Installing Windows 10 on External HDD connected to a MacOS

[MikeGreo]

I am trying to install Windows 10 on an external HDD which is connected to my MacOS laptop.

I have read and followed A LOT of instructions and they have all failed me so far.

I have tried many things, one of which were balenaEtcher. The ISO was downloaded from the Microsoft website so there is no problem there.

There are a number of ways to create the bootable HDD to install Windows 10 but and I also followed a YouTube video where you would copy the contents of the ISO folder onto the formatted external HDD.

However despite having followed all of the instructions, when I plug the external HDD into the other laptop and turn it on, I get the message that says "Bootable device not found".

This is really frustrating me since I thought when you used third party tools like balenaEtcher it would take care of all of that, including formatting in the right format and installing the files from the ISO file.

So why does it not recognize it as a bootable device?

Bear in mind that I have tried multiple times by going into the BIOS and change the order of the boot devices, so it didn't try to boot into the wrong device.

 

[MikeGreo]

I also tried with WinDiskWriter program, same problem.

 

[Bigwaff]

I am trying to install Windows 10 on an external HDD which is connected to my MacOS laptop.

You Mac needs to support Boot Camp if you want to run Windows on Mac hardware.

Install Windows 10 on your Mac with Boot Camp Assistant - Apple Support

Learn how to install Windows 10 on your Mac with Boot Camp.

support.apple.com

 

[MikeGreo]

You Mac needs to support Boot Camp if you want to run Windows on Mac hardware.

Install Windows 10 on your Mac with Boot Camp Assistant - Apple Support

Learn how to install Windows 10 on your Mac with Boot Camp.

support.apple.com

I don't want to run Windows on Mac software.

I have two laptops.

One is a Microsoft Windows and the other is a Macbook Pro.

I had an issue with my Windows laptop so I formatted. My MacOS is working without issues. I simply connected the Windows laptop's HDD as an external drive to the MacOS to set it up. It won't be running on the Macbook. I will be installing it as an internal HDD for the Windows one.

 

[Bigwaff]

So you want to create a bootable Windows 10 system drive from the Mac? I don’t think that is possible. Perhaps it’s possible using Parallels or VMware Fusion.. but I would be surprised.

 

[MikeGreo]

So you want to create a bootable Windows 10 system drive from the Mac? I don’t think that is possible. Perhaps it’s possible using Parallels or VMware Fusion.. but I would be surprised.

Yeah, just want to setup Windows on the external HDD for another laptop.

 

[bogdanw]

Rufus can create Windows To Go
https://rufus.ie/en/
https://github.com/pbatard/rufus/wiki/FAQ#user-content-Windows_To_Go

 

[Bigwaff]

Rufus can create Windows To Go
https://rufus.ie/en/
https://github.com/pbatard/rufus/wiki/FAQ#user-content-Windows_To_Go

Interesting suggestion... but Rufus itself requires Windows 8+ and OP has to use a Mac to create the bootable media.

 

[bogdanw]

Rufus can be used in a virtual machine.
I don't understand why not make a bootable Windows installer on an USB stick with WinDiskWriter, put the HDD back into the laptop, boot from the USB stick and install Windows on the HDD.

 

[Joeronzk]

OP, there is a confusion.

For running Windows 10 from an external drive on a Mac, this refers to Windows To Go. This is pretty complicated on modern Mac.

If you just want to fix your laptop, then just create a bootable Windows 10 installer on Mac and reinstall Windows 10. It is a totally different story.

 

[Grumpus]

Rufus can be used in a virtual machine.

Yup. I followed this helpful video a couple of years ago to install win10 to an external drive, except that I used rufus' win-to-go option instead of wintousb. Everything worked fine.