skill testing question :)

[toocool]

if i bot a new laptop or desktop and removed the internal hard drive and hooked up an external hard drive threw usb would i still be able to load windows and run system threw the external drive??


1. would it work?
2. would setting up the computer like this cause problems?

thanks toocool

[Nostradamus]

well it should work because you can run Linux of of a CD and you can also make a USB thumb drive bootable so you should be able to do the same thing an external drive. You might have to make some changes to your boot sequence in your BIOS and you are probably going to suffer some lag as well. That depends on the speed of USB in comparison to SATA inside the computer

[Anubis]

Yes it would work. There would be no setting up. When you by a new laptop you are in fact setting up the new HD not the rest of the laptop. Why not leave the main drive in set it up and run your external as secondary?

[Nostradamus]

I wouldn't just plug in a USB and try to install Windows though, be much easier to clone the hard drive installed to the new drive. Would be faster than doing install and eliminate the need to hunt down drivers as well

[toocool]

have to make some changes to your boot sequence in your BIOS and you are probably going to suffer some lag as well. (i wondered if that would be a problem)
Why not leave the main drive in set it up and run your external as secondary? (want to use it like a key to keep my brother out of my system he screws it up and i have to reprogram it)


thanks guys on the quick reply :)

[satchick]

That's what strong passwords are for, both in the bios and windows. There might also be software to make a dongle using a flash drive... I don't think you'll be too happy running your OS off an external hard drive.

Or just get a USB fingerprint reader.... Some laptops are starting to include one built in now too.

Another option is to encrypt the system with Truecrypt. No one will be able to boot the OS without knowing the password...

[stevenp]

Windows XP and newer at least do not allow installing on an external drive. It has to do with the machine code when doing installation.

[Pollypurabred]

Interesting read on installing a bootable external drive on XP:
http://www.ehow.com/how_4853554_install-xp-external-hard-drive.html