What is the procedure to boot my old HDD over USB ?

I am planning to replace my primary hard drive (OS is Win 7 x64) in my current laptop with a new one. I would like to remove my current hard drive from my laptop, put it into a external USB enclosure, and want to be able to boot from it later in the future from the same laptop (i.e. no need for universal booting on different machines) on demand when the need arises ?

What procedure do I need to follow to be able to enable it to boot from a USB enclosure before removing it from my laptop ?

I assume I will need to run some batch files posted by karyonix ? What changes will I need to make to my BCD / boot loader ? I would be most greatful if someone could details the steps, provide the required batch file, and provide the syntax of commands I will need to execute in order to be able to boot from it once it is moved out of my laptop into an external USB enclosure.

I am running Windows 7 x64 Enterprise.

Thanks.
Uncle_HQ

I would be most greatful if someone could details the steps, provide the required batch file, and provide the syntax of commands I will need to execute in order to be able to boot from it once it is moved out of my laptop into an external USB enclosure.

We could also arrange to pick up the notebook, the USB enclosure and the hard disk at your home, set them up and return it to you.

Seriously, there are 4 (four) different Tutorials on how to run Windows 7 from USB in the present Forum:
http://reboot.pro/forum/77/
using slightly different techniques/approaches.

AND this that may be of use :
http://reboot.pro/9830/

You may want to review them and choose the one that better suits your needs, then ask specific questions (as opposed to "please guys I need a full procedure spoon-feeding").

The x64 may be trickier than 32 bit, but it should be doable.


Wonko

I'm curious, which of the four methods are most likely to create a stable and portable USB Win 7 install?

Also, would it be better to load the Win7 install image with driverpacks? I'm not sure whether that would create a greater compatibility, or make it less likely to be portable due to possible blue screens.

Portability is the key for me, and I heard it is a mixed bag. At a glance, it looks like marietto's method would be the most effective, but if someone could give confirmation I'd appreciate it.

I'm curious, which of the four methods are most likely to create a stable and portable USB Win 7 install?

Portability is the key for me, and I heard it is a mixed bag. At a glance, it looks like marietto's method would be the most effective, but if someone could give confirmation I'd appreciate it.

If done correctly EACH and every one gives a comparable result, you need to choose based on what you think better suits you (I mean the initial requirements) as an example karyonix's one is FAR simpler, BUT needs a pre-install to a internal hard disk....

Also, would it be better to load the Win7 install image with driverpacks? I'm not sure whether that would create a greater compatibility, or make it less likely to be portable due to possible blue screens.

Win7 has fairly a good compatibility, and adding drivers pack to it is NOT a good idea if you want to test a method, not because it is bad, but because an added layer of complexity.
THe general idea of a Tutorial is to follow it to the letter, and ONLY IF it works, THEN try adding variations to it.


Wonko

I'm sorry if this comes up as a double post.. I posted it, but it did not appear

I was curious if anyone had any tips on how to reduce the Win7 size. I'm at 6 gigs, and that is cutting it close on an 8 gig USB stick. I'd really like to trim another gig off. I've removed a few things with RT7Lite, but most of my space is taken up by the WinSxS folder (even without the hard links being factored in).

I'd like to be able to trim the fat without losing my mass storage and network drivers..

Any advice?

Here are a few suggestions in case you haven't considered these already:

1) Disable hibernation
2) Turn off windows restore points
3) if you have large amount of RAM (8 GB or more) you may consider turning off your paging file. (will require some experimentation)