{"id":40947,"date":"2021-01-13T13:15:00","date_gmt":"2021-01-13T19:15:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/blog\/?p=40947"},"modified":"2021-01-13T13:26:16","modified_gmt":"2021-01-13T19:26:16","slug":"tech-tip-how-to-use-boot-camp-on-an-external-drive","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/blog\/40947-tech-tip-how-to-use-boot-camp-on-an-external-drive\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Use Boot Camp on an External Drive to Run Windows on a Mac"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"alignright size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"284\" height=\"278\" src=\"https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Boot-Camp-Assistant-icon_512-284x278.png\" alt=\"Boot Camp Assistant Icon\" class=\"wp-image-70062\" srcset=\"https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Boot-Camp-Assistant-icon_512-284x278.png 284w, https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Boot-Camp-Assistant-icon_512-123x120.png 123w, https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Boot-Camp-Assistant-icon_512-190x186.png 190w, https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Boot-Camp-Assistant-icon_512.png 512w, https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Boot-Camp-Assistant-icon_512-123x120@2x.png 246w, https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Boot-Camp-Assistant-icon_512-190x186@2x.png 380w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 284px) 100vw, 284px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Boot Camp<\/strong> and <strong>Boot Camp Assistant<\/strong> allow you to <a rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/blog\/37328-tech-tip-installing-windows-10-on-a-mac-using-boot-camp\" target=\"_blank\">install Windows on your Mac<\/a>. It&#8217;s&nbsp;a nice capability that lets you select \u2013 at boot time \u2013 which operating system you wish to use: macOS or Windows.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>One of the downsides to Boot Camp and the Windows installer is that it restricts you to only installing Windows on your Mac&#8217;s internal drive. While Boot Camp Assistant can <strong>partition your startup drive<\/strong> for you to make room for Windows, there are bound to be many of you who just don&#8217;t have room to spare on your startup drive to install Windows.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Installing Windows on an <a rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/blog\/37267-rocket-yard-guide-how-to-install-play-mac-games-via-external-drives\" target=\"_blank\">external drive<\/a> would be a great solution to the problem of available space, but as we said, Boot Camp and Windows <strong>impose a restriction<\/strong> on installing to an external drive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Or do they?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There are actually a few ways you can successfully install Windows on an external drive. They range from creating clones of an existing PC installation or using Microsoft IT tools for installing Windows. But the method we&#8217;re going to outline here is a bit different.<strong><em> It allows you to install Windows on an external drive without first having Windows installed on a PC or in a virtual environment.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This is an advanced process with quite a few pitfalls that can trip you up. Be sure to read through the process before undertaking it. Also, make sure you have a <a rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/blog\/38700-rocket-yard-guide-create-a-robust-backup-system-in-three-phases\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>current backup<\/strong><\/a> before beginning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator is-style-default\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-what-you-need-to-install-boot-camp-on-an-external-drive\"><strong>What You Need to Install Boot Camp on an External Drive<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>4 GB or larger <a href=\"https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/shop\/accessories\/usb-flash-drive\">USB flash drive<\/a>.<\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/shop\/external-storage\">Bootable external drive<\/a>. We&#8217;re using a USB 3.0 drive, but a Thunderbolt drive should work as well.<\/li><li>Boot Camp Windows Support Software.<\/li><li>VirtualBox virtualization app (available for free).<\/li><li>A licensed copy of Windows 10 ISO or an install DVD.<\/li><li>Wired <a rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/search\/keyboard\" target=\"_blank\">keyboard<\/a> and <a rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/search\/mouse\" target=\"_blank\">mouse<\/a>. During the Windows installation, the drivers for Apple wireless keyboards and mice aren&#8217;t installed until the <strong>very end<\/strong> of the process. If you&#8217;re not using a portable Mac with a built-in keyboard and trackpad, you&#8217;ll need a wired keyboard and mouse to complete the installation.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator is-style-default\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-prepare-the-external-drive-for-installing-windows\"><strong>Prepare the External Drive for Installing Windows<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The external drive that you&#8217;ll install Windows on needs to be prepared by erasing and formatting the drive for use with Windows.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"footnote light-blue-bg\"><strong><i>Warning<\/i><\/strong><i>: The erase, format, and partitioning process will <\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/blog\/38700-rocket-yard-guide-create-a-robust-backup-system-in-three-phases\"><i>delete all data<\/i><\/a><i> currently contained on the external drive.