Booting WindowsXP from an external drive (using ExpressCArd)

[Guest C.Joseph S. Drayton]

There has been discussion over the last couple of weeks as to whether

or not WindowsXP can be booted from an external drive. A few months

ago, a similar question came up in regard to booting from an

Expresscard. Below is part of my response to that question;

>>>>>>>>>> Start Quote <<<<<<<<<<

 

The hardware I am referring to is;

 

1) Hewlette-Packard Pavilion dv8100cto laptop with a ExpressCard port.

2) Addonics ADEXC34-2E with 2 eSATA ports

3) Addonics AASA2SAP15C SATA-to-eSATA converter cable

4) Mapower MAP-H31SS-01 Drive case

5) Seagate Barracuda 7200.7

 

The Seagate is mounted in the Mapower case. The Mapower case is

connected to the Addonics ExpressCard via the Addonics SATA to eSATA

converter cable. The Addonics ExpressCard is plugged into the

ExpressCard slot on the dv8100cto laptop.

 

Immediately after pressing the power button, press the [Esc] key. I

then get the window to enter the bios password. I enter the BIOS

password and see the BIOS initialization screen. The screen clears and

I get a screen that list the possible boot devices (at the bottom of

the list is the option to enter 'setup').

 

I choose the Seagate drive and it boots.

 

It booted successfully a couple of times. I did not do extensive tests

since as I said I hate having to rely on external drives and would

definitely NOT put a production system on an external drive.

 

I have no idea whether it is an integrated HP function or not. I never

bother to download the User Guide. Off the top of my head I would guess

yes since the drive is recognized as bootable at a BIOS level.

 

 

 

Hi Anna,

 

I finally got around to do a test that will hopefully answer your

question definitively. I followed the below steps;

 

1) removed primary drive from my dv8100cto

2) removed secondary drive from my dv8100cto

3) put Hitachi 40Gb hard drive into position drive position 1

4) turned on booting from CDROM

5) Installed WindowsXPpe (full retail)

6) removed CD and turned off booting from CDROM

7) Booted from drive installed WindowsXPpe drive. I'm sure it worked

because it asked to be activated. Rebooted it 6 times all six

times worked fine.

8) Turned on booting from CDROM

9) Connected Addonics ExpressCard connected to Mapower box with

Seagate SATA drive in it

10) Booted Hiren's v9.1

11) Ran Ghost

12) Shut down computer

13) Pulled Hotachi hard disk from position 1 (there was now NO hard

disk in the machine).

14) Removed CD from CDROM

15) Kept ExpressCard plugged in

16) Got a screen I had not gotten before.

A screen that looks like my Select Boot Device screen instead

though it said;

 

IDE Channel -- None

 

Then it gave me a boot drive list, it showed;

 

CDROM

Ext - Hard disk

Network

17) Selected choice '2' (Ext - Hard disk)

18) WindowsXPpe booted and Uncle Bill reminded me that I needed

to activate.

19) Tried rebooting a couple of times got the same screen each time.

 

I had never pulled both drives to see what the computer would do . . .

Now I know.

>>>>>>>>>> End Quote <<<<<<<<<<

 

A few weeks ago I upgraded the BIOS of my dv8100cto and the ability to

boot from the ExpressCard port still works.

 

Above in step 16 I mentioned getting an IDE Channel -- None. thinking

about it of course, does make sense. There are 2 IDE controllers one is

for the 2 hard disk and the other is for the DVD-RAM. Since I pulled

both hard drives it couldn't find anything on the IDE0.

 

I have also had the time to check USB booting capability and it also

appears to work.

 

Now then Anna as I have said before, I have tested this specifically

with WindowsXPpe[sp2]. I have only tried this with the above listed

hardware. The booting does in fact work consistently.

 

Whether this is a feature for all HP laptops I do not know. When I

called HP customer support for info, they told me that they didn't

'think' the dv8000 series could boot from the ExpressCard port. I asked

to speak to speak to someone who could give me a definitive explanation

as to why this was working on my dv8100cto. I stayed on hold for about

20 minutes then hung up. I also didn't get any response via e-mail.

