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Want to install Windows 7 on eSata drive
Hi everyone, I've been trying unsuccessfully to install windows 7 on a SATA drive that is connected via eSata to my laptop. Here is the rundown: I've made a partition on my drive which is connected via eSata because I already have data on it. The Partition is 40GB and formatted as NTFS with drive letter Y. I currently have Windows 7 installed on my internal drive. When I run the Windows 7 installer and select my eSATA drive for installation either by booting from CD or launching from within Windows 7 I get this error: Windows cannot be installed to this disk. This computer's hardware may not support booting to this disk. Ensure that the disk's controller is enabled in the computer's BIOS menu.
Here is where the next problem arises. I was looking for a solution and found that maybe if I changed the boot order in the bios that perhaps it would allow me to install this way. The problem is my eSATA drive does not show up in the bios. Currently my system is set to ACHI so that it will support hot swapping.
Another thing I found was that maybe if I take out my internal drive that it would allow me to install. I don't wish to do this because I want my internal drive to retain the MBR and be able to boot without problems into either system.
So my main problems are that Windows 7 won't install on my eSATA drive and that my eSATA drive isn't recognized in my BIOS Boot Order.
Any help would be greatly appreciated. Hope I've given enough info.