how to partition external hard drive windows 10

#HOW TO PARTITION EXTERNAL HARD DRIVE WINDOWS 10 INSTALL#
#HOW TO PARTITION EXTERNAL HARD DRIVE WINDOWS 10 FULL#
#HOW TO PARTITION EXTERNAL HARD DRIVE WINDOWS 10 PLUS#
#HOW TO PARTITION EXTERNAL HARD DRIVE WINDOWS 10 FREE#

If you want to put the VM on the external hd, be sure to override the default location when creating the VM and put it on a folder on the external drive.Ĭreating your installation media with persistence through a Windows program like LiveUSBCreator will also work, but this option will be very slow. This doesn't affect the rest of the hard drive.

#HOW TO PARTITION EXTERNAL HARD DRIVE WINDOWS 10 INSTALL#

Choose Install Ubuntu to the entire virtual drive. But this time, don't worry about partitions. Create a new VM and use the installer media to install to the VM.

To run Ubuntu in a virtual machine instead, install VirtualBox or VMWarePlayer in Windows. (if you want some additional programs helpful for C programming). To install the C comiler, open the terminal, any run: sudo apt-get install gcc Ubuntu has Python 2.7 installed by default. If you boot without the usb, you will boot into Windows normally.

The boot menu on the usb will show you both Ubuntu (on the external drive) and Windows (on the internal drive). Set your bios order or otherwise move USB HD to the first boot position. To run Ubuntu, boot the computer with the USB plugged in. (If you do this by accident, it's easily fixed).ĭouble-check your partition choices, then click Install Now. This will prevent you from overwriting the master boot record on your hard drive. Very important: change the installation of the bootloader to the USB HD. Choose use a linux-swap and that's all for that one. Highlight the swap partition and click Change. This is different than gparted and may look a little intimidating to a beginner.Ĭarefully highlight the new partition (check the number and drive carefully) and click Change.įollow the dialogs to a. This will start the partitioner within the installer. When asked how you want to install, choose: Somethine Else. Start the installer from the icon on the desktop or on the launcher. Note down the numbers of the new partitions. You don't need a swap partition, but if want one, shrink the new partition by the size you want (or just make it a little smaller in the first place). Shrinking the partition will leave unallocated space. Be sure you are looking at the correct HD in gparted. In most cases, the internal HD will show up as sda and the external as sdb, but this is not guaranteed. If you have not already shrunk the partition on the external HD, do it now. This is probably the easier way to do it.Ĭreate the Ubuntu live installation media and use it to boot your computer. Use gparted from the Ubuntu live install media.

#HOW TO PARTITION EXTERNAL HARD DRIVE WINDOWS 10 FREE#

If you have more than enough available but it still doesn't shrink enough, use a free defrag tool like MyDefrag to defrag and move the files to the start of the partition. If the partition won't shrink by enough, you may need to delete files to make room. I believe these are available in Home Premium. Use the Windows partition manager in administrative tools. You have two options to shrink the existing partition: This is just a general warning and precaution since your data should be safe.

#HOW TO PARTITION EXTERNAL HARD DRIVE WINDOWS 10 FULL#

Depending on how full the drive is, you may not be able to back it completely but try at least back up any important files.

I would recommend backing up the USB HD but if you had a second one, you could just install to that one. You will need to shrink the existing partition on your external hard drive first. It's best in your case to create the new partition before doing the install.

#HOW TO PARTITION EXTERNAL HARD DRIVE WINDOWS 10 PLUS#

I would recommend 10 GB as a minimum, plus another 2-4 GB if you want a swap drive. I forget the literal minimum Ubuntu needs to install, but it's roughly 8 GB. If all you need is the basic install, Python 2.7, and the C compiler, you can get away with installing Ubuntu to a fairly small partition. This depends on the bios.īefore starting, make sure your bios has an option to boot from a USB HD. It's very easy, but success will partly depend on the ability of your computer to boot from an external hard drive. A very detailed answer would be beyond the scope of a single question, but here's the general outline.

How to partition external hard drive windows 10