Since the previous thread appeared to die I didn't look into it any

further since I have no need for the above mentioned feature. If you

have a specific question or test you would like me to run with my

hardware, I can make some time to run the test for you.

 

--

 

Sincerely,

C.Joseph Drayton, Ph.D. AS&T

 

CSD Computer Services

 

Web site: http://csdcs.itgo.com/

E-mail: cjoseph@csdcs.itgo.com

[Guest Anna]

Re: Booting WindowsXP from an external drive (using ExpressCArd)

 

 

"C.Joseph S. Drayton" <csdcs@tlerma.com> wrote in message

news:xn0fqsz7c3qgns000@news.sunsite.dk...

>

> There has been discussion over the last couple of weeks as to whether

> or not WindowsXP can be booted from an external drive. A few months

> ago, a similar question came up in regard to booting from an

> Expresscard. Below is part of my response to that question;

>

>>>>>>>>>>> Start Quote <<<<<<<<<<

>

> The hardware I am referring to is;

>

> 1) Hewlette-Packard Pavilion dv8100cto laptop with a ExpressCard port.

> 2) Addonics ADEXC34-2E with 2 eSATA ports

> 3) Addonics AASA2SAP15C SATA-to-eSATA converter cable

> 4) Mapower MAP-H31SS-01 Drive case

> 5) Seagate Barracuda 7200.7

>

> The Seagate is mounted in the Mapower case. The Mapower case is

> connected to the Addonics ExpressCard via the Addonics SATA to eSATA

> converter cable. The Addonics ExpressCard is plugged into the

> ExpressCard slot on the dv8100cto laptop.

>

> Immediately after pressing the power button, press the [Esc] key. I

> then get the window to enter the bios password. I enter the BIOS

> password and see the BIOS initialization screen. The screen clears and

> I get a screen that list the possible boot devices (at the bottom of

> the list is the option to enter 'setup').

>

> I choose the Seagate drive and it boots.

>

> It booted successfully a couple of times. I did not do extensive tests

> since as I said I hate having to rely on external drives and would

> definitely NOT put a production system on an external drive.

>

> I have no idea whether it is an integrated HP function or not. I never

> bother to download the User Guide. Off the top of my head I would guess

> yes since the drive is recognized as bootable at a BIOS level.

>

>

>

> Hi Anna,

>

> I finally got around to do a test that will hopefully answer your

> question definitively. I followed the below steps;

>

> 1) removed primary drive from my dv8100cto

> 2) removed secondary drive from my dv8100cto

> 3) put Hitachi 40Gb hard drive into position drive position 1

> 4) turned on booting from CDROM

> 5) Installed WindowsXPpe (full retail)

> 6) removed CD and turned off booting from CDROM

> 7) Booted from drive installed WindowsXPpe drive. I'm sure it worked

> because it asked to be activated. Rebooted it 6 times all six

> times worked fine.

> 8) Turned on booting from CDROM

> 9) Connected Addonics ExpressCard connected to Mapower box with

> Seagate SATA drive in it

> 10) Booted Hiren's v9.1

> 11) Ran Ghost

> 12) Shut down computer

> 13) Pulled Hotachi hard disk from position 1 (there was now NO hard

> disk in the machine).

> 14) Removed CD from CDROM

> 15) Kept ExpressCard plugged in

> 16) Got a screen I had not gotten before.

> A screen that looks like my Select Boot Device screen instead

> though it said;

>

> IDE Channel -- None

>

> Then it gave me a boot drive list, it showed;

>

> CDROM

> Ext - Hard disk

> Network

> 17) Selected choice '2' (Ext - Hard disk)

> 18) WindowsXPpe booted and Uncle Bill reminded me that I needed

> to activate.

> 19) Tried rebooting a couple of times got the same screen each time.

>

> I had never pulled both drives to see what the computer would do . . .

> Now I know.

>

>>>>>>>>>>> End Quote <<<<<<<<<<

>

> A few weeks ago I upgraded the BIOS of my dv8100cto and the ability to

> boot from the ExpressCard port still works.

>

> Above in step 16 I mentioned getting an IDE Channel -- None. thinking

> about it of course, does make sense. There are 2 IDE controllers one is

> for the 2 hard disk and the other is for the DVD-RAM. Since I pulled

> both hard drives it couldn't find anything on the IDE0.

