How to Turn an External SSD Into a Boot Drive

If you travel a lot or if you are a journalist, you should probably consider booting Windows from an external SSD. It is easy to carry an external SSD and you can plug it into any computer and make it your own computer until you finish your session. 

There are many other reasons that you should consider booting a computer using an external SSD. Today we are just going to discuss that. 

Why Should You Boot From an External SSD? 

If you are a journalist, an entrepreneur, or you travel a lot and carry important files that you want to protect from prying eyes, booting Windows from an external SSD is a safer option. 

You can turn any computer as your computer, by plugging it in and then changing the boot drive in BIOS and then reverting the settings back when you are done. 

As an added layer of security, you can connect the external SSD to your laptop or a PC and boot Windows directly from the SSD. 

If you have an Intel Mac, you can also boot Windows from an external SSD instead of using boot camp and using the same internal SSD for both MacOS and Windows. 

How to Set Up a Bootable External SSD 

Before you turn your external SSD into a boot drive, you need to format your external SSD drive so if you have any files on your external SSD first create a backup of it.

Here’s what you’ll need to configure a boostable Windows drive with an SSD:

• External SSD
• Windows ISO ( Windows 10 or Windows 11)
• WinToUSB
• USB mouse and keyboard
• Windows laptop or desktop

Once you have created a backup of your SSD, here’s how to format your external SSD: 

How to Boot Windows From External SSD

To boot Windows from an external SSD, you need to set the external SSD as the boot device in the BIOS menu. 

NOTE: The BIOS menu differs from manufacturer to manufacturer, but here is a simple guide. 

1. Restart your computer and enter the BIOS settings by pressing “F2” or the key that was assigned by the PC manufacturer. 
2. Now open the “Boot” menu and select your external SSD as the initial boot device.
3. Press “F7” or the key that was assigned by your PC manufacturer to save the changes and exit the BIOS settings. 
4. Your PC will restart and will use your external SSD to boot Windows from.

How to Boot Windows From External SSD on Intel Macs 

Intel Mac users can use both MacOS and Windows OS using Boot Camp. The only downside to this is, you were restricted to install Windows OS only on the Mac’s internal drive. 

There is a solution to this — booting Windows from an SSD, but since there is a restriction that Windows OS should only be installed on an internal drive, is it possible? 

Yes, and before we show you how to do that here’s what you need to turn your external SSD into a boot drive for Mac: 

• An Intel Mac 
• An external SSD 
• WinToUSB 
• USB mouse and keyboard 
• VMWare Fusion (trial version) 
• Windows Support Software 
• Windows 10 or Windows 11 ISO image

So now that you know what we need, here’s how to boot Windows on an Intel Mac using an external SSD. 

To boot Windows on a Mac using an external SSD, you will need a Windows ISO image. Download it from Microsoft’s website and store it on your desktop in a separate folder. 

Use Boot Camp Assistant to Download Windows Support Software

1. Using Spotlight search for “Boot Camp Assistant.”
   
2. Click on “Action,” in the menu bar, and then select “Download Windows Support Software.” 
   
3. Save the “Windows Support Software” in a new folder on your Desktop. 4. You will be asked to enter your administrator password. Enter it to complete the process. 5. Now close “Boot Camp Assistant.” 

Format the SSD 

1. Connect the SSD to your Mac and make sure it is empty. 
2. Open “Spotlight” and open “Disk Utility” by searching for it. 
3. Click on “View” and then click “Show All Devices.”
4. Choose your external SSD, and click on “Erase,” give it a new name, set the format as “MS-DOS (FAT),” and select the scheme as “GUID Partition Map” 
5. Now click the “Erase” button. 
6. Close the “Disk Utility” after your drive has been formatted. 

Download and Install a Virtual Machine 

1. Download VMware Fusion on your Mac and open it. Enter your administrator password if prompted. 
2. Drag the Windows ISO file to VMWare Fusion and click “Continue.”
3. In “choose your Windows version,” select “Windows 10/11 Home” and then click the “Continue” button. 
4. Choose “More Isolated” in the “Integration” window, and then click “Continue.”
5. In the “Finish” window, click “Finish” to save the configuration of your Windows virtual machine.
6. Press the “Play” button for Windows virtual machine to begin its installation process.

