Can You Run Windows 10 On A Laptop From an External SSD?
Is it possible to upgrade my older laptops by connecting a newer SSD hard drive via a USB cable and having the laptop boot from the external SSD rather than the internal laptop hard disk? Is it possible to modify the BIOS to allow access to the external unit? I was wondering if someone could create a new application to accomplish this. Many people with older PCs and laptops would be able to continue utilizing their equipment as a result of this.
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Larissa· Answered on Jan 21, 2026
Yes, absolutely, you can run the Windows operating system from an external disk, and Windows OS has already supported it.
Running Windows on an external drive brings great convenience for those who don't have enough budget to change to a new laptop, but it also has some shortcomings. You need to notice that if you install and boot Windows OS from an external disk, the whole speed of your device will be slower compared with an internal SSD. You may suffer a slower CPU, limited RAM, etc.
However, due to device or storage limitations, someone has to choose this method to change their old laptop's performance. How to do that?
Actually, the process only involves three steps:
Step 1. Connect the new SSD to your laptop.
Step 2. Clone Window OS from the internal hard drive to the external SSD.
Step 3. Boot the laptop from the external SSD.
Migrating and transferring Windows OS from an internal hard drive to an external SSD sounds to be a tricky task for most because it requires professional computer knowledge. But don't worry, EaseUS Todo Backup, a robust disk management tool, can help and it only requires several simple clicks to execute the the task.
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- Launch EaseUS Todo Backup, and click Tools in the top-right corner, and choose System Clone.
- The boot and system partition will be selected automatically, you just need to choose the target SSD and click Next.
- Confirm the notification and click Continue, then tap Proceed to start.
- Restart the laptop and press F2/F12/F10/Del to enter BIOS settings. Change the external SSD to the boot drive.
- Save changes and you will see your system booting up from the SSD.
🔗Related Article: Install Windows 11/10 on External Hard Drive
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