>

> I have also had the time to check USB booting capability and it also

> appears to work.

>

> Now then Anna as I have said before, I have tested this specifically

> with WindowsXPpe[sp2]. I have only tried this with the above listed

> hardware. The booting does in fact work consistently.

>

> Whether this is a feature for all HP laptops I do not know. When I

> called HP customer support for info, they told me that they didn't

> 'think' the dv8000 series could boot from the ExpressCard port. I asked

> to speak to speak to someone who could give me a definitive explanation

> as to why this was working on my dv8100cto. I stayed on hold for about

> 20 minutes then hung up. I also didn't get any response via e-mail.

> Since the previous thread appeared to die I didn't look into it any

> further since I have no need for the above mentioned feature. If you

> have a specific question or test you would like me to run with my

> hardware, I can make some time to run the test for you.

>

> --

>

> Sincerely,

> C.Joseph Drayton, Ph.D. AS&T

>

> CSD Computer Services

>

> Web site: http://csdcs.itgo.com/

> E-mail: cjoseph@csdcs.itgo.com

 

 

C.Joseph...

Many thanks for the detailed additional info. Much appreciated.

 

As I've previously indicated, we have been singularly unsuccessful in

booting to an externally-connected SATA HDD via the ExpressCard device (both

the 34mm 54 mm models). We've used four different ExpressCard/34 devices and

one ExpressCard/54 device involving a number of different makes/models of

laptops/notebooks including a half-dozen or so of the major brands. In no

case were we able to achieve this "bootability". (We have not worked with

the Addonics card you have used although I'm virtually certain at least two

of the cards we worked with contained the same Silicon Image chipset used by

the Addonics card. The others used the JMicron type).

 

I should mention that all the laptops/notebooks we worked with had inherent

SATA capability. What makes your situation even more interesting is that

your HP laptop (inherently) has only PATA capability. Am I right about that?

 

So I guess we should get a hold of the Addonics card and see if that makes a

difference. I really don't think the external enclosure would have any

bearing on this issue.

 

We have been in touch with both the SATA & ExpressCard organizations to get

their input on this issue. Unfortunately the feedback we have gotten from

those sources has been contradictory, if not outright bewildering. So I

guess we'll have to muddle through on our own.

 

We believe that achieving this external-drive boot capability with

laptops/notebooks would be a most important capability for those devices. As

I'm sure you know desktop PC users already have that routine capability when

an external SATA HDD is connected to the desktop machine either through a

SATA or eSATA connection. Unfortunately, it is a rare occurrence that a

laptop/notebook will be equipped with an external eSATA port. We have found

it nearly incomprehensible why late-model laptops/notebooks are not

routinely equipped with such as they are with one or more USB ports.

Anna

[Guest C.Joseph S. Drayton]

Re: Booting WindowsXP from an external drive (using ExpressCArd)

 

Anna wrote:

>

>C.Joseph...

>Many thanks for the detailed additional info. Much appreciated.

>

>As I've previously indicated, we have been singularly unsuccessful in

>booting to an externally-connected SATA HDD via the ExpressCard

>device (both the 34mm 54 mm models). We've used four different

>ExpressCard/34 devices and one ExpressCard/54 device involving a

>number of different makes/models of laptops/notebooks including a

>half-dozen or so of the major brands. In no case were we able to

>achieve this "bootability". (We have not worked with the Addonics

>card you have used although I'm virtually certain at least two of the

>cards we worked with contained the same Silicon Image chipset used by

>the Addonics card. The others used the JMicron type).

>

>I should mention that all the laptops/notebooks we worked with had

>inherent SATA capability. What makes your situation even more

>interesting is that your HP laptop (inherently) has only PATA

>capability. Am I right about that?

>

>So I guess we should get a hold of the Addonics card and see if that

>makes a difference. I really don't think the external enclosure would

>have any bearing on this issue.

>

>We have been in touch with both the SATA & ExpressCard organizations

>to get their input on this issue. Unfortunately the feedback we have

>gotten from those sources has been contradictory, if not outright

>bewildering. So I guess we'll have to muddle through on our own.

