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Install Windows 7 TO external drive?
I have a 20GB laptop HDD in an enclosure at the moment. I want to copy the Windows 7 setup files from the extracted ISO to that drive for installation. I did this with XP by using the following:
For the XP install I hooked up the drive via a usb-to-ide interface to another laptop and then ran that line from a command prompt and stepped through copying the needed setup files to the drive. From there I placed the HDD into the desired laptop (no working cd/dvd rom) and booted up into Windows setup. I do not believe this will work for 7 as there seems to be a directory structure difference to say the least. I wonder if that would still work had I the correct syntax though...Code:C:\xp3\I386\winnt32.exe /syspart:E: /tempdrive:E: /makelocalsource /noreboot
Is it possible to do this with Windows 7?
*The laptop is a DELL Inspiron 1100. The BIOS does not support booting from a USB device.
Last edited by atomsk; 04 Nov 2009 at 11:45.