Windows doesn’t let you install itself
on an external USB HDD but if you want to do that then how to do it?
This guide will show you how to do
that.
By following below step you can install
windows 8 on VHD and then by transferring that VHD to external HDD and
modifying your BCD file you can make it boot from that external HDD.
New Windows 8 Boot menu is graphical
and it doesn’t support Windows xp so after installing windows 8 your XP will
not boot.
But with this guide you can make that
Xp boot again.
In this guide I won’t cover how to
install XP and Windows Vista/7 and dual boot them. I am assuming that you
already have xp and vista or xp and 7 or vista and 7 or only one of those
windows already installed.
I will cover only installing windwos 8
to VHD , transferring that VHD to external HDD and altering your BCD file to
make it dual/triple boot with OS.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
You’ll need following:
1.
4Gb/8Gb
USB Stick (Pen Drive) to install Windows 8.
2.
External
HDD (if you want to install Windows 8 to external HDD)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Step 0.1 : install windows xp
(optional)
Step 0.2 : install windows vista/7 (so
now you have dual boot configuration of Xp and windows vista/7)
OR
Step 0.3 : install windows xp/vista/7
alone.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Now there may be following Two category
of users.
Category 1 :Those Who will need plop manager in Step 14.
Those users can’t transfer windows 8
vhd to external HDD after dualbooting windows xp/vista/7 with windows 8.
So they can dualboot their existing
windows with new windows 8 but they can’t transfer windows 8 to external HDD.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sub Categories:
(Category 1 users with vista/7 & New Win 8)
Follow Steps 1 to 36
– And Skip step no. 24, 25 & 28 to
32
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(Category 1 users with Xp & New Win8)
Follow Steps 1 to 21
& 37 to 44 (Skip other Steps).
----------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Category 2 : Those Who will not need plop manager in Step 14
These users can transfer windows 8 vhd
to external HDD and can boot to windows 8 from external HDD.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sub Categories:
(Category 2 users with Xp
& Win8)
These users also can’t transfer Win8
vhd to external HDD as windows Xp boot loader will not support it. Hence, for
them guide is same as Category 1 users with Xp & Win8
Follow Steps 1 to 21
&
37 to 44 (Skip
other Steps).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(Category 2 users with vista/7 & Win 8)
These users can transfer windows 8 vhd
to external HDD and can boot to windows 8 from external HDD.
Follow Steps 1 to 36 And
Skip Step No.33
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(Category 2 users with vista/7 & Win 8 & windows xp – Triple
boot)
These users can transfer windows 8 vhd
to external HDD and can boot to windows 8 from external HDD.
Follow
Steps 1 to 36
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Steps
: Installing
windows 8 on VHD.
2)
Download
Windows 7 USB to DVD download tool and install it on your Windows device. Download it Fromhere or from here.
3)
Insert
an empty USB device (8GB for x64 or with Tools or 4GB for x86.)
4)
Start
the Windows 7 USB/DVD download tool and follow the steps. Select the
Windows 8 ISO by clicking BROWSE button
5)
6)
Choose
your USB disk/ PEN Drive (it will erase all your DATA )
7)
Hit
begin Copying.
8)
After
few minutes it’ll compete copying setup files to usb stick.
9)
10)For windows vista/7
Users. (Xp Users Go to step 11)
1) Now
right Click on MY Computer and hit MANAGE.
2) Click
on DISK MANAGEMENT.
3) Now
click on Action Menu on Top and select CREATE VHD.
4) Click
on browse and go to location where you want to create VHD (For this Guide I
Choose D:\) (25Gb free space required.)
5) Name
win8 and hit Save.
6) Choose
Dynamically Expanding and Choose 20 GB and Hit Ok.
7) It’ll
create and attach VHD automatically.
8)
9) Done.
11)For Windows XP Users.
1)
Click on startmenu and go to RUN.
2)
Type “cmd” and hit enter. (without Quotes)
3)
Type following Command.
· DISKPART
· CREATE VDISK
FILE="D:\Win8.vhd" TYPE=Expandable MAXIMUM=20000
·
SELECT
VDISK FILE="D:\VHD\Win8.vhd"
·
ATTACH
VDISK
·
CREATE
PARTITION PRIMARY
·
EXIT
12) Restart
PC and Go to your Bios using F2 OR Whatever maybe the key.
13) Set
USB disk as First Boot Device.
14) For those PCs which don’t
have USB boot support & hence can’t boot from USB disk – Follow this guide “here” to boot
from USB device on unsupported pc.
2.Once booted to
windows 8 installation after following above plop manager guide follow rest of
this guide from step 16 onwards.
15) Close
and save Bios and PC will restart now press any key when it prompts to and it
will start booting Windows 8 Installation setup from your just crested USB
Stick.
