external hard drive windows 7 in boot list but will only boot to BIOS

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Ashton_1

Reputable
Sep 10, 2015
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4,510
Hi guys,

So I built a computer and whenever I try to boot from a USB it just brings me back to the BIOS. I've tried changing all the setting in the BIOS including turning off both Fast Boot and Secure boot. I have an ASUS Z97 Mark S Sabertooth Motherboard. Do any of you know any way for me to boot Windows 7 from my external hard drive?
 
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SuperSoph_WD
Hey there, Ashton!

Unfortunately, you can't have a 'portable OS' with Windows. You'd need a SATA connection to that HDD in order to be able to boot from it. Even if you find a way to boot into Windows from an external drive, it would be extremely slow and dangerous for any portable drive that is not ready for the workload.
However, you can use your external to create a bootable USB drive that will help you install Windows onto one of your internal SATA-connected HDDs. Here's a link to MS knowledge base that explains how to perform a fresh install of Windows on your computer: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-8/clean-install

Good luck! :)
SuperSoph_WD
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Phillip Corcoran

Phillip Corcoran

Titan
Moderator
Sep 7, 2013
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Are you trying to install Windows from the external hard drive, or are you trying to run an existing Windows installation from it?

If the latter, Windows doesn't support being run from external media.

The external drive appears in the boot sequence in case you want to run Windows Setup from that drive in order to install Windows on an internal drive.
 
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SuperSoph_WD

SuperSoph_WD

Glorious
Jul 30, 2014
6,758
3
45,960
Hey there, Ashton!

Unfortunately, you can't have a 'portable OS' with Windows. You'd need a SATA connection to that HDD in order to be able to boot from it. Even if you find a way to boot into Windows from an external drive, it would be extremely slow and dangerous for any portable drive that is not ready for the workload.
However, you can use your external to create a bootable USB drive that will help you install Windows onto one of your internal SATA-connected HDDs. Here's a link to MS knowledge base that explains how to perform a fresh install of Windows on your computer: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-8/clean-install

Good luck! :)
SuperSoph_WD
 
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