How to manually boot OS using eSATA casing

[albertwt]

Hi Everyone,

I have spare 160 GB 2.5" laptop HDD and wants to perform manual OS boot selection on my current laptop Toshiba Tecra M10 on the eSATA port, has anyone ever try this before ?

Internal Laptop HDD - Windows XP

External eSATA casing - Windows 7

So if I remove the eSATA casing I can just boot directly to the Windows XP OS without having to open the back case of my laptop.

Thanks.

Edited January 24, 2011 by albertwt

[jaclaz]

Hi Everyone,

I have spare 160 GB 2.5" laptop HDD and wants to perform manual OS boot selection on my current laptop Toshiba Tecra M10 on the eSATA port, has anyone ever try this before ?

Internal Laptop HDD - Windows XP

External eSATA casing - Windows 7

So if I remove the eSATA casing I can just boot directly to the Windows XP OS without having to open the back case of my laptop.

Thanks.

It shouldn't be a problem IF the BIOS supports e-sata booting.

Which options do you have in BIOS?

Try the following:

get grub4dos (latest experimental version) from here:

http://code.google.com/p/grub4dos-chenall/downloads/list

from the downloaded package extract only grldr and copy it to root of the active partition of your internal HD (I presume C:\ ), i.e. where NTLDR, NTDETECT.COM and BOOT..INI are.

edit BOOT.INI like here:

http://diddy.boot-land.net/grub4dos/files/install_windows.htm#windows1

adding the

C:\grldr="Grub4Dos"

line to it.

Try booting without the external HD connected.

Choose the grub4dos entry.

At the command prompt type:

root (h

and press [TAB] key

you should get something like:

possible disks are : hd0

Switch PC off.

Attach the e-sata HD and repeat the above, if you get:

possible disks are : hd0 hd1

it means that the e-sata is enumerated by BIOS and you have good chances.

jaclaz

[albertwt]

Hi Everyone,

I have spare 160 GB 2.5" laptop HDD and wants to perform manual OS boot selection on my current laptop Toshiba Tecra M10 on the eSATA port, has anyone ever try this before ?

Internal Laptop HDD - Windows XP

External eSATA casing - Windows 7

So if I remove the eSATA casing I can just boot directly to the Windows XP OS without having to open the back case of my laptop.

Thanks.

It shouldn't be a problem IF the BIOS supports e-sata booting.

Which options do you have in BIOS?

Try the following:

get grub4dos (latest experimental version) from here:

http://code.google.c.../downloads/list

from the downloaded package extract only grldr and copy it to root of the active partition of your internal HD (I presume C:\ ), i.e. where NTLDR, NTDETECT.COM and BOOT..INI are.

edit BOOT.INI like here:

http://diddy.boot-la...ws.htm#windows1

adding the

C:\grldr="Grub4Dos"

line to it.

Try booting without the external HD connected.

Choose the grub4dos entry.

At the command prompt type:

root (h

and press [TAB] key

you should get something like:

possible disks are : hd0

Switch PC off.

Attach the e-sata HD and repeat the above, if you get:

possible disks are : hd0 hd1

it means that the e-sata is enumerated by BIOS and you have good chances.

jaclaz

thanks for the reply man,

what I want is the Win7 will be loaded to the eSATA drive so that when I attached the eSATA drive, i can then press the hotkey to manually select which OS to boot and then when I unplug the eSATA i can just boot to Windows XP normally

[jaclaz]

what I want is the Win7 will be loaded to the eSATA drive so that when I attached the eSATA drive, i can then press the hotkey to manually select which OS to boot and then when I unplug the eSATA i can just boot to Windows XP normally

I do understand what you want would like to achieve, rest assured.

Whether this is possible or not depends on how your BIOS works.

Since I have not a Toshiba Tecra M10 before me, I have no way to know what is in it's BIOS and which feature and which hot keys it sports unless you tell me.

The proposed test was a way, if you describe the features of your BIOS, hot-keys, etc. it will be the same.

jaclaz

[albertwt]

what I want is the Win7 will be loaded to the eSATA drive so that when I attached the eSATA drive, i can then press the hotkey to manually select which OS to boot and then when I unplug the eSATA i can just boot to Windows XP normally

I do understand what you want would like to achieve, rest assured.

Whether this is possible or not depends on how your BIOS works.

Since I have not a Toshiba Tecra M10 before me, I have no way to know what is in it's BIOS and which feature and which hot keys it sports unless you tell me.

The proposed test was a way, if you describe the features of your BIOS, hot-keys, etc. it will be the same.

jaclaz

ok, I'll get one casing first and then let you know.

Does eSATA casing can run just with the eSATA cable or it certainly need power ?

[jaclaz]

Does eSATA casing can run just with the eSATA cable or it certainly need power ?

A standard eSata connector provides NO power.

There exists the eSATAp connector, but it is not widely used (expecially on the "drive enclosure" side - average "low cost" hardwre you can find "round trhe corner", on recent laptops it usually is):

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serial_ATA

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ESATAp

So you should verify that:

• your laptop actually has such a port
  
• the enclosure you want to by actually has such a provision
  

Please also take into account that a number of motherboards/laptops and/or drive controllers may (by themselves or by the coupling) provoke a delay to the power actually delivered to the motor switching on, so that you cannot boot from them unless you power them before booting the PC.

jaclaz