Boot laptop from 3.5'' inch internal desktop hd?

Discussion in 'Hardware' started by zr79, Dec 11, 2009.

  1. zr79

    zr79 Byte Poster

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    I have one of those ide 3.5'' ide to usb cables, if i took out the laptops 2.5'' drive can i boot of the ide/usb drive , i don't see why not but just checking.
     
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  2. westernkings

    westernkings Gigabyte Poster

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    Someone is bound to correct me here, but if you mean can you use a HDD in a Caddy as an actual OS disk then no, I don't think it works. You could attach it to the IDE port on the laptop with the right cable though. and then use it just like the normal hard drive.
     
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  3. zr79

    zr79 Byte Poster

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    I have one of these cables it allows you to connect a 3.5'' ide connector to usb, so essentially a caddy, can i boot from this, i would need to power the ide drive i know.

    [​IMG]
     
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  4. supernova

    supernova Gigabyte Poster

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    Most laptops use 2.5" HDD'S so a 3.5'' may not fit. So a IDE to USB kit would allow you to use the drive.
    If you can boot from it depends on the BIOS, most modern BIOS's support boot from a USB device.

    If so its just a matter of placing a bootable OS on the drive. Remember the OS has to be able to run from USB as well and also performance will be poor.

    Another idea could be to use a cheap eSATA pccard (or maybe you have a laptop with a rare eSATA port?), with a IDE to SATA bridge and some sort of external casing with eSATA.

    You can buy eSATA pccards for as little as ~£30 new and external IDE to eSATA/USB (IDE to SATA and IDE to eSATA) enclosure for around ~£30 new. example
     
    Last edited: Dec 11, 2009
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  5. zr79

    zr79 Byte Poster

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    Thanks your right, that cable also has a sata connector so i could connect a 3.5'' sata drive to the laptop via usb, but then it will all still run at usb 2.0 speed anyway.

    esata a bit overkill but good tip anyway.
     
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  6. Bluerinse
    Honorary Member

    Bluerinse Exabyte Poster

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    I am not sure whether the OP wants to boot from an operating system that is already on the drive. If that is the case, the answer would be it's unlikely, as the boot loader files, boot.ini etc would be pointing to a different location.
     
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  7. soundian

    soundian Gigabyte Poster

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    Wouldn't the HAL be f*****d up as well?
     
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  8. Bluerinse
    Honorary Member

    Bluerinse Exabyte Poster

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    Most probably :biggrin
     
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  9. zr79

    zr79 Byte Poster

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    I have software that takes care of the hal, universal restore software.
     
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  10. BB88

    BB88 Kilobyte Poster Gold Member

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    If you are trying to boot from an already installed OS on the 3.5 HDD, then using a caddy may bring some success. But, depending on the hardware the OS was installed on, you may end up with BSoD and not even being able to boot to it at all.

    It should work in theory, just set in BIOS to Boot from USB HDD (if your BIOS allows that option - some older BIOS don't, may require firmware upgrade)
     
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