Install Windows 10 on External Hard Drive

Installing Windows 10 on an external hard drive can be a useful option if you want to have a portable operating system that you can use on multiple computers. It can also be helpful if you need to run a different operating system on a specific machine without altering the computer’s primary hard drive. In this article, we’ll go through the steps to install Windows 10 on an external hard drive.

Requirements: Before we proceed, you’ll need the following items:

• A computer running Windows 10
• A USB flash drive with at least 8 GB of space
• An external hard drive with at least 32 GB of space
• A Windows 10 ISO file

Step 1: Create a bootable USB drive To install Windows 10 on an external hard drive, you’ll need to create a bootable USB drive first. Here’s how:

1. Connect the USB flash drive to your computer.
2. Download the Windows 10 ISO file from Microsoft’s website.
3. Open the Windows USB/DVD Download Tool or a similar program that can create a bootable USB drive.
4. Follow the on-screen instructions to create a bootable USB drive with the Windows 10 ISO file.

Step 2: Connect the external hard drive Connect the external hard drive to your computer using a USB cable.

Step 3: Boot from the USB drive Now, you’ll need to boot your computer from the USB drive. Here’s how:

1. Restart your computer.
2. Press the key that opens the boot menu (usually F12 or F10) during the boot process.
3. Select the USB drive from the list of bootable devices.
4. Press Enter to boot from the USB drive.

Step 4: Install Windows 10 on the external hard drive Once your computer has booted from the USB drive, you can proceed with the Windows 10 installation process. Here’s how:

1. Select your language preferences and click Next.
2. Click Install Now.
3. Enter your Windows 10 product key if prompted.
4. Accept the license terms and click Next.
5. Choose the Custom installation option.
6. Select the external hard drive as the installation location and click Next.
7. Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the installation process.

Step 5: Configure Windows 10 Once Windows 10 has been installed on the external hard drive, you can configure it to your preferences. Here are a few things you may want to do:

1. Connect to a Wi-Fi or Ethernet network.
2. Install any necessary drivers for your external hard drive or other hardware.
3. Update Windows 10 to the latest version.
4. Install any necessary software or apps.

Conclusion: Installing Windows 10 on an external hard drive can be a useful option if you need a portable operating system or if you need to run a different operating system on a specific computer. By following these steps, you can create a bootable USB drive, connect the external hard drive, boot from the USB drive, install Windows 10 on the external hard drive, and configure it to your preferences.