i put windows on a external hard drive before with another version of
windows on the main disk. the version of windows on the external hard drive
will be accessable at startup through the boot.ini file. it will ask you
witch version of windows you would like to run at bootup. you could boot
windows from that hard drive as long as it is properly entered into the
boot.ini file or boot table or whatever you want to call it. if you put
windows on a external hard drive i just suggest that you make sure it does
not loose power. that will cause lots of issues. if the drive looses power
while the OS is installing it might give you the option of rolling back to
how the settings were before you tried to install the new OS.
"JS" @ wrote in message ...
I have never tried installing Windows or Linux on an external drive so I
can't answer that.
But read this as it may help: http://tinyurl.com/fr7us

JS

"stef" stef.bm_at_hotmail.removethis.com wrote in message
...

JS, sorry, forgot to ask:
on your Note: below, i cd install a 2nd copy of windows for recovery
purposes but my understanding is that this would only be usable if
disconnected ext hard drive and installed it as internal, etc.

I mean even by altering the boot table, etc., i cdn't boot from the
external disk in that copy of windows could i? or even Linux for that
matter...?

JS wrote:
1) Yes you must create and then format one or more logical drives in an
Extended partition.
2) Not aware of any performance loss associated with extended
partitions.

Note: your external drive does not need a primary partition if you do
not plan to install another copy of Windows.

JS

"stef" stef.bm_at_hotmail.removethis.com wrote in message
...
Win XP HE

Hi,

Just bought an external firewire hard drive.

I need to reformat and partition it properly and I have never done it
before....

Question 1) If I create an extended partition, after my primary, MUST I
ALSO create a logical drive in the extended partition for it to work at
all?

OR,

an extended partition does NOT need a logical drive and no sense in
creating one in the extended partition if I will not create several
other logical drives in it.

(I suspect I do need to create a logical drive in the extended
partition for it to work at all but not sure.....)

Question 2): Completely separately from question 1) I am led to
believe that while there is nothing wrong with extended partitions,
they do not perform as well or as fast, etc., as primaries, i.e. SOME
performance is lost. True or false?

If true, then should stick to making 2 primaries in new external hard
disk if no real need for several logical drives in extended partition.