Windows Server is a group of operating systems designed by Microsoft that supports enterprise-level management, data storage, applications, and communications. For some special reasons, we may want to install Windows Server on an external hard drive and run Windows Server from the external hard drive. After trying it, we will find that Microsoft does not allow users to install Windows Server to an external hard drive. Is there a way to install Windows to an external disk drive? The answer is yes. This tutorial will show you how to use WinToUSB to install Windows Server on an external hard drive and run Windows Server from the external hard drive.
Step 1. Connect the external hard drive to the computer.
Step 2. Download and install WinToUSB, then run it as administrator.
Step 3. Click the 
button, then click the 
button and select the Windows Server installation ISO file from the open dialog box.
Step 4. WinToUSB scans for and lists installable operating systems in the Windows installation ISO. Please select the edition of Windows you want to install, then click "Next".
Step 5. Select the external hard drive in the drop-down list. If the external hard drive is not correctly recognized by WinToUSB, you need to click the 
button for the program to recognize the external hard drive.
Step 6. After you select the external hard drive, a pop-up will appear asking you if you want to format it to continue, select the partition scheme you want to use and click "Yes" to format it. If you choose "Keep the existing partition scheme", you need to manually prepare the partitions on the external hard drive before this step, and here is the user guide on how to manually prepare partitions for Windows To Go.
Step 7. After clicking "Yes", WinToUSB begins formatting. Please wait until that format operation is complete.
Step 8. After successfully formated the external hard drive, select the installation mode, then click "Next".
Step 9. After clicking "Next", WinToUSB begins installing Windows to the external hard drive.
Step 10. It takes some time to install. After installation restart the computer and change BIOS to boot from your external hard drive.
Step 11. Windows normal installation starts up and you have to complete all the installation steps. After that, you can install programs, copy files, etc.
Follow these simple steps, you can install Windows Server to an external hard drive and then run Windows form the external hard drive.
