By
Ivy
/ Last update
October 20, 2025
Can You Install Windows 10 to External Hard Drive for Another Computer?
Basically, I want to move from pc1 to pc2 and my only option is to do a backup, most important thing is i want to persist these:
configs i have setup over the years in my windows machine
wsl configs
honestly everything if possible
- Question from Reddit
Honestly, the answer is no, you can’t install Windows 10 to external hard drive for another computer as Windows does not allow you to boot from external hard drive. However, you can use it as a backup drive to create a Windows 10 system image and then restore to new hard drive or SSD on another computer.
How to Install Windows 10 on a Second Drive [Two Methods]
Although external hard drive can’t be used as system drive, you can use it as a backup drive to migrate Windows 10 from one computer to another. Here are two effective methods.
#1: Restore Windows 10 Image to New Drive on Another PC with Built-in Tool
Before installing Windows 10 on a second drive, it’s necessary to prepare the following two items for a smooth migration:
- Create booatbel USB drive for another computer: Visit the Windows 10 download page to get Media Creation Tool. Be sure to select Create installation media (USB flash drive, DVD, or ISO file) for another PC during the installation.
- Create Windows 10 system image: Search Backup and Restore (Windows 7) and click Create a system image in the new window. Be sure to select external hard drive to save the backup.
Then, you can connect the backup drive containing Windows 10 image as well as bootable USB to another computer and try to restore Windows 10 image to new hard drive.
Step 1. Start your computer and press the BIOS key (e.g., F2, F10, ESC, F12, etc) to access the Windows recovery environment.
Step 2. In the Windows Setup window, click Next > Repair your computer.
Step 3. Then, click Troubleshoot > Advanced options > System Image Recovery.
Step 4. In the Re-image your computer window, select the latest backup image and click Next.
Step 5. Set the format option and follow the guide until it starts to restore Windows image to new hard drive.
The steps are useful to install Windows 10 to external hard drive for another computer if the two computers have the same or similar hardware. If not, this method is useless. Restoring Windows 10 to new computer with dissimilar hardware requires a robust tool.
#2: A Robust Tool for Installing Windows 10 to External Hard Drive [Dissimilar Hardware]
If your new computer has different hardware, e.g., CPU, chipset, etc., a powerful tool like AOMEI Backupper Professional is required to install Windows 10 to external hard drive. Its Universal Restore feature can handle driver compatibility issues during the first startup and ensure a secure boot.
- Multiple Backup Solutions: While installing Windows 10, optionally backup your system partition or the entire disk.
- Schedule Backup: Set up one-time backups, or trigger by frequency or events.
- Auto Space-Saving Features: Include compression level, incremental backup, intelligent sector backup, etc. All features are default-enabled and adjustable.
- Storage Compatibility: Support backing up Windows 10 to external hard drive, USB drive, HDD/SSD, network drive, etc.
Step 1. Create a system image backup on Windows for another computer. Open AOMEI Backupper after installing and click Backup and System Backup. To transfer everything, click Disk Backup. Then, follow the guide to complete the backup process. Be sure to select the external hard drive as backup destination.
Step 2. Connect the external hard drive containing backup to another computer. Then, install AOMEI Backupper again, and go to the Home tab and click Restore>Select image to restore to find the Windows 10image.
Step 3. Tick restore this system backup and click Next. You can click the drop-down arrow to select full/incremental/differential backup.
Step 4. Select Restore to New Location and the drive on another computer as the backup destination. Then, click Next.
Step 5. Be sure to enable Universal Restore and click Start Restore to install Windows 10on a seconddrive. Check SSD Alignment to align the SSD drive (if it is) and accelerate its writing and reading speed.
⚠️Note: The "Universal Restore" feature will install all drivers required to boot Windows and be checked by default, especially useful for restoring Windows 10 image to new computer with different hardware.
Step 6. Please shut down this computer and then start it up. See if it boots normally to the Windows desktop.
Summary
In this article, you’ll learn how to install Windows 10 to external hard drive for another computer in two methods, including using Backup and Restore (Windows 7), and AOMEI Backupper. The second one is more powerful as it supports dissimilar hardware restore and offers users more flexible options.