Can you install XP on an external hard drive and run the computer from it?

[MichiganGirl]

I was going to buy a laptop, but a friend said he had one but the hard drive was not working. I have an 80 gig external hard drive.

Thanks.

Anisah

[Nick Theodorakis]

Maybe. Is your disk bootable? Does the computer's BIOS support booting from however your disk is connected?

It may also be possible to boot XP from a flash drive.

Nick

[MichiganGirl]

Originally Posted by Nick Theodorakis

Maybe. Is your disk bootable? Does the computer's BIOS support booting from however your disk is connected?

Nick

Thanks for the reply, Nick. How would I know if my external hard drive is bootable? I don't have the computer yet to check the BIOS.

[Not_Done_Living]

is the external drive a 2.5" or a full sized? you may just be able to take the drive out and put it in the laptop.

[Hero_Mike]

You're way better off replacing the hard-drive in the laptop than all the gymnastics to boot from an external drive. What kind of laptop is it? I'd guess that it's only 2 to 4 screws to remove the hard-drive, and once you do that, take it to a store and get a (likely larger) replacement. This assumes only the hard-drive is broken - if the motherboard and/or controller are dead then the external boot will likely have problems too.

[FormicaArchonis]

Originally Posted by Hero_Mike

You're way better off replacing the hard-drive in the laptop than all the gymnastics to boot from an external drive. What kind of laptop is it? I'd guess that it's only 2 to 4 screws to remove the hard-drive, and once you do that, take it to a store and get a (likely larger) replacement.

Though you want to be careful. Laptops can have very fine thermal margins. Going too much bigger or too much faster can make it easier to overheat. If it came with a 5400 RPM 80 GB HDD, I'd be wary about going over a 160 or to a 7200 RPM drive. (Unless the manufacturer is selling it as an upgrade on their site, then the system can presumably hack it. Copy down the specs for what they're selling and buy the same drive for half the price in a computer store.)

Originally Posted by Hero_Mike

This assumes only the hard-drive is broken - if the motherboard and/or controller are dead then the external boot will likely have problems too.

And even if it doesn't, pulling an OS over a USB connection (which is what I'm assuming would be used) is SLOW. Best case, it'll be running at - what? - a third of the speed of an internal hard drive? Triple your current Windows boot time and tell me it'd be tolerable.

Really, with laptop hard drives down around US$50-$60 for smaller ones, it's not worth it even if you can get it working.

[Troberg]

I think that the only Windows able to run off an external drive is Windows PE. Linux does it (even from an USB stick), however, if you want to try that.

Get a new internal HD instead, it's a quick, easy and cheap fix.

[Hero_Mike]

Originally Posted by FormicaArchonis

Though you want to be careful. Laptops can have very fine thermal margins. Going too much bigger or too much faster can make it easier to overheat. If it came with a 5400 RPM 80 GB HDD, I'd be wary about going over a 160 or to a 7200 RPM drive. (Unless the manufacturer is selling it as an upgrade on their site, then the system can presumably hack it. Copy down the specs for what they're selling and buy the same drive for half the price in a computer store.)

Speed, yes. Size, no. Bigger hard drives do not necessarily consume more power - they may only have higher data density on the same number of platters. Now 7200rpm and 10,000rpm drives do consume more power and get hotter.

If it's a relatively new hard-drive, how about a solid state drive?

[FormicaArchonis]

Originally Posted by Hero_Mike

Speed, yes. Size, no. Bigger hard drives do not necessarily consume more power - they may only have higher data density on the same number of platters.

May? If only data density changed, then true. But if there's more platters....

I'm paranoid. I don't buy something unless I'm really sure it'll work, and I work in an industry where it's safer to have something underperform slightly and work than overperform but fail. As a consequence, my advice is always to research, be sure, don't take unnecessary risks, mitigate necessary risks, and only spend money when you HAVE to.