How to Install Windows 11 on External Hard Drive

Why install Windows 11 on external hard drive?

Windows 11 is a new version of Windows developed and launched by Microsoft. Because of the beautiful interface and smooth operation, many users tend to use Windows 11.

However, sometimes if your office PC is Windows 11, while your home PC is Windows 10, you might want to install Windows 11 on external hard drive. In this way, even if you are at home, you can have the same working environment as in the company.

How to install Window 11 on external hard drive? Read on, we will share 2 ways to complete this task.

Manually install Windows 11 on an external hard drive

Can I install Windows 11 on external hard drive? Yes. You can use an external hard drive as a Windows 11 installation medium, and install Windows 11 on any computer. The detailed steps are as follows. 

▶ Phase 1. Create a Windows 11 installation media

In the first part, we need to create the Windows 11 installation media. 

Tip: The size of the external hard drive must be more than 8 GB.

Step 1. Download the Windows 11 Installation Media in the official web.

Step 2. Open the installation package file, then click "Accept" for the license terms.

Step 3. In the new small window, click "Create installation media for another PC", and click "Next". Then choose language, edition, and click "Next".

Step 4. Choose the "USB flash drive" option and click "Next". Wait patient, then you can install Windows 11 on external hard drive with it.

▶ Phase 2. Clean install Windows 11 on the external drive

Then, please follow the steps below to clean install Windows 11 on any PC. However, the original hard drive of the PC will be overwritten, so it is necessary to back it up in advance.

Step 1. You should connect the Windows 11 installation media to the PC, then enter the BIOS settings to choose this media as the boot drive.

Step 2. In the new window, set all the options and click "Next" according to your needs.

Step 3. Then, click "Install now".

Step 4. Choose "I don't have a product key". You should select the operating system you want to install and click "Next".

Step 5. In the new interface, accept the License Terms and click "Next", then select the "Custom: Install Windows only (advanced)" option.

Step 6. Then, choose the external hard drive to install Windows 11 and click "Next".

Step 7. Wait for a while, your PC will reboot (once or several times). Set the Windows 11 and then you can use it.

An easier way to install Windows 11 on external hard drive

If you think the above method is too difficult, you can also use AOMEI Partition Assistant Professional - a reliable third-party software. It works on Windows 11/10/8.1/8/7/Vista/XP.

Within a few simple steps, its "Window To Go Creator" feature can successfully install Windows 11 on external hard drive. And once the external hard drive is connected to the PC, Windows 11 can be started.

Besides, this all-in-one tool can also clone the entire hard drive to an external hard drive, or migrate only Windows to an external hard drive.

Before you do:
✿ The size of the external hard drive should be larger than 13GB
✿ If there's some important data, please backup it in advance.

Step 1. Connect the external hard drive with the PC, open AOMEI Partition Assistant Professional, then click "Tools" and "Windows To Go Creator" at the top interface.

Step 2. In the new window, choose the "Create Windows To Go" option and click "Next". If you want to use Windows 11 on a Mac device, you can select the second option.

Step 3. Choose "Create Windows To Go with system disc/ISO" or "Create Windows To Go with the current system". Here, we choose "Create Windows To Go with system disc/ISO" and click "Next".

Step 4. Select the external hard drive and then click "Proceed".

Step 5. All data on the external hard drive will be delete, click "Yes". Then change the boot drive. When the task is finished, you can try your Windows 11 to Go external hard drive on any computer.

Note: If you want to migrate Windows Server to the external hard drive, you can turn to the Server Edition.

Conclusion

How to install Window 11 on external hard drive? In this post, we have shared two methods, including manually install Windows 11 or ask help for the AOMEI Partition Assistant. If you want to safely and quickly do it, please try the second method.