Install Windows on Your SSD 

1. Download the “WinToUSB” program on your Mac. 
2. Now, drag WinToUSB and the WindowsSupport folder that was downloaded using Boot Camp Assistant and drop it into your Virtual Machine’s desktop. 
3. In the menu bar of VMWare, select “Virtual Machine,” followed by “USB & Bluetooth,” and then choose “Connect BOOTCAMP (your external SSD).”
4. Now, open the menu bar again, and select “Virtual Machine,” followed by “CD/DVD (SATA)” and choose “Choose Disc or Disc Image.”
5. Choose the Windows ISO image that you have saved on your Mac’s desktop.
6. Click on “Virtual Machine” again in the menu bar, and open “CD/DVD (SATA).” Now choose “Connect CD/DVD to mount the Windows ISO.” 
7. Install “WinToUSB” in the virtual machine. 
8. Open “WinToUSB” and select “Windows 10 disk” by clicking on the CD/DVD drop-down menu. 
9. Choose Windows 10 Home from the list, and then click “Next.” 
10. Select the partition scheme as “ GPT for UEFI” and click the “Yes” and the “Next” button.
11. Allow some time for the installation to complete and then close WinToUSB.
12. Move the “WindowsSupport” folder from Desktop to the root drive that will be under the name “WinToUSB.” 
13. Turn off your virtual machine and exit VMware Fusion. 

Turn Off Secure Boot and Launch the Windows Installer 

1. Restart your Mac and start it in recovery mode by pressing and holding the CMD+R button.
2. Log in to your account and click on “Utilities” in the menu bar and then select “Startup Security Utility.”
    
3. Enter your user account’s password and then click on “OK.” 
4. Choose “No security” under the “Secure Boot” section.
5. Choose the“Allow booting from external or removable media” option, under the “Allow BootMedia” section.
6. Now, exit out of both the “Startup Security Utility” and the “macOS Utilities” panel.
7. Select “Choose Startup Disk.” 
8. Choose “WinToUSB-Windows” in the menu and press the “Restart” button.

Now, your Mac will boot Windows from your SSD. Allow some time for the Windows logo to appear and the process to complete. 

Now, if you are using an external SSD to boot Windows on a Mac, connect an external keyboard and a mouse to your Mac as the laptop’s keyboard and mouse stop working as Windows drivers are yet to be installed. 

1. Now select your region, language, select “I don’t have internet.”
2. Select “continue with limited setup.” Accept the license agreement. 
3. Enter your name and set a password using an external keyboard, or open an on-screen keyboard to enter information. 
4. Now you will be prompted with a list of selections such as if you want to use Cortana, if you want to sync activity history across devices and more. Select what you want to enable and keep disabled. 
5. Once everything is completed and set up, you will see the desktop. 

Install the Drivers 

1. Open “File Explorer” and then go to “This PC.” 
2. Select “WinToUSB (C:)” followed by “Windows support,” and then select “BootCamp.”
3. Open the “Setup” file by double-clicking on it. 
4. Select “Yes” when the UAC dialog box pops up. 
5. Accept the license agreement and then press the “Install” button. 
6. Press the “Finish” button and the Windows will restart now. 
7. Once Windows reboots, connect your PC to the internet. 
8. Click on the “Search” button and search for “Apple Software Update.”
9. Check for updates, and install the updates by pressing the “Install” button if there are any. 
10. After the installation completes, reboot your computer as you are done setting up your external SSD as a boot drive. 

You can now boot into Windows on your external SSD at any time by restarting your Mac, holding the “Option” button, and selecting “EFI Boot” to boot Windows. 

How to Turn an External SSD Into a Boot Drive: Final Thoughts

Next time you can go to your friend’s house, connect your external SSD to their computer, open your games and start playing together. 

Also, if your Mac’s storage is running low, you can use the external SSD to boot into Windows instead of installing it on your internal drive. 

SSDs make it convenient for users to not only transfer and store data but also use it as a bootable drive.