I have a 2015 Macbook Pro, and on that machine I was running Windows 10 externally with a Samsung T3 SSD. I recently upgraded to Winclone 8 and prepared to transfer my Windows install over to my new 2019 27" 5k Imac. I cloned the drive and started following instructions similar to the 2 migration tutorials under the Winclone 8 section of the knowledge base. I wanted to use the same external T3 SSD on the new Imac
I got to a point after putting some files on the USB to just try boot Windows from the external on the new machine. To my surprise, it worked. I then ran the boot camp software and did the “repair” option and I am up and running.
I can’t seem to get the headphone jack to work properly and I also noticed that my USB-C port isn’t working with a different SSD, althought it IS working for an external monitor.
My question is, should I just do a fresh install of Windows at this point? Is there any way I can delete my drivers and re-install them? What do you think is the best course of action
Thank you in advance
You can try running sysprep, which will force windows to redicover hardware. You can also remove drivers in device manager and reboot and then they should be rediscovered.
tim
1 Like
I have no specific answer to your question. But I can share some of my experience with an external SSD (Samsung T5) that carries a Win10 Bootcamp partition. After some troubles getting Win10 Bootcamp to work, I did a sysprep and executed WinClone to the external SSD. It all worked well after that, including the audio. I use the Samsung SSD on my 2017 MacBook. I was surprised when I tested it on my spouse’s 2014 iMac to find it worked perfectly well without any changes.
Regarding the USB-C ports, of which I have 2 on my MacBook, I find their behaviour sometimes a bit strange. For Win10, I like to use a USB-3 mouse instead of the Apple Magic Mouse because of some issues regarding my left handedness. If the USB-3 mouse is connected to the dongle when I start up Win10, the system doesn’t recognize it - the mouse seems not to be powered on. But, after Win10 startup is complete, if I unplug the dongle from my MacBook and plug it back in after a few seconds, the USB mouse powers up, the tracking light comes on, and it is recognized by Win10.
2 Likes
I might have to try sysprep. That is in the windows installer right? Will I have to “inject” the drivers?
Also, How am I supposed to update this if it’s an external. The windows updater doesn’t like that…
G’day
Sorry It’s been a few months, and I don’t remember the details. What I do remember is the following :
- Sysprep is executed from Win10, so your default disk is already the external disk from the point of view of Win10. Once sysprep executed, I rebooted Win10 from the external disk as per usual. The installation was stripped of my personalized parameters, but otherwise OK.
- I did not need to reinstall drivers.
1 Like
OK… I’ll try run sysprep
How are you updating your current computer? I cannot get windows updater to work since it is an external drive?
This wasn’t an issue for me, so I have not tried it.
If I remember, I managed to get a sysprep off the internet and executed it directly in Win10. I presume the reason you are referring to an update is to get sysprep. Correct me if I am wrong,
My Win10 external SSD works well. In addition, It handles automatic Windows system updates (for security purposes) without any problems.
I can send you a copy of sysprep if you need it. Seems to me it wasn’t too big. I can put it on Google Drive and send you a link.
I am still having troubles. I think I am going to reinstall windows on a bootcamp partition and then try to winclone it back to the external.
Sorry that I cannot help. As I said, I did a sysprep on the external SSD, and that worked for me. Maybe you have tried to install a fresh Windows installation on the SSD ?
cheers
John Waller
Envoyé de ma tablette
I don’t know if I did sysprep correctly. I think I will have better luck with a fresh install. The problem is the original windows install was done on a laptop, internal partition. Then I used winclone to transfer that to an external drive. Then I got my new iMac and used that SAME install on the external to run windows. I ran the bootcamp files on the windows side, but I feel like it didn’t fully recognize all the imac components. I am going to try this again and see if a fresh install works better for me. I hope I don’t run into any hangups transferring back to the external drive via winclone.
I would be interested if you can lay out the steps to properly run sysprep. I am confused by how to do it.
Sysprep requires no particular skill. If you launch it, it simply creates a stripped down version of Windows : all the personalized parameters are erased. Windows then boots as if it were launching for the first time. It may be that the sysprep needed is specific to the version of Windows, I’m not sure. Usually sysprep does not present any particular problems.
Remember, if you do a WinClone and it fails, check the WinClone log, it’s pretty explicit. Most of I learned regarding what to do came from there. Scroll to the very bottom of the log file to find the point where the failure takes place.
On another note, I also use CrossOver by CodeWeavers (based on Wine) for Win10 directly on my MacBook. I didn’t bother with it until they developed a 64 bit version in December 2019 to work with Catalina. It is not a virtual machine running under Mac : that would require a Windows licence. It is more of an emulator which intercepts system calls from Windows programs and sends them to the equivalent MacOS system services. It is very stable and does not over-consume resources. In my experience, you can pretty much install any Windows based software on it and even determine if it’s Win98, XP, Win10… etc. Makes me think I should have purchased it a long time ago.
You have to pay for CrossOver, but it only US$40 for a simple version without upgrades or telephone support. It is frankly worth more than that, particularly because there is no need to buy a Windows licence for it to work.
cheers
John Waller