<\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Ensure the external drive is connected to your Mac.<\/li><li>Launch Disk Utility, located at \/Applications\/Utilities.<\/li><li>In the Disk Utility sidebar, select the external drive that will be used for Windows. The device will likely have the name of the external enclosure&#8217;s manufacturer listed. Do not select the volume located just underneath the device name.<\/li><li>Click the Erase button in the Disk Utility toolbar.<\/li><li>Use the dropdown menu to set the Scheme to &#8220;Master Boot Record.&#8221;<\/li><li>Use the dropdown menu to set the Format to &#8220;MS-DOS (FAT).&#8221;<\/li><li>You can use any name you wish (up to 8 characters), but we suggest naming the external WIN10.<\/li><li>Click the Erase button.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p>The external drive will be formatted and a single MS-DOS (FAT) volume will be created.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator is-style-default\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-prepare-the-usb-flash-drive-for-the-windows-support-software\"><strong>Prepare the USB Flash Drive for the Windows Support Software<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The USB flash drive needs to be formatted to accept the Windows software that Boot Camp Assistant will download and install.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image wp-image-52928\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/FormatUSBFlash1280-1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/FormatUSBFlash1280-1.jpg\" alt=\"Screenshot of flash drive formatting window\" class=\"wp-image-52928\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" srcset=\"https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/FormatUSBFlash1280-1.jpg 1280w, https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/FormatUSBFlash1280-1-213x120.jpg 213w, https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/FormatUSBFlash1280-1-284x160.jpg 284w, https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/FormatUSBFlash1280-1-190x107.jpg 190w, https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/FormatUSBFlash1280-1-548x308.jpg 548w, https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/FormatUSBFlash1280-1-364x204.jpg 364w, https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/FormatUSBFlash1280-1-750x421.jpg 750w, https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/FormatUSBFlash1280-1-230x129.jpg 230w, https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/FormatUSBFlash1280-1-100x56.jpg 100w, https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/FormatUSBFlash1280-1-213x120@2x.jpg 426w, https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/FormatUSBFlash1280-1-284x160@2x.jpg 568w, https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/FormatUSBFlash1280-1-190x107@2x.jpg 380w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><figcaption><strong><em>The flash drive needs to be formatted for use on Windows<\/em><\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"footnote light-blue-bg\"><strong><i>Warning<\/i><\/strong><i>: The process of preparing the USB flash drive will delete any data contained on the flash drive.<\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Make sure the USB flash drive is connected to your Mac.<\/li><li>Launch Disk Utility, located at \/Applications\/Utilities.<\/li><li>In the Disk Utility sidebar, select the USB flash drive device. The device will likely have the name of the USB flash drive manufacturer listed. Do not select the volume located just underneath the device name.<\/li><li>Click the Erase button in the Disk Utility toolbar.<\/li><li>Use the dropdown menu to set the Scheme to &#8220;Master Boot Record.&#8221;<\/li><li>Use the dropdown menu to set the Format to &#8220;MS-DOS (FAT).&#8221;<\/li><li>You can leave the Name field as is.<\/li><li>Click the Erase button.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p>The USB flash drive will be formatted and a single MS-DOS (FAT) volume will be created.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator is-style-default\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-download-boot-camp-windows-drivers\"><strong>Download Boot Camp Windows Drivers<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>We only need <strong>Boot Camp Assistant<\/strong> for its ability to download all of the Windows drivers we&#8217;ll need to ensure the install of Windows will run correctly on Mac hardware. We won&#8217;t be using Boot Camp Assistant to partition a drive or step us through the install process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image wp-image-52930\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/BootCampAssistant1280-1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/BootCampAssistant1280-1.jpg\" alt=\"Screenshot of boot camp assistant\" class=\"wp-image-52930\" width=\"640\" height=\"448\" srcset=\"https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/BootCampAssistant1280-1.jpg 1280w, https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/BootCampAssistant1280-1-171x120.jpg 171w, https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/BootCampAssistant1280-1-284x199.jpg 284w, https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/BootCampAssistant1280-1-190x133.jpg 190w, https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/BootCampAssistant1280-1-171x120@2x.jpg 342w, https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/BootCampAssistant1280-1-284x199@2x.jpg 568w, https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/BootCampAssistant1280-1-190x133@2x.jpg 380w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><figcaption><strong><em>The latest version of the Apple drivers that Boot Camp needs can be downloaded using Boot Camp Assistant.