>

>We believe that achieving this external-drive boot capability with

>laptops/notebooks would be a most important capability for those

>devices. As I'm sure you know desktop PC users already have that

>routine capability when an external SATA HDD is connected to the

>desktop machine either through a SATA or eSATA connection.

>Unfortunately, it is a rare occurrence that a laptop/notebook will be

>equipped with an external eSATA port. We have found it nearly

>incomprehensible why late-model laptops/notebooks are not routinely

>equipped with such as they are with one or more USB ports. Anna

 

Hi Anna,

 

The reason you are receiving "contradictory, if not outright

bewildering" responses is because there are 2 variables that neither

the SATA or ExpressCard organizations have any control over; 1)

motherboard (including system bus) configuration and 2) BIOS.

 

In other words, from what I have read, the ExpressCard port can be

treated as a USB system bus connection or an IDE connection (there

might be other that I don't know about). Then even if the hardware is

actually capable of supporting the device, unless the BIOS is aware of

the device, the fact that the physical hardware is there and

operational is useless for booting.

 

Unfortunately, BIOS upgrades can have unwanted side-effects. I recently

upgraded the BIOS on my laptop. I then needed to boot from a CD and

couldn't the boot order was correct, booting from CD was enable, but it

just didn't seem to work. I was very annoyed. What had happend was that

the little message saying to press a key to boot from CD wasn't being

displayed. The capability was still there, it just doesn't show the

prompt anymore. Upgrading a BIOS is one of those things that should

only be done when ABSOLUTELY necessary. With laptops, BIOSes are VERY

specific, and is the responsoibility of OEM. There are more than a

dozen machines in the dv8000 series, a company like HP is not going to

spend the development cost for upgrading BIOS firmware unless they get

a lot of complaints or request for a feature.

 

As I mentioned back in the original discussion, I simply got lucky. I

was not interested in that capability and discivered it only by

accident. I fear that for the time being, it will be hit or miss as to

whether it will work with certain hardware. I think if AMI and Phoenix

where to FORCE standards for the ExpressCard port that would change.

Whether they could agree to a standard then enforce it is questionable

.. . . This is not '86 and anti-trust rules are monitored a bit more.

Can you imagine the initial squealing if AMI and Phoenix did that

<LOL>. Standardization is a good thing, but manufacturers that like to

push the envelope hate them.

 

"We believe that achieving this external-drive boot capability with

laptops/notebooks would be a most important capability for those

devices.", I was wondering if you would mind explaining that comment a

little more. Since most laptops come with an optical device, wouldn't

it be easier to simply boot from a CD/DVD. As to literally running an

OS environment from a portable drive, you still have to do the repair

install to account for the hardware diffrences. I really can't imagine

a situation where I would NEED to boot from my ExpressCard device,

ditto for USB, I have set up a 4GB thumbdrive and a 80GB portable hard

disk just to see if it could be done, but again, why would I need it? I

guess from my point of view my computer work bag is big and heavy

enough that I really would prefer not carrying anything more than I

actually NEED.

 

--

 

Sincerely,

C.Joseph Drayton, Ph.D. AS&T

 

CSD Computer Services

 

Web site: http://csdcs.itgo.com/

E-mail: cjoseph@csdcs.itgo.com

[Guest Anna]

Re: Booting WindowsXP from an external drive (using ExpressCArd)

 

>>Anna wrote:

>>C.Joseph...

>>Many thanks for the detailed additional info. Much appreciated.

>>

>>As I've previously indicated, we have been singularly unsuccessful in

>>booting to an externally-connected SATA HDD via the ExpressCard

>>device (both the 34mm 54 mm models). We've used four different

>>ExpressCard/34 devices and one ExpressCard/54 device involving a

>>number of different makes/models of laptops/notebooks including a

>>half-dozen or so of the major brands. In no case were we able to

>>achieve this "bootability". (We have not worked with the Addonics

>>card you have used although I'm virtually certain at least two of the

>>cards we worked with contained the same Silicon Image chipset used by

>>the Addonics card. The others used the JMicron type).

