Install windows 10 on External Drive MacBook Pro 2023

Install windows 10 on External Drive MacBook Pro 2023 | Free Step-by-step

Hello Designistas, by the end of this video, you will be able to use your external drive as the C drive for Windows 10 on your MacBook Pro. If you've tried everything and watched every tutorial on how to install Windows 10 on external drives, but it still didn't work, this video is for you. There are more steps to cover, so be sure to follow along step-by-step. At the end, we will turn that external drive into the C drive with easy step-by-step instructions. Are you ready? Let's do it!

Requirements before Installing Windows 10 on External Drive MacBook Pro

Before beginning the installation of Windows 10 on your external drive, there are certain requirements that need to be fulfilled.
Firstly, you will need a wired mouse.

Secondly, you will require a solid-state drive (SSD) that offers high performance with read speeds up to 1050MB/s and write speeds up to 1000MB/s. It is recommended to choose a faster SSD as it will be turned into a C-drive, and a faster drive will provide better performance. For more information about the recommended drive, please refer to the link provided below.
With these requirements in place, let's get started with the installation process.

Step 1: Download Free Software

We will download three software and save them in the download folder:

Here I have three software programs open: Windows 10 ISO image, VMware Fusion, and WinToUSB.
First, I’m going to download the Windows 10 ISO image by selecting the region. In this case, I’m going to select the Windows 10 Multi-edition ISO file. Then, click on confirm to continue. Now, we want to select the product language. I will select English United States. Then, I will click on confirm once again. And finally, we want to select the 64-bit download.

Next, we will download VMware Fusion by selecting this page here. Then, we want to select "try for free". Next, I will scroll down to Fusion Pro for macOS 12+ and click on this "download now" button to download.
It is downloading; if I look over here at the top right corner and click on this arrow, I will see both VMware Fusion and Windows 10 ISO image.

After that, I’m going to switch to the WinToUSB page and click on this download button here to download. So I will have these three software links listed in the video description below.
And now I will go to Finder and the download folder. By default, these three files are now saved in my download folder.

Step 2: Downloading Windows Support Software

After that, we will download the Windows support software via Boot Camp Assistant. To do that, I will go to Finder > Applications > Utilities and now I’m going to double-click on Boot Camp Assistant to open it. Next, I will go to Action and then select Download Windows Support Software. And I’m going to save this into the same folder as the three software we downloaded earlier which is in the Downloads folder and click on Save. After it finishes, I’m going to click on Quit.

Step 3: Formatting the Solid State Drive (SSD)

We will format the solid-state drive (SSD) by connecting it to the laptop. Then, after connecting the SSD, I will open Disk Utility. To do that, go to Finder > Applications > Utilities > Disk Utility. Next, I will go to View and select Show All Devices. After that, I will select the drive that has the manufacturer's name on it. For this example, SanDisk Extreme 55AE Media.
Then, I will go to Erase. Next, I will name the drive rosesssd, and format it to MS-DOS (FAT) scheme and GUID partition map. After that, I’m going to select Erase. And finally, I’m going to click on Done. Now, I’m going to click on this X here to close this window.

Step 4: Installing and running VMware fusion

To install VMware fusion, go to Finder, then the Download folder. Double-click on the VMware fusion file to open it. Click on the VMware fusion logo to install, then enter your password and click "OK." Click "Agree" to continue, select the option to try VMware fusion for 30 days, and then click "Continue" and "Done." Click "OK" twice to allow the installation to proceed.
Next, select "Open System Settings" to allow VMware fusion to access your system. Click the lock icon and enter your password, then scan your finger and click "X" to close the window.

Close the installation window by clicking "X" in the top-left corner. Click on the "Win10" file and drag it onto "Install from Disk or Image." Click "Continue,"

select Windows 10 Pro,

and click "Continue" again.

Click "Continue without key,"

select "More Isolated,"

and click "Continue."

Click "Customize Settings,"

leave everything as is, and click "Save."

Select "4 Cores" for the processor

and roughly "7 GB" of memory.

Click "X" to close the window.

Click the "Play" button and then "OK" to start installing Windows 10 onto the virtual machine.
Select "Yes" to allow network access and click "OK."

Click "Sign In," then drag and drop "Windows Support" onto the desktop. Next, drag and drop "WinToUSB" onto the desktop.

Next, click "Desktop," go to the virtual machine menu, select "USB & Bluetooth," and choose your drive to connect.

Then, go back to the virtual machine menu, select "CD/DVD (SATA)," choose "Disc or Disc Image," and select your Win10 ISO file. Click "Open,"

Finally, go back to the virtual machine menu, select "CD/DVD (SATA)," and choose "Connect CD/DVD."

After that, Double-click on "WinToUSB" to install it. Select "Yes" and "OK," then choose "I accept" and click "Next" three times. Click "Install" and then "Finish."

Now, click on "Start Without Your Data," then "Continue Without This Data," and finally "Confirm and Start Browsing." Close the three windows by clicking "X." Click the "WinToUSB" shortcut to open the application, then click "Yes" and "OK." Finally, click "X" to close the page.

Then choose this Windows to Go USB. Next, click here to select installation source and choose CD/DVD ROM. After that, click here to select destination drive.
Next, for the partition scheme, I will select GPT for UEFI, and then for the installation mode, I will select legacy and click on Proceed. After that, a prompt will appear asking if the selected device needs to be formatted. I will click on Yes.

And now it’s downloading Windows 10 Home onto your external drive. Next, I will click on Finish, and then click on the x here to close the window.