<\/em><\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Launch Boot Camp Assistant, located at \/Applications\/Utilities.<\/li><li>In the Boot Camp Assistant window that opens, click the Continue button.<\/li><li>In the Select Tasks window, remove checkmarks from &#8220;Create a Windows 7 or later version install disk&#8221; and &#8220;Install Windows 7 or later version.&#8221; Ensure the checkbox labeled &#8220;Download the latest Windows support software from Apple&#8221; is checked, and then click Continue.<\/li><li>Select the device you wish to have the Windows support files installed on; this should be the USB flash drive you prepared earlier. After making your selection, click Continue.<\/li><li>Boot Camp Assistant will download and install the needed Windows support software on the selected device.<\/li><li>Once the install is nearly complete, you&#8217;ll be asked to provide your administrator password so the Boot Camp Assistant can change the file permissions on the USB flash drive. Provide your administrator password, and click Continue.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p>The Windows support software has been installed on the USB flash drive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator is-style-default\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-use-virtualbox-to-install-windows-on-the-external-drive\"><strong>Use VirtualBox to Install Windows on the External Drive<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>This is the tricky part of the process, at least in the sense that we&#8217;re going to trick Boot Camp and the Windows installer into thinking your external drive is actually your main internal drive, or in the parlance of Windows, your C: drive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You could perform this tricky bit of virtualization using Parallels or VMware Fusion, but we&#8217;re going to use VirtualBox because it&#8217;s free. You can download the app from the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.virtualbox.org\/wiki\/Downloads\">VirtualBox website<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Once you download and install VirtualBox, we&#8217;re ready to begin the installation process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/blog\/39296-tech-101-introduction-to-the-macs-terminal-app-part-one\">Most of the virtualization trickery will be performed from within Terminal<\/a>, so go ahead and launch Terminal, located at \/Applications\/Utilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image wp-image-52931\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/TerminalDiskUtilList1280-1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/TerminalDiskUtilList1280-1.jpg\" alt=\"Screenshot of diskutl command\" class=\"wp-image-52931\" width=\"640\" height=\"509\" srcset=\"https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/TerminalDiskUtilList1280-1.jpg 1280w, https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/TerminalDiskUtilList1280-1-151x120.jpg 151w, https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/TerminalDiskUtilList1280-1-284x226.jpg 284w, https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/TerminalDiskUtilList1280-1-190x151.jpg 190w, https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/TerminalDiskUtilList1280-1-151x120@2x.jpg 302w, https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/TerminalDiskUtilList1280-1-284x226@2x.jpg 568w, https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/TerminalDiskUtilList1280-1-190x151@2x.jpg 380w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><figcaption><strong><em>You can find the external drive by looking for the name, type, or if this is your only external, by the location [external, physical]<\/em><\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>With the external drive you formatted for installing Windows on connected to your Mac, enter the following Terminal command without the quotation marks: &#8220;diskutil list&#8221; and then press enter or return.<\/li><li>A list of all attached disks will be displayed in Terminal. Scroll through the list and locate the external drive you plan on using to install Windows. If you followed our suggestion earlier, it will be named WIN10 and be of the type DOS_FAT_32.<\/li><li>Once you locate the external drive, make a note of its Identifier. The Identifier appears in the last column and will have the format of the word &#8220;disk&#8221; followed by a number. In our case, the identifier is disk4.<\/li><li>Now that we know the disk identifier, we need to eject the disk so it&#8217;s no longer connected logically to the Mac (it will still be connected physically).<\/li><li>Locate the WIN10 disk on your Desktop or in the Finder window sidebar.<\/li><li>Right-click on the WIN10 disk and select Eject from the popup menu.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator is-style-default\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-use-virtualbox-to-map-the-external-drive-to-a-virtualbox-disk\"><strong>Use VirtualBox to Map the External Drive to a VirtualBox Disk<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The next step in the process is to map the external drive to a VirtualBox disk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>In Terminal, enter the following without the quotation marks: &#8220;sudo VBoxManage internalcommands createrawvmdk -filename &#8220;bootcamp.vmdk&#8221; -rawdisk \/dev\/disk4&#8243; <br \/><strong>Note:<\/strong> Be sure to replace \/dev\/disk4 with the actual disk number you found from the disk identifier, and then press enter or return.<\/li><li>At the Terminal prompt, enter your administrator password, and then press enter or return.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p>The bootcamp.vmdk virtual disk will be created in your home folder.