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BootCamp on external SSD

I just bought a new iMac and I wanted to run BootCamp off of an external SSD and I was wondering if there would be a difference in speed? Or should I just intall BC on the internal drive? Is there a noticeable difference? Thanks in advance!

Posted on Feb 27, 2018 8:14 AM

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5 replies

Feb 27, 2018 8:21 AM in response to AnnaLGA

Then follow the instructions of the people you see doing it. All I can say is that Windows on an external drive is not supported by Boot Camp nor Microsoft. Microsoft does have a Windows to Go version but that is not supported by Boot Camp. To install Windows using Boot Camp you can use the external drive on which to install your MacOS and then install Windows internally.

Feb 27, 2018 8:30 AM in response to BobTheFisherman

Yes, that’s what I’m going to do. I was just wondering if there would be a noticeable difference in the speed and if there would be any lag. I have bootcamp installed on the internal ssd of my late 2013 macbook pro and it’ runs very smoothly so I wanted to know if the same would apply to windows installed on an external SSD. But thanks for the help!

Feb 27, 2018 8:49 AM in response to AnnaLGA

one would need to bypass bootcamp and cheat windows (because windows will act up if it view it as being on an external hd)

speed would depend on how you connect your ssd if you do it by usb2 then you will be limited to a transfer speed around 30MB/sec if by thunderbolt your speed will be limited by the ssd disk not the interface (as in the same speed as if the ssd was internal)

BootCamp on external SSD

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