How to install Windows 10 "Boot Camp" on a Mac External Drive the EASY way! (2020 edition)
Why Ask Different Stack Exchange recommends it
Apple Stack Exchange users cite it as the guide they followed when asking for help with external-drive Windows installs that fail with BSOD errors, WinToUSB oddities or startup security prompts.
Recommended by 1 people across 1 different months, 2020 to 2023.
What it is
A 9to5Mac step-by-step tutorial on installing Windows 10 onto an external SSD for a Mac, using WinToUSB instead of an internal Boot Camp partition. It covers downloading the Windows ISO, preparing the drive, running the installer, and booting from the external disk, aimed at MacBook owners short on internal storage.
What people said
Recommends Arnav · 2020-10 · Ask Different Stack Exchange · on “Windows installation through the Boot Camp Assistant and SSD error”
I have a MacBook Pro 2017, and I've been trying to install Windows 10 on it for quite a while through the Boot Camp Assistant, but I was advised to purchase an SSD (Samsung T7 500 GB). However, that also did not solve my issue. Every time I try to install Windows, the first time the Mac boots from the external startup disk, I am faced with a BSOD error saying 'your computer ran into an error, please restart'. I have tried multiple Windows 10 ISO's 1909, 1809, 1607, and the current version 20H2 available on Microsoft (30th October 2020). I also reset PRAM before every installation. To install Windows, I followed this 9to5Mac tutorial [this video] , as well as the accepted answer to this question [
Cites Macintosh Fan · 2020-07 · Ask Different Stack Exchange · on “Startup security utility menu not properly popping up”
I am trying to configure the security utility but I get this menu instead: [LINK] What I am doing is attempting to install windows on an external drive. I am following the steps from this video [this video] .
Cites Arnav · 2020-10 · Ask Different Stack Exchange · on “Windows installation through the Boot Camp Assistant and SSD error”
@DavidAnderson yes I've tried that method, however, I have not tried any of the methods shown in the second link, which out of them do you think is the most appropriate. [this video] Thats the Guide I followed.
Cites Arnav · 2020-10 · Ask Different Stack Exchange · on “Windows installation through the Boot Camp Assistant and SSD error”
@DavidAnderson the error happens at this point ( [this video] ) when I switch to the windows gui for installation.
Cites Jenny B · 2023-01 · Ask Different Stack Exchange · on “Installing Windows to Mac External Drive - WinToUSB Problem”
I followed this [this video] tutorial on YouTube ( How to install Windows 10 "Boot Camp" on a Mac External Drive the EASY way! (2020 edition) ), up to the part where I had to use WintoUSB to install Windows on my external drive (I'm using a Seagate One Touch SSD). I downloaded WinToUSB version 7.5, which is a different version than the one used in the video. [LINK] I chose the middle option (Windows Installation USB) to download Windows into my external drive, and the process was similar to the video's so I thought there was no harm done here. However, I ended up with two WinToUSB drives with different contents. [LINK] Contents in "WinToUSB" [LINK] Contents in "WINTOUSB" [LINK] This is what it lo