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator is-style-default\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-create-a-virtualbox-virtual-machine-for-windows\"><strong>Create a VirtualBox Virtual Machine for Windows<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>We will use VirtualBox to install Windows 10 to our external drive. We can do this because in the previous step, we mapped the external drive to a VirtualBox virtualized disk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/VirtualBoxVM1280-1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/VirtualBoxVM1280-1.jpg\" alt=\"Virtual Box VM\" class=\"wp-image-52932 img-border\" width=\"640\" height=\"476\" srcset=\"https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/VirtualBoxVM1280-1.jpg 1280w, https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/VirtualBoxVM1280-1-162x120.jpg 162w, https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/VirtualBoxVM1280-1-284x211.jpg 284w, https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/VirtualBoxVM1280-1-190x141.jpg 190w, https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/VirtualBoxVM1280-1-162x120@2x.jpg 324w, https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/VirtualBoxVM1280-1-284x211@2x.jpg 568w, https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/VirtualBoxVM1280-1-190x141@2x.jpg 380w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><figcaption><strong><em>The Windows VM you create uses a virtualized connection to your external drive.<\/em><\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>In order for VirtualBox to be able to access the external drive, we need to launch VirtualBox with elevated permissions. Once again, we turn to Terminal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Enter the following at the Terminal prompt&nbsp;without the quotation marks: &#8220;sudo \/Applications\/VirtualBox.app\/Contents\/MacOS\/VirtualBox&#8221; Press enter or return.<\/li><li>If asked, supply your administrator password, and then press enter or return.<\/li><li>VirtualBox will open.<\/li><li>In the VirtualBox window, click on the New button in the toolbar.<\/li><li>In the sheet that drops down, enter a Name for the installation; we suggest WIN10.<\/li><li>Set the Type to Microsoft Windows.<\/li><li>Set the Version to Windows 10 (64-bit).<\/li><li>Click the Continue button.<\/li><li>Accept the default memory size, and click Continue.<\/li><li>In the Hard Disk sheet, select Use an existing virtual hard disk file.<\/li><li><span class=\"\">Just below the option to use an existing virtual hard disk file is a dropdown menu for selecting a file to use. You may notice the menu is empty or does not contain the virtual disk file we created earlier. Click the folder icon just to the right of the dropdown menu. This will allow you to browse to the bootcamp.vmdk file, which is located in your home folder. Select the bootcamp.vmdk file, click the Open button and then click the Create button.<\/span><\/li><li>VirtualBox has created a virtual environment for us to install Windows 10 in that will actually perform the install on the external drive. The next step is to mount the Windows 10 ISO you downloaded earlier from Microsoft.<\/li><li>In VirtualBox, select the Windows 10 virtual machine, and then locate the Optical Drive. This is usually located in the Storage section of the virtual machine. Click the Optical Drive item and select Choose Disk Image.<\/li><li>Browse to where you downloaded the Windows 10 ISO.<\/li><li>Select the Windows 10 ISO, then click open.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator is-style-default\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-install-windows-on-your-external-drive-via-virtualbox\"><strong>Install Windows on Your External Drive Via VirtualBox<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Start the installation process by clicking the Start button in the VirtualBox toolbox.<\/li><li>The Windows 10 installation will start. Follow the onscreen instructions until you come to the Windows Setup screen with the heading &#8220;Which type of installation do you want?&#8221;<\/li><li>Select the &#8220;Custom: Install Windows only (advanced)&#8221; option.<\/li><li>The Windows setup will display the currently available drives and partitions that Windows can be installed on. Because the external hard drive has been assigned to the VirtualBox machine, it is the only drive that will be listed.<\/li><li>When we used Disk Utility to format the drive, we chose MS-DOS (FAT), which is incompatible with Windows 10. We did this because Disk Utility can&#8217;t format with NTSF, but the Windows installer would recognize MS-DOS. All we need to do now is change the drive&#8217;s format to NTSF.<\/li><li>Select the drive, and then click the Format button.<\/li><li>Wait until the format is complete (the Next button will become available), and then click Next.<\/li><li>The Windows installation will start, with files being copied to the external drive.<\/li><li><strong><i>Warning<\/i><\/strong><i>: An extremely important step follows&#8230;<\/i><br \/>When you see the message &#8220;Windows needs to restart&#8221; <strong>immediately<\/strong> shut down the virtual machine by clicking on the red close button on the window. Select &#8220;Power off the machine&#8221; from the list of options, and then click OK to power off the virtual machine.