Installing a second copy of xp

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how can i install a copy of XP on my external harddrive? i have tried but it
wont boot up. i would liek to use it as a back up. if its not possible, can
i get rid of it without formatting?
 
Juggalo said:
how can i install a copy of XP on my external harddrive? i have tried but it
wont boot up. i would liek to use it as a back up. if its not possible, can
i get rid of it without formatting?
Click to expand...

Many have tried and almost all have failed to install Windows
XP into a removable, external hard drive. Even when the USB
drive is recognized by the computer's bios and can be made
bootable. In removing it, why not use the format route? It's
simpler than by erasing each file, and cleaner.
 
because i have alot of stuff on the drive and i dont want to lose it all. if
it was new them formating it would not be a problem
 
[[Current versions of Windows should not be installed to USB hard disk
drives because Windows does not support USB hard disk drives as the primary
boot device.]]

[[Windows as it exists today is currently not optimized to run as an
installed operating system from USB attached mass-storage or CD. ]]

[[Hard disk drives shouldn't report themselves as removable media drives
because Windows will not put a page file on a removable media device. ]]
from...
Recommendations for Booting Windows from USB Storage Devices
Updated: August 23, 2004
http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/device/storage/usb-boot.mspx

However, this is claimed to work.
http://www.ngine.de/index.jsp?pageid=4176

This is supposed to work also.
Windows In Your Pocket | Tom's Hardware
http://www.tomshardware.com/2005/09/09/windows_in_your_pocket/

No, Microsoft does *NOT* support it.

--
Hope this helps. Let us know.

Wes
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User

In
 
how can i install a copy of XP on my external harddrive? i have tried but
it
wont boot up. i would liek to use it as a back up. if its not possible,
can
i get rid of it without formatting?
Click to expand...

XP is not designed to install and run from an external USB drive. Get a
drive imaging program such as Acronis True Image and save a compressed image
of the working drive to the USB hard drive. Then if needed you can restore
the image.

Another option, if you have a free, externally accessible 5 1/4" drive bay
is to install a rack mount. Then insert a new drive, clone the old drive to
the new and keep the clone as a backup.
 
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