16) Choose for a
Custom installation, dont select an existing partition but just press SHIFT&F10
simultaneously and it’ll open
a command Prompt. Now type the following commands :
- DISKPART
- SELECT VDISK
FILE="D:\Win8.vhd"
- ATTACH VDISK
- EXIT
Now
hit Alt+Tab to switch to Windows
installation screen again and press Refresh. That way the new created
VHD partition becomes available.
17) Just
install Windows 8 on the selected VHD partition, and let installation compete.
It’ll take about 20 min or so.
18) During
installation it’ll reboot for few times let it do don’t interrupt the process. After
that Windows 8 will be started. Select your network connection and follow
default first time setup steps and enjoy new windows 8.
19) After
the next restart a boot menu becomes available. When choose Options
here, there's the choice between Windows 7 (existing OS) and Windows Developer
Preview (Windows 8).
20)
21)
22)
Category 1 (Those Who needed plop manager in Step 14)
(for those who needed plop
manager in Step 14 cannot transfer
windows 8 vhd to external HDD)
(Category 1 users with vista/7 & Win 8 & windows Xp -
TripleBoot)
Follow Steps 23 to 36
– And Skip step no. 24, 25 & 28 to
32
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(Category 1 users with Xp & Win8)
Follow Steps 37 to 44 -
And Skip step no. 23 to 36
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Category 2 (Who didn’t needed plop manager in Step 14)
(Category 2 users with Xp & Win8)
follow steps 37 to 44 and skip steps 23
to 36.
These
users also can’t transfer Win8 vhd to external HDD as windows Xp boot loader
will not support it. Hence, for them guide is same as Category 1 users with Xp
& Win8.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(Category 2 users with vista/7 & Win 8)
Follow Steps 23 to 36 And
Skip Step No.33
If
you don’t want to transfer Windows 8 to external HDD then skip steps 24, 25
& 28 to 32.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(Category 2 users with vista/7 & Win 8 & windows xp – Triple
boot)
(for
those who have dualbooted Xp and Vista/7,so now to add XP back to boot menu
follow below steps after booting to Windows Vista/7. )
Follow
Steps 23 to 36
If
you don’t want to transfer Windows 8 to external HDD then skip steps 24, 25
& 28 to 32.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Steps
:
23)Boot to your existing
OS by simply hitting Windows 7
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
24) Copy
your Win8.vhd and transfer it to USB HDD. (For those who want to boot it from
external usb HDD ) for e.g. D:\ to F:\
25) Once
copied it to new location attach it again by following below steps.
- DISKPART
- SELECT VDISK
FILE="F:\Win8.vhd" (I’ve transferred it from D: to F: )
- ATTACH VDISK
- EXIT
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
27) Now install it and run it.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
28) Go
to Add Entry Section and in Portable/External Media Section go to WinPE Tab.
29) Select
Type : Extracted File System Layout.
30) Type
in the name Microsoft Windows 8
31) Select
your external HDD where you transferred your VHD. (in my case F:\)
32) Click
EMS enabled and Hit add Entry.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
33) For
those who had Windows Xp dual booted with windows vista/7 and want Xp
back, On upper Section i.e. Operating
system, in Add Entry Section – Select Windows NT/2K/XP/2K3 and hit add entry
button.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
34) Now
go to Edit Boot menu Section and set Windows Vista/7/xp as Default OS
(whichever you want to set as default by checking Checkbox besides their Entry)
35) Set
boot time to 10 seconds and hit SAVE settings.
36) Go
to View Settings to check the entries and then restart the PC and enjoy your
Multi boot menu with all the entries i.e windows xp/vista/7/8.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
37) Boot to existing Windows 8 and go to
Desktop from MetroUI.
39) Now
install it and run it.
40) If
it didn’t get installed in windows 8 or after installation didn’t run then
follow below steps :
§ To
get easybcd 2 to run on windows 8 go to
"Control Panel" (view by large icons (much easier)) then go to
"Programs and features" now at the top right under view installed
updates you should see "Turn Windows Features on or off" click it and
wait.
§ Now
in the small window that pops up scroll down to "Microsoft .NET Framework
3.5.1" make sure that you have NOTHING RUNNING and tick the box so that a
blue square shows in the tick box .. thats all not a full tick in the box all
you want is a blue box then click on the "ok" button wait ..then load
easy bcd 2 .
41) Go
to Add Entry Section and in upper Section i.e. Operating system – Select
Windows NT/2K/XP/2K3 and hit add entry button.
42) Now
go to Edit Boot menu Section and set Windows XP as Default OS by checking
Checkbox besides its Entry.
43) Set
boot time to 10 seconds and hit SAVE settings.
44) Go
to View Settings to check the entries and then restart the PC and hit on
Windows Xp to boot to windows Xp.
Hope this helpes..!!
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