>>

>>I should mention that all the laptops/notebooks we worked with had

>>inherent SATA capability. What makes your situation even more

>>interesting is that your HP laptop (inherently) has only PATA

>>capability. Am I right about that?

>>

>>So I guess we should get a hold of the Addonics card and see if that

>>makes a difference. I really don't think the external enclosure would

>>have any bearing on this issue.

>>

>>We have been in touch with both the SATA & ExpressCard organizations

>>to get their input on this issue. Unfortunately the feedback we have

>>gotten from those sources has been contradictory, if not outright

>>bewildering. So I guess we'll have to muddle through on our own.

>>

>>We believe that achieving this external-drive boot capability with

>>laptops/notebooks would be a most important capability for those

>>devices. As I'm sure you know desktop PC users already have that

>>routine capability when an external SATA HDD is connected to the

>>desktop machine either through a SATA or eSATA connection.

>>Unfortunately, it is a rare occurrence that a laptop/notebook will be

>>equipped with an external eSATA port. We have found it nearly

>>incomprehensible why late-model laptops/notebooks are not routinely

>>equipped with such as they are with one or more USB ports. Anna

 

 

 

"C.Joseph S. Drayton" <csdcs@tlerma.com> wrote in message

news:xn0fqwxdx6hpqe001@news.sunsite.dk...

> Hi Anna,

> The reason you are receiving "contradictory, if not outright

> bewildering" responses is because there are 2 variables that neither

> the SATA or ExpressCard organizations have any control over; 1)

> motherboard (including system bus) configuration and 2) BIOS.

>

> In other words, from what I have read, the ExpressCard port can be

> treated as a USB system bus connection or an IDE connection (there

> might be other that I don't know about). Then even if the hardware is

> actually capable of supporting the device, unless the BIOS is aware of

> the device, the fact that the physical hardware is there and

> operational is useless for booting.

 

(SNIP)

> "We believe that achieving this external-drive boot capability with

> laptops/notebooks would be a most important capability for those

> devices.", I was wondering if you would mind explaining that comment a

> little more. Since most laptops come with an optical device, wouldn't

> it be easier to simply boot from a CD/DVD. As to literally running an

> OS environment from a portable drive, you still have to do the repair

> install to account for the hardware diffrences. I really can't imagine

> a situation where I would NEED to boot from my ExpressCard device,

> ditto for USB, I have set up a 4GB thumbdrive and a 80GB portable hard

> disk just to see if it could be done, but again, why would I need it? I

> guess from my point of view my computer work bag is big and heavy

> enough that I really would prefer not carrying anything more than I

> actually NEED.

> --

> Sincerely,

> C.Joseph Drayton, Ph.D. AS&T

> CSD Computer Services

> Web site: http://csdcs.itgo.com/

> E-mail: cjoseph@csdcs.itgo.com

 

 

C. Jospeh...

My comment re the desirability of achieving external-drive boot capability

with

laptops/notebooks is related to establishing & maintaining a comprehensive

backup system for those machines through the use of disk-cloning programs.

While we know a USB external HDD can be the recipient of the cloned contents

of a laptop/notebook's internal HDD, the USBEHD is not a bootable device in

an XP environment. Based on our experience with many users/customers this

boot capability from an external device is a most important capability

should it be achieved in a laptop/notebook environment.

 

As I'm sure you know this capability is relatively easy to achieve in a

desktop PC environment through a variety of means - chiefly through a

motherboard's (or computer case) eSATA port or through an adapter affixed to

the backplane of the desktop's computer case.

 

Unfortunately laptops/notebooks are not equipped with an eSATA port except

in rare circumstances, so booting from an external device, i.e., a HDD

containing the cloned contents of the laptop/notebook's internal HDD and

capable of SATA-to-SATA connectivity, cannot be accomplished. We were hoping

that the ExpressCard devices (equipped with an eSATA port) would routinely

provide that capability much the same way we've achieved that capability

with desktop machines. (Our previous experience with a wide variety of the

older CardBus (PCMCIA) devices convinced us this capability was absent from

those devices).

Anna

[Guest C.Joseph S. Drayton]

Re: Booting WindowsXP from an external drive (using ExpressCArd)

 

Anna wrote:

>

>>>Anna wrote:

>>>C.Joseph...

