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    M11x Installing Win

    Discussion in 'Alienware M11x' started by NinjaGigolo, May 7, 2010.

  1. NinjaGigolo

    NinjaGigolo Newbie

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    I have a quick question. I recently ordered an m11x with external dvd drive. This may sound really dumb but can you do a format/install of win7 from an external drive? I really never thought about it before but I usually nuke and pave every two to three months.
     
    NinjaGigolo, May 7, 2010
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  2. WAZZ UP

    WAZZ UP Notebook Geek

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    Yep :rolleyes:
     
    WAZZ UP, May 7, 2010
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  3. Elkay

    Elkay Notebook Deity

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    Of course. Just make sure the external drive is set as a bootable device before the internal drive in the BIOS.
     
    Elkay, May 7, 2010
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  4. NinjaGigolo

    NinjaGigolo Newbie

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    Thx so much

    Ok, that makes sense. Just wasnt sure if you could in fact boot from a usb drive. Thx a lot.
     
    NinjaGigolo, May 7, 2010
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  5. LaptopFTW

    LaptopFTW Notebook Consultant

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    These are steps to boot from an external hard drive (not flash drive)
    1. create a partition on your external HD, format it as FAT32.
    2. Use Disk Manager and mark that partition as "Active"
    3. Copy contents of your Win7 DVD into that partition
    4. Boot to that device, either by changing boot order in bios or hitting F8/F10/F12 to select your boot device.
     
    LaptopFTW, May 7, 2010
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