After that, I will click on Windows Explorer, then go to the WinToUSB drive and click on it to open. Next, I’m going to click and drag the Windows Support folder onto the drive.
After that, I will make sure I am on the virtual machine window, and then proceed to shut it down. To do this, I will go to the virtual machine menu and select "Shut Down." Then, I will click on "Shut Down" again to confirm.

Step 5: Setting up the external drive as the C-drive

To do that, we want to use the Command key (⌘) + R to start up from the built-in macOS recovery system. First, close this window. Then, go to the Apple icon and click on Restart. Be sure to press and hold the Command key (⌘) + R until the Apple logo appears, then release the keys.

Click on your username and then click on Next. Type in your password and click on Continue.

Next, go to the menu and select Utilities, and then Startup Security Utility. Enter your macOS password and click on OK.

Now, we want to select "No Security" and allow booting from external or removable media. To do this, go to the Apple icon and select Startup Disk. Click on "WinToUSB Windows" and click on Restart.

Now we’re going to set up Windows 10 onto the external drive. Select United States and click on Yes. The keyboard should be set to US, then click on Yes. To add the keyboard layout, select "Skip" to continue. Next, select "I don't have the Internet".
Select "Continue with limited setup". Click on "Accept". Click on the on-screen keyboard icon, and enter your name. Close the keyboard and click on Next. Click on Next again without setting a password. Turn off all the options and click on Accept. Click on "Not now" when asked if you want Cortana to help you.

Next, we want to set up Boot Camp on the external drive. Click on File Explorer and then click on "This PC". Double-click on the external drive, which is now the C-drive. Double-click on "Windows support" to open, then open the Boot Camp folder. Double-click on "setup" to run Boot Camp, and then click on "Yes". Click on "Next". Check the box that says "I accept the terms in the license agreement" and click on "Install". Check the box that says "Restart system recommended" and then click on "Finish".
Now I'm going to connect to my Wi-Fi by clicking on this icon and selecting my Wi-Fi. Then I'll click on "Connect" and type in my password. After that, I'll click on "Next".

Next, I'll go to the Start menu and click on "Apple Software Update" to run the software update.
I'll select "Install 2 items" and then click on "Yes" to allow. Then, I'll click on it again to restart the computer and finish the update.

Now, I will open "File Explorer" and check my C-Drive. As you can see, my WinToUSB (C) has 1 TB of storage for my bootable Windows 10. That's super cool, guys!
Next, I will go to the search box and type in "Update", and click on "Check for Updates". Then, I'll click on "Install Now" to install the updates.
After that, I'm going to right-click on the Start menu and go to "Device Manager". I'll update all the devices that have an exclamation mark next to them.

I'll right-click and select "Update Driver" and then click on "Browse my computer for drivers". I'll click on "Browse" and select the entire "Windows Support" folder. Then, I'll click on "OK". I'll check the "Include subfolders" box and click on "Next". I can see that Windows has successfully updated my drivers. I'll click on "Close" here and repeat the steps for other drivers that need updating.
I'll scroll down and find the driver with an exclamation mark next to it, right-click, select "Update Drivers", click on "Browse my computer for drivers", and select the "Windows Support" folder. I'll make sure the "Include subfolder" box is checked and click on "Next" to continue.

Now, I can see that Windows has successfully updated my drivers again, and I'll click on "Close". I'll repeat the same process for any other drivers that need updating. Before clicking on "Next", I'll move this window over a little so we can see the drive that needs to be updated. Then, I'll click on "Next".
So if we look closely, after I close this window, now the exclamation mark has disappeared so we are fixed.

Ok, this is the last one. I’m going to right-click and select "Update Drivers" and browse my computer for drivers. By default, my "Windows Support" is selected, and the "Include subfolders" box is checked. Now I’m going to click on next. So once again, Windows has successfully updated your drivers, now I’m going to click on close.
Ok, there you go guys. Let’s see if we have any exclamation marks left. No, it looks like we are finished. Finally, I’m going to click on this X right here to close this window.

Step 6: Switch between Windows and macOS

Now we are going to switch from Windows to macOS. Simply come down here and click on this spinning arrow to expand. Then, click on "Boot Camp" to select. Next, I will click on "Restart in macOS" and click on it. Then a window pops up: "Are you sure you want to restart the computer? Your computer will start up in macOS." I will click on "OK" to confirm.
So it is getting Windows-ready. After that, I’m going to type in my password and click on the arrow to continue.

Next, I will close these windows here by clicking on this virtual machine window and then clicking on the X here to close it. And next, I will go to this Apple icon, go to "Force Quit," select "Finder," and then click on "Relaunch." Then, click on "Relaunch" again. After that, I’m going to click on this X here to close the window.

Important Note:

When we first restart macOS, everything may run a little slowly. I would recommend checking for updates and restarting the system several times.

Next, we want to switch back to Windows. Simply go to the Apple icon and press the Option key while clicking on Restart. Keep pressing the Option key until you see the boot menu. Then release the Option key and click once on the external drive. After that, click on the arrow here to start Windows.
OK, next, let's run a test by clicking on Microsoft Edge. Then, click on "Complete setup" and close the window by clicking the "x" button. After that, click on "I accept." Now, I'm going to type in "Encoder Fashion" to make sure everything works perfectly.

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There you have it, Designistas! I hope you found this video useful. Remember to like and follow me on Encoder Fashion for more awesome videos. Happy designing!

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