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image wp-image-52933\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/Windows10Install1280-1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/Windows10Install1280-1.jpg\" alt=\"Windows 10 Install\" class=\"wp-image-52933\" width=\"640\" height=\"447\" srcset=\"https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/Windows10Install1280-1.jpg 1280w, https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/Windows10Install1280-1-172x120.jpg 172w, https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/Windows10Install1280-1-284x198.jpg 284w, https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/Windows10Install1280-1-190x133.jpg 190w, https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/Windows10Install1280-1-172x120@2x.jpg 344w, https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/Windows10Install1280-1-284x198@2x.jpg 568w, https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/Windows10Install1280-1-190x133@2x.jpg 380w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><figcaption><strong><em>Windows Setup will install the needed files to your external drive. Be sure to prevent Windows Setup from automatically restarting.<\/em><\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>At this point, the Windows installer has copied all the files to the external drive, and has set up a boot environment that you can start your Mac from. Next time you boot from the external drive, Windows will complete the installation process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator is-style-default\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-restart-your-mac-with-the-external-windows-drive\"><strong>Restart Your Mac With the External Windows Drive<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Close any apps you may have open, then restart your Mac.<\/li><li>Hold down the Option key during the restart. This will cause the Mac&#8217;s Startup Manager to display a list of drives you can start from. Use the arrow keys on your keyboard to select the Windows drive.<\/li><li>Your Mac will boot from the external Windows drive. The bootup process can take a while, so be patient.<\/li><li>Windows will finish the install process. At some point during the installation, Windows will restart your Mac. When it does, your Mac will restart with the normal Mac OS. You need to be present to hold down the Option key and select Windows to start from.<\/li><li>Windows will finish the installation and present you with the Windows desktop.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator is-style-default\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-getting-apple-hardware-working-under-windows\"><strong>Getting Apple Hardware Working Under Windows<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The USB flash drive you used earlier to make the Windows Support software contains all the drivers you need to install in Windows for the Apple hardware to work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image wp-image-52934 img-border\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/BootCampSetup1280-1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/BootCampSetup1280-1.jpg\" alt=\"Boot Camp Setup screen\" class=\"wp-image-52934 img-border\" width=\"640\" height=\"364\" srcset=\"https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/BootCampSetup1280-1.jpg 1280w, https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/BootCampSetup1280-1-211x120.jpg 211w, https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/BootCampSetup1280-1-284x162.jpg 284w, https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/BootCampSetup1280-1-190x108.jpg 190w, https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/BootCampSetup1280-1-100x56.jpg 100w, https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/BootCampSetup1280-1-211x120@2x.jpg 422w, https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/BootCampSetup1280-1-284x162@2x.jpg 568w, https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/BootCampSetup1280-1-190x108@2x.jpg 380w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><figcaption><strong><em>To complete the Windows installation, run the Boot Camp Setup app to install the needed Apple drivers.<\/em><\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Make sure the USB flash drive is connected to your Mac.<\/li><li>Click on the Windows Start button and select File Explorer.<\/li><li>In the File Explorer sidebar, select the USB flash drive, it will probably have a D or E drive letter assigned to it.<\/li><li>Open the Boot Camp folder<\/li><li>Run the Setup app inside the Boot Camp folder.<\/li><li>Follow the on-screen instructions to install the Boot Camp drivers.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p>Once the installation completes, all your Apple hardware, including wireless keyboards and mice, should be working.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator is-style-default\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-related-links\">Related Links<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-yoast-seo-related-links\"><li><a href=\"https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/blog\/40342-tech-tip-how-to-install-and-run-linux-on-a-mac\/\">Tech Tip: How to Install and Run Linux on a Mac<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/blog\/37328-tech-tip-installing-windows-10-on-a-mac-using-boot-camp\/\">Tech Tip: Installing Windows 10 on a Mac Using Boot Camp<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/blog\/32985-rocket-yard-guide-installing-windows-using-boot-camp\/\">Rocket Yard Guide: Installing Windows on Your Mac Using Boot Camp<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/blog\/42830-can-apfs-be-used-with-time-machine-boot-camp-and-file-vault\/\">Can APFS be used with Time Machine, Boot Camp, and File Vault?