as it tried to begin to install I received the error:
"Windows cannot locate the disk and partition specified in the unattend answer file's <ImageInstall> setting. Make sure the setting references a valid partition and restart the installation."
I researched and saw that it may be confused of where to install Windows due to other drives being present. I needed to make sure to disconnect any other drives - any usb connected drive, and I shut down my NAS that has my Time Machine backup. The only drive connected was now the Samsung X5, since this is where the install is going. I ran Bootcamp again and received the same error. My thought is that it does not like that I partitioned the X5, perhaps the other partition is creating a conflict. So I decided to dedicate the X5 to Windows 10 only.
Try #2, I reformatted the drive and with a fresh reformat I went back into bootcamp. Now this gave me less progress than before. After selecting the Samsung X5, Bootcamp gets stuck a few seconds after that on "Downloading Windows Support Software". In my try #1, this part only took a couple minutes at most. However this time, I tried it several times, always getting stuck. I left this on overnight once, and still no luck.
I have seen some Windows To Go methods of installing, requiring virtual machines and other paid software. But it would never have the latest windows, and just seems like more of a hack job than using bootcamp. It seems fine, but those workarounds seem more for those that are not using thunderbolt 3 drives, since they don't have another choice.
Yes, I made the mistake of buying a 128gb SSD Mac Mini, so as much as I would like to just install Windows on the internal drive, it's quite the tight fit. I have thoughts about moving my MacOS apps to an external drive so that I can dedicate as much of the internal I can to windows, but it would be nice to dedicate this Samsung drive for it. I may try to split the internal drive, and split the x5 among the two systems for extra storage. My main goal is to have a Windows 10 partition for occasional gaming using an eGpu. Any advice or help would be appreciated please. Thank you.
