How to Burn an ISO Image to an External Hard Drive on Windows 10 (Quick and Detailed)

Updated By

Linda 

Last Updated on April 19, 2024

An ISO file is an archive that contains everything found on a disc, such as a CD or DVD. So, do you know how to burn ISO to external hard drive on Windows 10? If not, follow this guide to learn the detailed steps of the burning process. Since burning ISO to an external hard drive can be complicated and challenging for most beginners, it's best to use a professional ISO burning tool. Here, we will introduce two seamless ISO to external hard drive burning software to help you get the job done with ease.

How to Burn an ISO to External Hard Drive on Windows 10 – Two Methods

In this part, we will learn two reliable methods to burn ISO image to external hard drive for Windows 10. To help you choose the suitable method, some basic information is summarized in the comparison table below:

As evident from the table, Partition Master stands out in terms of usability and limitations. Moreover, it saves you the time of burning an ISO file with just two simple steps. Additionally, starting from Windows 10 version 2004, the Windows To Go feature has been removed, meaning this tool might not be available if your operating system version is incompatible.

Prerequisites for burning an ISO image to an external hard drive for Windows 10

Before burning ISO to external hard drive, you need to do some preparations:

Have an external hard drive ready.

• If you're using USB, have a USB 3.0 drive and a computer with a matching port ready. • Make sure your USB's BIOS boot mode matches the target computer's.

✅ Burning an ISO file requires the user to format the USB as FAT32.

Download the ISO file from Microsoft and save it to your computer.

✅ Install and launch the Partition Master tool on your computer.

✅ Prepare a Windows To Go drive.

Continue with the guide to learn how to burn an ISO image to an external hard drive for Windows 10.

Method 1: Burn ISO to External Hard Drive with Partition Master Tool

AOMEI Partition Assistant is a reliable third-party ISO burning tool that can write an ISO image to an external hard drive for Windows 10 with just a few simple steps. Since AOMEI Partition Assistant is compatible with all versions of Windows, you don't need to purchase Windows 10 or Enterprise Edition for Windows 8.1/8. Additionally, this software offers a user-friendly interface and other great features.

Download Partition Master via the official download button, and then refer to the instructions below:

Step 1: Launch AOMEI Partition Assistant and then go to the “Bootable Media” section. Click “Burn ISO” and then click “Next”.

Step 2. Select the ISO image that you downloaded to your computer, and click “Open.”

Step 3. Click “Next,” select your USB drive as the destination, and click “Burn” to perform the operation.

"An Overview of the Main Functions of Partition Master Tool"

In addition to burning ISO to external hard drive, the tool can be used for various other purposes such as:

• Solution to unable to burn ISO to USB issue: Can't burn ISO file to USB
• Burn ISO to USB on Windows 10
• Burn Windows 7 ISO to USB
• Burn ISO image to USB

Download it now and experience its unique features!

Method 2: Create a bootable ISO image on an external hard drive using Windows To Go Windows To Go is a feature that lets you create a bootable Windows workspace on an external USB drive. Here's how to burn the ISO file to an external hard drive using this method: 1. Make sure your external hard drive is connected to your computer. 2. Open the "Control Panel" (you can find it by searching for "control panel" in the search bar). 3. In the Control Panel, select "System and Security" > " Administrative Tools." 4. In the Administrative Tools list, locate and double-click "Windows To Go Creator." 5. If a User Account Control window appears, click "Yes" to proceed. 6. In the Windows To Go Creator window, choose your external hard drive as the installation target. 7. Click "Next," then select the "Create from an ISO image file" option. 8. Browse for and select the ISO file you downloaded earlier, then click "Open." 9. The tool will prompt you to format the selected external hard drive. Confirm and click "Yes." 10. Wait for the Windows To Go Creator to finish copying and installing the ISO file. 11. Once completed, you can safely disconnect the external hard drive and use it to boot another computer when needed. Please note that this method requires your operating system to be Windows 8 or later, and your external hard drive must meet the requirements for Windows To Go.

If you don't have Windows 10/8.1/8 Enterprise, you'll need to purchase either Windows 10 or 8.1/8 Enterprise. Create a Bootable USB Drive with Windows To Go Creating a bootable USB drive from an ISO image using Windows To Go can be tricky, so follow these steps closely:

Step one: Open the Control Panel and type “Windows To Go” in the search box. Click on the “Windows To Go” option.

Step 2. After launching the program, your external hard drive will be detected. Select the external hard drive you want to wipe and click “Next” to proceed.

Step 3: Click “Add Search Location,” and then select the mounted ISO image.

Step 4. You can enable BitLocker drive encryption for Windows To Go to protect your sensitive data on the external drive.

Step 5: Windows To Go will copy the ISO image file to the target external drive.

If the guide was helpful, please share this article on social media to help others who might not know how to burn an ISO to an external hard drive in Windows 10.

Why Burn an ISO Image to an External Hard Drive on Windows 10?

Why would you want to burn an ISO to an external hard drive? What can you do with an ISO file? If you have these questions, this section will provide the answers. Here are several advantages of burning an ISO to an external hard drive:

Create a backup copy: You can burn an ISO image to an external hard drive and restore it to its original state when needed. Users typically use it to make a digital copy of a disc and store it on a hard drive.

Installed as a virtual drive: You can download ISO images for Windows 8, 8.1, and 10 and mount them as a virtual disk to ensure your computer's hardware or OS is running smoothly during day-to-day work.

Storing large files or programs: Because ISO files are single files containing a lot of data, they're great for storing large programs or operating systems.

Final Judgment

Burning ISO to external hard drive enables you to clone your data, store large files, and use it as a virtual drive. To aid users in burning ISO to external hard drive on Windows 10 effortlessly, we've shared two reliable tools: Partition Master and Windows To Go. Among them, Partition Master is more user-friendly, allowing you to easily burn ISO to external hard drive in Windows 10. Discover more exciting features by exploring the links below:

Frequently Asked Questions About "Burning an ISO Image to an External Hard Drive on Windows 10"

That's it for how to burn ISO to external hard drive on Windows 10. If you want to learn more, the following section introduces some related questions and answers. Keep reading if you're interested:

How do I burn an ISO file to a USB drive?

You need to format the USB to the FAT32 file system, then download the tool Partition Master and follow these steps:

Step 1: Plug in the USB to your computer and launch the Partition Master tool. Go to the Bootable Media section. Click “Burn ISO” and then click “Next.”

Step 2: Select the target ISO image, then click “Open.”

Step 3. Click “Next,” select the target USB drive as the destination, and click “Burn” to apply.

2. How can I run an ISO file without burning it?

To open and view the contents of an ISO file, you can use a free tool like WinRAR, following these steps:

Step 1: Install the latest version of WinRAR on your computer. Download the ISO file to your computer.

Step 2. Right-click the target ISO file and select “Open with” from the drop-down menu.

Step 3: Click “Extract to ISO,” and wait for the file to be extracted.

3. Can I burn the ISO image to make a bootable CD?

Yes. Once the ISO file has been burned, the disc is bootable. In addition to a bootable operating system, the disc includes a variety of applications that can be used.