Booting from External USB

[LGLDSR71]

Greetings,

I have an  HP Laptop 14-fq0110wm Laptop and I need to clone the internal SSD. I would like to use Clonezilla but am open to other options such as True Image by Acronis.

In any event, I need to know if this laptop will clone to an external USB Seagate (Platters, not SSD) and boot from it as well, once the appropriate changes have been made in the BIOS.

Thank you,

LGLDSR71

[Pallipurath · Accepted solution]

Hi @LGLDSR71 

Welcome to the HP Support Community.

Thank you for posting your query.

I understand that you are experiencing issues with booting from an external USB and would like to clone your system to an external Seagate drive. Once the appropriate BIOS changes have been made, please follow the steps outlined below to complete the process.

Access BIOS Settings

• You need to enter BIOS to change boot order.
• Restart laptop → press Esc repeatedly → Startup Menu → F10 for BIOS
• Power off your laptop completely
• Power it on and press Esc repeatedly
• From the Startup Menu, press F10 to enter BIOS setup

Enable USB Boot

• Ensure BIOS allows booting from external USB devices.
• BIOS Setup → Boot Options → Boot Configuration
• Navigate to Boot Options tab
• Confirm USB Boot is enabled
• If disabled, enable it

Change Boot Order

• Set USB drive as primary boot device.
• BIOS Setup → Boot Options
• Move USB drive to the top of boot order list
• Save changes before exiting

Save and Exit BIOS

• Apply changes and restart system.
• BIOS Setup → Exit → Save Changes and Exit
• Press F10 or select Save & Exit
• Confirm changes
• System will restart

Boot from USB

• Start system using bootable USB with cloning software.
• Insert bootable USB (Clonezilla/Acronis)
• Restart laptop
• It should boot from USB if BIOS is set correctly

Perform Cloning

• Clone internal SSD to external drive using software.
• Follow on‑screen instructions in Clonezilla/Acronis
• Select source drive (internal SSD)
• Select destination drive (external)
• Start cloning process

Test Booting from Cloned Drive

• Verify cloned drive works properly.
• After cloning completes, restart laptop
• Boot from external drive
• Confirm system loads successfully

Hope this helps, Please revert if the issue persists.

Take care and have an amazing day!