Can anyone answer some questions on partitioning a hard drive?

hey everyone.
im using windows vista.
i just recently bought a 500gb western digital external hard drive. i would like to know, how can i install an operating system on the external hard drive and keep the one that's currently on my pc, i would like to use the external hard drive to keep different documents, games, applications and files on, and to randomly boot of. (so its like their are two computers.
also will booting of another external hard drive have any affect on my computer or current files or hard drive. one last thing, could i use the external hard drive to store flies on like i normally would. so what im asking there is that, do you have to use the whole external hard drive as an operating system, or could you sort of partition the external hard drive, so you could boot of it, but also connect it to a computer and use it like a normal usb when your not booted of it.

sorry if this sound confusing i know a bit about computers but not too much. just ask any questions. thanks in advance.


Post Originated from Vista Support Forums

Windows does not support being installed on an external drive at all. There
was a hack that allowed XP to do this but neither Vista nor Windows 7 can be
installed to any kind or type of external drive.

"petamartt" wrote in message news:...
> hey everyone.
> im using windows vista.
> i just recently bought a 500gb western digital external hard drive. i
> would like to know, how can i install an operating system on the external
> hard drive and keep the one that's currently on my pc, i would like to use
> the external hard drive to keep different documents, games, applications
> and files on, and to randomly boot of. (so its like their are two
> computers.)
> also will booting of another external hard drive have any affect on my
> computer or current files or hard drive. one last thing, could i use the
> external hard drive to store flies on like i normally would. so what im
> asking there is that, do you have to use the whole external hard drive as
> an operating system, or could you sort of partition the external hard
> drive, so you could boot of it, but also connect it to a computer and use
> it like a normal usb when your not booted of it.
>
> sorry if this sound confusing i know a bit about computers but not too
> much. just ask any questions. thanks in advance.
>
>
> Post Originated from Vista Support Forums

On Fri, 23 Apr 2010 20:53:30 -0700, petamartt wrote:

> hey everyone.
> im using windows vista.
> i just recently bought a 500gb western digital external hard drive. i
> would like to know, how can i install an operating system on the
> external hard drive and keep the one that's currently on my pc, i would
> like to use the external hard drive to keep different documents, games,
> applications and files on, and to randomly boot of. (so its like their
> are two computers.) also will booting of another external hard drive
> have any affect on my computer or current files or hard drive. one last
> thing, could i use the external hard drive to store flies on like i
> normally would. so what im asking there is that, do you have to use the
> whole external hard drive as an operating system, or could you sort of
> partition the external hard drive, so you could boot of it, but also
> connect it to a computer and use it like a normal usb when your not
> booted of it.
>
> sorry if this sound confusing i know a bit about computers but not too
> much. just ask any questions. thanks in advance.
>
>
> Post Originated from Vista Support Forums

You can certainly install Linux on an external drive and boot from it.
And you can always access the data on the drive whether it's on a
bootable partition or not - at least from Linux.

"Richard G. Harper" <> écrivait
news::

> Windows does not support being installed on an external drive at all.
> There was a hack that allowed XP to do this but neither Vista nor
> Windows 7 can be installed to any kind or type of external drive.
>
How about eSata? Have you tried?

There are two eSata connectors on my PC, one on the front of the case and
the other on a backplate. They're both connected on regular sata connectors
on the motherboard I don't think Windows would know that the drives
connected to those are external.

The problem the OP would have with such installation would be activating
both installations unless he has two licenses.

BTW when I click on the "Safely remove" icon in the taskbar in Win7, all
the sata hard drives(4) in my system show up for removal even internal
ones.