Dual Boot using External usb

Greetings:

I just purchased an HP dv7-1135nr. Beautiful Laptop for the family to use.

Running Windows Vista Home Premium (oem) (oem does not come with 32 bit version) 64-bit with sp1
AMD Turion x2 Dual Core 2.00 ghz
4.00 GB Ram
250 gb internal 5600 rpm hd

My issue is (my own stupidity and/or oversight), I needed this laptop for my voiceover business, and unfortunately I did not read the requirements for Protools software to run....It will not run period, on Vista 64. I tried running in Windows compatibility mode under xp, but I believe its irrelevant when on a 64 bit system, as it still did not work. I know for a fact it runs on Vista 32 on our home pc.

What I want to do is this:

I want to buy another 250gb or so hd in an external hd usb case....
I want to install Vista 32bit or XP Pro on this drive as an external bootable. So, if the ext hdd is attached, I want the bios to ask me which to load from.

I like this idea because: A, it doesn't decrease my space on the C drive, I don't have to worry about my wife or daughter messing with the business files..., and B I can keep the business side of things completely seperate and semiprotected from the family side.

How best, can I go about doing this?

Many thanks in advance, I did see many threads related to dual booting, but really none that I found to address my concerns.

Kyle Hunter

 

For booting into USB devices ur bios must permit this option (most modern BIOS do). plug in ur external hdd. use the quick boot selection menu (F8 or F12 during system boot (bios dependent)). and choose usb device to boot from it after installing vista 32 or xp.

 

i see so many of these threads, and i'm afraid kuncheesh is wrong... at least partly. An unmodified windows OS (excluding embedded versions) cannot run from an external device, due the fact the usb drivers are loaded too late - irrespective of whether or not the bios permits it. So basically you have to modify it first - use this guide if you think its worth the effort:
http://www.ngine.de/article/id/8

 

Most modern BIOSes provide the option to boot from a USB device. You can probably set up the boot order in the BIOS to automatically boot from the USB drive if it is connected. Alternatively, most recent notebooks provide the option of pressing a key (such as F12) during the initial boot to bring up a list of boot devices.

You will probably find it easiest to configure the new HDD by first installing it internally and then loading all the software. You then avoid any risk of unintentionally messing up your existing installation when the Windows installer becomes too clever.

John

 

thanks much....I wonder if I could buy another internal laptop hdd, install it, install xp over that one...then remove the hdd install that hdd in an external case.....

 

thanks for your time....what a dilemma!

 

I have just been to recheck what I said above since I have what was my main HDD in an enclosure. I tried booting from it as a USB storage device and it BSOD'd. The reason, I'm sure is that the computer is set up to use AHCI (so jisaac is correct in that respect). Then, because my E6400 has eSATA, I tried booting from the external HDD via eSATA. It works fine with zero problems.

I see that the dv7 has eSATA. if this is correct, therein lies your solution. Get an external enclosure which has eSATA (there are several with eSATA and USB). If the dv7 has the eSATA port then it's 99% likely that it will also support booting from eSATA (it's effectively just another SATA drive).

My previous comments about it being best to do the installation with the HDD installed internally still stand.

John

 

Why not create a new partition and dual boot that way instead of going through the mess of having to use an external device?

You can protect the partition somehow. It will also be faster than running an OS from a USB stick or whatever you want to use.

I dunno, that's what I would do

 

If it was running from an eSATA there shouldn't be any difference of speed

 

hey storm fire, i am wanting to do something similar to this, except just do 2 partitions, one xp pro and one vista 64 bit. problem, where did u find xp pro drivers for the laptop. Im having some trouble finding em