Installing Win 8 on external SSD then move it internal.

[Mossey]

UEFI bios Win 8, but I was wondering if I could install Win 8 pro onto SSD mounted in an external SSD/USB 3 enclosure, then take the drive from the enclosure and replace the main drive internally with the SSD. I realize I could just mount the SSD and install, but I wanted to keep current main drive intact for comparison. Would the SSD in the enclosure run on another computer? Thanks

 

[phil22]

Windows Setup doesn't support installing to an external hard drive, the drive you want to install Windows on must be installed internally.

Once Windows is installed, it won't work if you install that drive on a different computer. After moving the drive to a different computer you have to re-install Windows again on that computer.

 

[Mossey]

Best answer selected by Mossey.

 

[Mossey]

Thanks for the confirmation, I sort of expected that to be the case.