Boot external esata HDD from Thinkpad x200

[jmt]

I am trying to boot from an external esata hdd through an esata express card. I can set the boot priority to ata hdd2 however it will not boot from it because it does not list my hdd id next to it. HDD 1 internal does however, show the hdd id next to it and obviously has no problem booting from it.

 

[DocBrown]

What exactly are you trying to boot from the eSata HD ? Which OS ?

 

[jmt]

What exactly are you trying to boot from the eSata HD ? Which OS ?

Win 7 home premium x32

 

[DocBrown]

Win7 was made by Microsoft to basically only boot to the OS via an internal HD NO, USB HDs or eSata HDs can be setup to boot the OS, sorry.

 

[jmt]

Win7 was made by Microsoft to basically only boot to the OS via an internal HD NO, USB HDs or eSata HDs can be setup to boot the OS, sorry.

Thanks for your response. There must be a work-around such as a registry tweak. Do you know where I might look or post for more information?

 

[Dave76]

I have booted OSs from an eSATA external HDD. My eSATA connection was a direct cable crossover to backplate, your card may be interfering with the boot.

What system is this on?
If it's a desktop, find a SATA to eSATA backplate cable, they are usually less than $10. With this connection the OS and system has no way of knowing it's not directly connected internally, because it actually is.

Let us know if you get this resolved.

 

[jmt]

I have booted OSs from an eSATA external HDD. My eSATA connection was a direct cable crossover to backplate, your card may be interfering with the boot.

What system is this on?
If it's a desktop, find a SATA to eSATA backplate cable, they are usually less than $10. With this connection the OS and system has no way of knowing it's not directly connected internally, because it actually is.

Let us know if you get this resolved.

Hi Dave,
My system is a thinkpad X200 laptop. The fact that it's a laptop is the primary problem because the bios does not have a esata boot option. I have found a few work arounds on the web however, they were far to complex for my ability.

 

[Dave76]

Guess I should read the thread title...

Laptops are a bit harder to set up for eSATA.
Check for a BIOS update, that might help. Read the update log for anything to do with eSATA, SATA, or hard drives.

Updating BIOS can be risky, make sure it has something that will help you before considering the update.


Your eSATA express card may be causing it to be non-bootable.
Check the documentation.