<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/blog\/32258-boot-camp-6-adds-ability-to-run-windows-10-on-macs\/\">Boot Camp 6 adds ability to run Windows 10 on Macs<\/a><\/li><\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Boot Camp and Boot Camp Assistant allow you to install Windows on your Mac. It&#8217;s&nbsp;a nice capability that lets you select \u2013 at boot time \u2013 which operating system you wish to use: macOS or Windows. One of the downsides to Boot Camp and the Windows installer is that it restricts you to only installing [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":97,"featured_media":70060,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"spay_email":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"class_list":["post-40947","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-tech-tips"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v20.2 (Yoast SEO v20.2) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Tech Tip: How to Use Boot Camp on an External Drive<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Boot Camp and Boot Camp Assistant allow you to install Windows on your Mac. It&#039;s&nbsp;a nice capability that lets you select \u2013 at boot time \u2013 which\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/blog\/40947-tech-tip-how-to-use-boot-camp-on-an-external-drive\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How to Use Boot Camp on an External Drive to Run Windows on a Mac\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Boot Camp and Boot Camp Assistant allow you to install Windows on your Mac. It&#039;s&nbsp;a nice capability that lets you select \u2013 at boot time \u2013 which\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/blog\/40947-tech-tip-how-to-use-boot-camp-on-an-external-drive\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Rocket Yard\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-01-13T19:15:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-01-13T19:26:16+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/BootCamp_1400x788.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1400\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"788\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Tom Nelson\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Tom Nelson\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"11 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/blog\/40947-tech-tip-how-to-use-boot-camp-on-an-external-drive\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/blog\/40947-tech-tip-how-to-use-boot-camp-on-an-external-drive\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Tom Nelson\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/647f465acd469444183711d2a22648cb\"},\"headline\":\"How to Use Boot Camp on an External Drive to Run Windows on a Mac\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-01-13T19:15:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-01-13T19:26:16+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/blog\/40947-tech-tip-how-to-use-boot-camp-on-an-external-drive\/\"},\"wordCount\":2318,\"commentCount\":489,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"keywords\":[\"Boot Camp\",\"Boot Camp Assistant\",\"Disk Utility\",\"Mac\",\"Terminal\",\"USB\",\"VirtualBox\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Tech Tips\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/blog\/40947-tech-tip-how-to-use-boot-camp-on-an-external-drive\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/blog\/40947-tech-tip-how-to-use-boot-camp-on-an-external-drive\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/blog\/40947-tech-tip-how-to-use-boot-camp-on-an-external-drive\/\",\"name\":\"Tech Tip: How to Use Boot Camp on an External Drive\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2021-01-13T19:15:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-01-13T19:26:16+00:00\",\"description\":\"Boot Camp and Boot Camp Assistant allow you to install Windows on your Mac. It's&nbsp;a nice capability that lets you select \u2013 at boot time \u2013 which\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/blog\/40947-tech-tip-how-to-use-boot-camp-on-an-external-drive\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/blog\/40947-tech-tip-how-to-use-boot-camp-on-an-external-drive\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/blog\/40947-tech-tip-how-to-use-boot-camp-on-an-external-drive\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"How to Use Boot Camp on an External Drive to Run Windows on a Mac\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"Rocket Yard\",\"description\":\"Your source for expert tips, special deals, commentary, reviews, and the latest tech news.\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/blog\/#organization\",\"name\":\"OWC\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/blog\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/rocket-yard-logo-round.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/rocket-yard-logo-round.png\",\"width\":1024,\"height\":1024,\"caption\":\"OWC\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/647f465acd469444183711d2a22648cb\",\"name\":\"Tom Nelson\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/cb537829ec9582eb81bd2dcf5c7e88d981ed66bd6f65dd36508faf46d38ba5a9?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/cb537829ec9582eb81bd2dcf5c7e88d981ed66bd6f65dd36508faf46d38ba5a9?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Tom Nelson\"},\"description\":\"Tom has been an enthusiastic Mac user since the Mac Plus. He\u2019s also been known to dabble in the dark side, otherwise known as Windows, and has a well-deserved reputation for being able to explain almost anything to anybody. Tom\u2019s background includes more than 30 years as an engineer, programmer, network manager, software tester, software reviewer, database designer, and computer network and systems designer. His online experience includes working as a sysop, forum leader, writer, and software library manager.\",\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/rocketyard.