Can't boot from USB connected HDD

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Cres VF

Commendable
Jul 11, 2016
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I'm on a laptop (ASUS ROG GL552VW) and I recently connected an HDD to it thru an USB adapter. The HDD is from my desktop PC which I can't use anymore. The laptop has Windows 10 on it, HDD has Windows 7 installed on it. Anyway, when I try to boot from that HDD the loading screen of the Windows 7 cuts off after a few seconds and my laptop restarts itself.

How to fix this? Is there any other work-around than trying this on another PC?
 
Solution
Mark RM
At that time is was a restriction imposed my MS to protect their licensing, Windows 8.1 and Windows 10 have a different launch mechanism.
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ArtPog

Admirable
Sep 17, 2014
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The info you received from Mark is correct in that you cannot install an OS DIRECTLY to a disk installed as a USB external device and expect it to be a bootable OS as a USB device.

However,
If the OS has been installed on an internally-connected HDD/SSD, you can clone that drive to a USBEHD (or SSD) and the OS on that drive can be bootable even when connected as a USB device.

So...
In your situation, if you would reconnect the HDD (that presumably contains a viable Win 7 OS) and clone that drive to a HDD (or SSD) connected as a USB external drive, it can be bootable as a USB device. Naturally you'll need another HDD (or SSD) as the recipient of the clone.

Capiche?

Now we do this routinely with the disk-cloning program we use - Casper. However that program is a commercial program costing $49.99 so you may not be interested in it. Now I believe there are other d-c programs (freely available) that may have this capability, e.g., Easeus Todo, Macrium Reflect, but I don't know this for certain.
 
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ArtPog

Admirable
Sep 17, 2014
2,951
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Let me understand something, OK?

1. The HDD in question contained a Win 7 OS.

2. The Win 7 OS had been installed onto that HDD in your desktop PC. It had been installed DIRECTLY onto the HDD while that drive was internally-connected in the PC's system, right?

3. That HDD never contained a CLONED version of the OS, right?

4. And that's the HDD you now say you connected to another PC WHILE THE HDD WAS CONNECTED TO THAT PC AS A USB EXTERNAL HARD DRIVE, right?

5. The HDD was NOT internally-connected to that PC, right?
 
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