Problems installing XP on USB external HDD with Macbook!

[peanutismint]

Firstly, I have NO IDEA which forum this belongs in, as it's kinda to do with Mac Hardware, and Software, but then also kinda not to do with Mac at all, more Windows...so Mods, please feel free to relocate where you see fit!

Here's the sit:

I have a Macbook running OS X. It had a 120GB HDD. I bought a 250GB HDD and an external USB enclosure. I put the 120GB HDD into the enclosure and the 250GB HDD into the Macbook. I'd like to be able to run OS X as normal from my internal HDD, but also run Windows XP from the external HDD. I've found that it IS possible to run XP from a USB device on Macbook, as instructed here:

http://forum.onmac.net/showthread.php?t=1015

and improved upon here:

http://tubeshards.wordpress.com/2006/12/05/install-windows-to-a-macintosh-usb-drive/

So I've made a custom XP USB install CD
I've installed ReFit
I've formatted my external drive to NTFS
I've disconnected my Macbook's internal drive
I've successfully booted the Macbook from the XP install CD...

Unfortunately that's where I'm stuck in my tracks. After the XP text-mode installer starts up, it shows me all the usual screens; the EULA, the 'which partition do you want to install Windows on?' screen (which detects my external USB HDD fine, with partitions). However, when I select a HDD on which to install, it tells me that it can't install to this hard drive:

Your computer's startup program cannot gain access to the disk
containing the partition or free space you chose. Setup cannot
install Windows XP on this hard disk.

This lack of access does not necessarily indicate an error condition.
For example, disks attached to a SCSI that wasn't installed
by your computer manufacturer or to a secondary hard disk controller,
are typically not visible to the startup program unless special
software is used. Contact you computer or hard disk controller
manufacturer for more information.

On x86-based computer, this message may indicate a problem with the
CMOS drive type settings. See you disk controller documentation
for more information.

Press ENTER to continue.

I know it's asking a bit to want to install Windows XP on an external drive for use with an Apple computer :-D but it is possible, as others have managed to do it...

Does anyone have any ideas what the problem might be?

 

[peanutismint]

anyone? anyone? Bueller?!

 

[wisey]

re: problems with xp install on usb drive

Hi, i have the exact same problem as you. I think that the problem is to do with the firmware on the macbook. it seems to have changed around december 2007. I think everyone has been having problems since then.

have you found a solution yet?

please email me if you have

markwiseberg@gmail.com

 

[peanutismint]

Hi, i have the exact same problem as you. I think that the problem is to do with the firmware on the macbook. it seems to have changed around december 2007. I think everyone has been having problems since then.

have you found a solution yet?

please email me if you have

markwiseberg@gmail.com

No luck as yet, sorry! So did people with earlier firmwares manage to do it?

 

[wisey]

re: problems intalling XP on USB drive with macbook

If you check the comments at the end of the article on tubeshards that you have posted a link to, all the people who followed the method early on were all successful but all the people who have posted since november 07 (which may have been when the firmware was updated) have all had the same problem that we had.

I have also tried putting the old factory hd back inside my macbook, using bootcamp to install windows to it and then swapping the drives back. unfortunately, when it is in the usb enclosure, the macbook will boot from the copy of osx that is on it fine and sees the partition with windows on it but whenever it tries to boot it says "non system disk, please insert disk...."

 

[prophet8511]

im getting the same exact issue.. anyone find a solution?

 

[neilhart]

Just as an FYI: I spent a couple of week ends building an XP image bootable on a PC from an External USB hard disk and even loaded it onto a USB Flash drive.

The thing is that performance sucked and I lost interest because of that.

My test bed was a 2.6 GHz E6750 Core 2 Duo machine with a 945 chip set.

I think the problem is "XP" and the XP IO to disk over the USB 2.0 channel.

My OPINION is that it won't be that much better on a MAC (even though we have all bought into the idea that MACs are better then PCs).

Neil

 

[prophet8511]

thats ok, I just had some HDDs laying around and wanted to mess around.. I run Parallels fine..