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I've done the same to install Windows 10 to an external SSD (I don't want to divide my laptop's internal drive up between two different operating systems). Thi

I've done the same to install Windows 10 to an external SSD (I don't want to divide my laptop's internal drive up between two different operating systems). This is the guide I used for making the SSD look like an internal hard drive https://ckirbach.wordpress.com/2017/07/25/how-to-add-a-physical-device-or-physical-partition-as-virtual-hard-disk-under-virt-manager/ https://ckirbach.wordpress.com/2017/07/25/how-to-add-a-physi... Once the first part of the installation was completed, I turned off the VM and booted the SSD from real hardware (after disabling the internal disk in the laptop's firmware to avoid anything unfortunate happening). Apart from being a little slower, everything works fine. I haven't yet been offered the windows 11 upgrade so I can't say if that will continue working.

sysadm1n 5y ago
Might try this. It would be great to have Windows To Go back. Is there a way to fool Windows into thinking it's a normal SATA hard-drive attached to the motherboard and not a USB one?
- ccouzens 5y ago
  > Is there a way to fool Windows into thinking it's a normal SATA hard-drive attached to the motherboard and not a USB one? After the first part of the installation is done (the copying files from the ISO image/DVD/USB stick part), Windows 10 won't run a check that prevents C:\ being a USB drive. So I don't think there's any reason to fool it after that point. And before that point of the installation the virtual machine is there to fool it. When the drive is attached to the VM as per the linked instructions (in my comment above) Windows will see it as an internal drive. --- I have also tried Windows 11 using these same steps, but got a message saying that my (virtual) hardware didn't meet the requirements. I suspect it was the TPM module that was incorrect in the VM. Probably as more people try to run Windows 11, virt manager's support will improve (including the downstream distributions' copies).

sysadm1n 5y ago

Might try this. It would be great to have Windows To Go back. Is there a way to fool Windows into thinking it's a normal SATA hard-drive attached to the motherboard and not a USB one?

ccouzens 5y ago
> Is there a way to fool Windows into thinking it's a normal SATA hard-drive attached to the motherboard and not a USB one? After the first part of the installation is done (the copying files from the ISO image/DVD/USB stick part), Windows 10 won't run a check that prevents C:\ being a USB drive. So I don't think there's any reason to fool it after that point. And before that point of the installation the virtual machine is there to fool it. When the drive is attached to the VM as per the linked instructions (in my comment above) Windows will see it as an internal drive. --- I have also tried Windows 11 using these same steps, but got a message saying that my (virtual) hardware didn't meet the requirements. I suspect it was the TPM module that was incorrect in the VM. Probably as more people try to run Windows 11, virt manager's support will improve (including the downstream distributions' copies).