Bootcamp and external drives.

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Level 1

19 points

Bootcamp and external drives.

So I recently purchased a new macbook pro (13in mid 2012). My old macbook pro(13in mid 2009) had a windows 7 bootcamp partition. My problem is that after removing the hard drive from the old macbook pro and placing it in an external hard drive case, I cannot access windows 7 from my new computer after plugging it in via USB. I CAN log into Mac OS 10.8 inside my old hard drive from my new computer and I CAN attempt to log into Windows 7 but am then given two options.

The first option is "Launch startup repair (recommended)". When I select this it tells me the following "This version of System Recovery Options is not compatible with the version of Windows you are trying to repair. Try using a recovery disc that is compatible with this version of windows."

The second option is "Launch Windows Normally". Selecting this causes the computer to blue screen for a spilt second and then restart.

The version of Windows 7 that I have is Home Premium (OEM System builder pack).

I would very much appreciate help. Thanks!

MacBook Pro, OS X Mountain Lion (10.8.2)

Posted on Oct 1, 2012 1:33 PM

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Answer 1

Csound1

Level 9

59,973 points

Oct 1, 2012 3:56 PM in response to lovehelp

You can not boot Windows from an external usb drive.

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Answer 2

Oct 2, 2012 9:04 PM in response to lovehelp

THe Windows boot options are stored in a configuration file where it has embedded in it the disk number and partition number within that disk. When you move a disk from internally in one machine to externally on another machine, the disk number changes, so it will have serious problems booting. This is standard Windows (NT and above).

Additionally, Csound1 has already told you that Apple's Boot Camp only supports booting from internal drives, and if your Apple computer is a notebok, it only supports booting form the first/primary internal drive...

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