How Can I Install Windows 11 on External Hard Drive or SSD?

Here’s the fun part—you’ll use your external hard drive to create a bootable Windows 11 setup, kind of like putting Windows on a flash drive but with a big rig!

• Use a tool like Rufus (you can download it for free) to make your external hard drive bootable:
• Open Rufus and select your external hard drive under Device.
  'Under Boot selection, choose Disk or ISO image and select the Windows 11 ISO you downloaded earlier.
• For Partition Scheme, select GPT and make sure Target system is set to UEFI (non-CSM).
• Hit Start and let Rufus do its thing.

Now it’s time to install Windows 11 onto external hard drive:

1. Plug in your external drive and restart your PC.
2. Enter the boot menu (usually by pressing keys like F12, Esc, F2, or Del right after you turn on your PC—this varies by manufacturer).
3. Boot from your external hard drive. This should launch the Windows 11 installer.
4. When you get to the installation screen, you will need to select your external hard drive as the destination for the installation. Be careful not to choose your internal drive unless you are willing to lose everything on it!
5. Go through the prompts to set it up—select your language, time, and keyboard preferences, then hit Next.
6. Click Install Now, and follow the prompts. ‘Keep personal files and apps’ might not be an option here, so choose Custom and make sure you're picking the right drive!

Once the installation is complete, Windows 11 might prompt you to activate it. You can skip this step and use it in a limited manner, but for full features, you’ll need a genuine Windows 11 key.