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    Can you boot a laptop from an external eSATA drive?

    Discussion in 'Hardware Components and Aftermarket Upgrades' started by geekydude, Jan 25, 2007.

  1. geekydude

    geekydude Notebook Geek

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    Anyone knows? I have a Dell Inspiron E1405 Core 2 Duo. Thanks.
     
    geekydude, Jan 25, 2007
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  2. bal3wolf

    bal3wolf Notebook Consultant

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    in bios what boot options do you have if you have say usb you can or if you hit your key to bring up boot order when you power on the laptop look and see what it has listed.
     
    bal3wolf, Jan 25, 2007
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  3. Greg

    Greg Notebook Nobel Laureate

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    If the BIOS lists the ExpressCard slot as one of the options that you can boot from (look for it in the boot order) you will be fine.
     
    Greg, Jan 25, 2007
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  4. geekydude

    geekydude Notebook Geek

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    Checked my BIOS menu. The devices listed in Boot Sequence are:

    Diskette Drive
    USB Storage Device
    CD/DVD/CD-RW Drive
    Internal HDD
    Onboard NIC

    So according to Bal3wolf, I can use the USB Storage Device option to boot an eSATA drive. But Night_2004 seems to be saying that I need an explicit ExpressCard option.

    I haven't bought the eSATA card and drive yet. I need to know whether I can boot from it before making the purchase.
     
    geekydude, Jan 25, 2007
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  5. Greg

    Greg Notebook Nobel Laureate

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    I would contact Dell if you have any doubt. It's possible it would be counted as a USB device goes as far as the BIOS are concerned.
     
    Greg, Jan 25, 2007
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  6. RogueMonk

    RogueMonk Notebook Deity

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    ExpressCards are not always listed as in the BIOS boot sequence. If they are supported, they will often list your eSATA as local (just like the internal drive).

    I have helped several people, and it seems they are getting hit/miss results. But the issue I have seen most is not with BIOS support but with the sata chip itself (the one on the ExpressCrad).

    Bottom line - you have try and see what happens.
     
    RogueMonk, Jan 25, 2007
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  7. geekydude

    geekydude Notebook Geek

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    In cases when ExpressCard was not listed in the BIOS boot sequence, how did you set the BIOS boot sequence to get the eSATA drive to boot? What did you put first in the sequence? (Internal HDD?)
     
    geekydude, Jan 25, 2007
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  8. bbzidane

    bbzidane Notebook Guru

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    i think what the poster is trying to say is, if it works, it will list the model of the hard drive connected by eSATA.
    so if you had a WD hdd in an enclosure connected by eSATA, and it is able to boot from it, the WD hdd would be listed.
     
    bbzidane, Jan 25, 2007
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  9. geekydude

    geekydude Notebook Geek

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    Official word from Dell: you cannot boot from an eSATA drive on the Inspiron E1405. The only external devices you can boot from are floppy drive, USB CDROM, and USB flash key.
     
    geekydude, Jan 26, 2007
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  10. CocoaJu

    CocoaJu Notebook Enthusiast

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    I would like to ask if any one knows which is faster. Is it faster to book your system on HDD or on an ExpressCard SSD?
     
    CocoaJu, May 18, 2008
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  11. eleron911

    eleron911 HighSpeedFreak

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    The SSD should be faster.
     
    eleron911, May 18, 2008
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  12. jisaac

    jisaac Notebook Deity

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    xp cannot boot from an external drive e.g. usb esata..... unless you hack its boot order specifically, as it does not recognise the removable device early enough to boot from it. Expresscard ssds are rubbish, and u cannot boot from them.
     
    jisaac, May 18, 2008
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