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/blog\/author\/tom-n\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Tech Tip: How to Use Boot Camp on an External Drive","description":"Boot Camp and Boot Camp Assistant allow you to install Windows on your Mac. It's&nbsp;a nice capability that lets you select \u2013 at boot time \u2013 which","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/blog\/40947-tech-tip-how-to-use-boot-camp-on-an-external-drive\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"How to Use Boot Camp on an External Drive to Run Windows on a Mac","og_description":"Boot Camp and Boot Camp Assistant allow you to install Windows on your Mac. It's&nbsp;a nice capability that lets you select \u2013 at boot time \u2013 which","og_url":"https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/blog\/40947-tech-tip-how-to-use-boot-camp-on-an-external-drive\/","og_site_name":"Rocket Yard","article_published_time":"2021-01-13T19:15:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2021-01-13T19:26:16+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1400,"height":788,"url":"https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/BootCamp_1400x788.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Tom Nelson","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Tom Nelson","Est. reading time":"11 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/blog\/40947-tech-tip-how-to-use-boot-camp-on-an-external-drive\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/blog\/40947-tech-tip-how-to-use-boot-camp-on-an-external-drive\/"},"author":{"name":"Tom Nelson","@id":"https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/647f465acd469444183711d2a22648cb"},"headline":"How to Use Boot Camp on an External Drive to Run Windows on a Mac","datePublished":"2021-01-13T19:15:00+00:00","dateModified":"2021-01-13T19:26:16+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/blog\/40947-tech-tip-how-to-use-boot-camp-on-an-external-drive\/"},"wordCount":2318,"commentCount":489,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/blog\/#organization"},"keywords":["Boot Camp","Boot Camp Assistant","Disk Utility","Mac","Terminal","USB","VirtualBox"],"articleSection":["Tech Tips"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/blog\/40947-tech-tip-how-to-use-boot-camp-on-an-external-drive\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/blog\/40947-tech-tip-how-to-use-boot-camp-on-an-external-drive\/","url":"https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/blog\/40947-tech-tip-how-to-use-boot-camp-on-an-external-drive\/","name":"Tech Tip: How to Use Boot Camp on an External Drive","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/blog\/#website"},"datePublished":"2021-01-13T19:15:00+00:00","dateModified":"2021-01-13T19:26:16+00:00","description":"Boot Camp and Boot Camp Assistant allow you to install Windows on your Mac. It's&nbsp;a nice capability that lets you select \u2013 at boot time \u2013 which","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/blog\/40947-tech-tip-how-to-use-boot-camp-on-an-external-drive\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/blog\/40947-tech-tip-how-to-use-boot-camp-on-an-external-drive\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/blog\/40947-tech-tip-how-to-use-boot-camp-on-an-external-drive\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"How to Use Boot Camp on an External Drive to Run Windows on a Mac"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/blog\/","name":"Rocket Yard","description":"Your source for expert tips, special deals, commentary, reviews, and the latest tech news.","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/blog\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/blog\/#organization","name":"OWC","url":"https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/blog\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/rocket-yard-logo-round.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/rocket-yard-logo-round.png","width":1024,"height":1024,"caption":"OWC"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/647f465acd469444183711d2a22648cb","name":"Tom Nelson","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/cb537829ec9582eb81bd2dcf5c7e88d981ed66bd6f65dd36508faf46d38ba5a9?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/cb537829ec9582eb81bd2dcf5c7e88d981ed66bd6f65dd36508faf46d38ba5a9?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Tom Nelson"},"description":"Tom has been an enthusiastic Mac user since the Mac Plus. He\u2019s also been known to dabble in the dark side, otherwise known as Windows, and has a well-deserved reputation for being able to explain almost anything to anybody. Tom\u2019s background includes more than 30 years as an engineer, programmer, network manager, software tester, software reviewer, database designer, and computer network and systems designer. His online experience includes working as a sysop, forum leader, writer, and software library manager.","sameAs":["http:\/\/rocketyard.com"],"url":"https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/blog\/author\/tom-n\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/BootCamp_1400x788.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pmPaT-aEr","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40947","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/97"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=40947"}],"version-history":[{"count":16,"href":"https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40947\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":70067,"href":"https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40947\/revisions\/70067"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/70060"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=40947"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=40947"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}