Is it possible to install the Parallels VM and its guest OS on an external USB or Firewire hard drive? (Or just the guest OS, for that matter.) Thanks in advance.
IOW I can install Windows on an outboard HD? (See my post on how a previous attempt to install destroyed my Imac's hard drive for why I want to do this!) Would speed be significantly affected? Would Firewire 800 be better than USB 2.0? Any other thoughts? Thanks in advance.
Yes, you can install a VM and guest OS on a firewire or USB external drive as long as it's recognized as a hard drive by OSX. Whether firewire 400, 800, or USB would affect speed would depend on the performance of the external disk hardware, and on what you were asking Windows to do. Given a fast disk and a task that involved streaming large files, firewire 800 would probably be faster, but for other tasks, it might not make any detectable difference. BTW, as I commented on another thread, I'm not ready to believe that attempting to install software damaged a disk drive physically. Just because the drive was defective (if that's what happened) and the defect showed up after the install attempt is not proof that the install caused the defect. In fact, it's VERY unlikely. <Joke> unless you did the install by taking the cover off the drive and inserting the software</Joke>