>>>Many thanks for the detailed additional info. Much appreciated.

>>>

>>>As I've previously indicated, we have been singularly

>>>unsuccessful in booting to an externally-connected SATA HDD via

>>>the ExpressCard device (both the 34mm 54 mm models). We've used

>>>four different ExpressCard/34 devices and one ExpressCard/54

>>>device involving a number of different makes/models of

>>>laptops/notebooks including a half-dozen or so of the major

>>>brands. In no case were we able to achieve this "bootability".

>>>(We have not worked with the Addonics card you have used although

>>>I'm virtually certain at least two of the cards we worked with

>>>contained the same Silicon Image chipset used by the Addonics

>>>card. The others used the JMicron type).

>>>

>>>I should mention that all the laptops/notebooks we worked with had

>>>inherent SATA capability. What makes your situation even more

>>>interesting is that your HP laptop (inherently) has only PATA

>>>capability. Am I right about that?

>>>

>>>So I guess we should get a hold of the Addonics card and see if

>>>that makes a difference. I really don't think the external

>>>enclosure would have any bearing on this issue.

>>>

>>>We have been in touch with both the SATA & ExpressCard

>>>organizations to get their input on this issue. Unfortunately the

>>>feedback we have gotten from those sources has been

>>>contradictory, if not outright bewildering. So I guess we'll have

>>>to muddle through on our own.

>>>

>>>We believe that achieving this external-drive boot capability with

>>>laptops/notebooks would be a most important capability for those

>>>devices. As I'm sure you know desktop PC users already have that

>>>routine capability when an external SATA HDD is connected to the

>>>desktop machine either through a SATA or eSATA connection.

>>>Unfortunately, it is a rare occurrence that a laptop/notebook

>>>will be equipped with an external eSATA port. We have found it

>>>nearly incomprehensible why late-model laptops/notebooks are not

>>>routinely equipped with such as they are with one or more USB

>>>ports. Anna

>

>

>

>"C.Joseph S. Drayton" <csdcs@tlerma.com> wrote in message

>news:xn0fqwxdx6hpqe001@news.sunsite.dk...

>>Hi Anna,

>>The reason you are receiving "contradictory, if not outright

>>bewildering" responses is because there are 2 variables that neither

>>the SATA or ExpressCard organizations have any control over; 1)

>>motherboard (including system bus) configuration and 2) BIOS.

>>

>>In other words, from what I have read, the ExpressCard port can be

>>treated as a USB system bus connection or an IDE connection (there

>>might be other that I don't know about). Then even if the hardware

>>is actually capable of supporting the device, unless the BIOS is

>>aware of the device, the fact that the physical hardware is there

>>and operational is useless for booting.

>

>(SNIP)

>

>>"We believe that achieving this external-drive boot capability with

>>laptops/notebooks would be a most important capability for those

>>devices.", I was wondering if you would mind explaining that

>>comment a little more. Since most laptops come with an optical

>>device, wouldn't it be easier to simply boot from a CD/DVD. As to

>>literally running an OS environment from a portable drive, you

>>still have to do the repair install to account for the hardware

>>diffrences. I really can't imagine a situation where I would NEED

>>to boot from my ExpressCard device, ditto for USB, I have set up a

>>4GB thumbdrive and a 80GB portable hard disk just to see if it

>>could be done, but again, why would I need it? I guess from my

>>point of view my computer work bag is big and heavy enough that I

>>really would prefer not carrying anything more than I actually NEED.

>>-- Sincerely,

>>C.Joseph Drayton, Ph.D. AS&T

>>CSD Computer Services

>>Web site: http://csdcs.itgo.com/

>>E-mail: cjoseph@csdcs.itgo.com

>

>

>C. Jospeh...

>My comment re the desirability of achieving external-drive boot

>capability with laptops/notebooks is related to establishing &

>maintaining a comprehensive backup system for those machines through

>the use of disk-cloning programs. While we know a USB external HDD

>can be the recipient of the cloned contents of a laptop/notebook's

>internal HDD, the USBEHD is not a bootable device in an XP

>environment. Based on our experience with many users/customers this

>boot capability from an external device is a most important

>capability should it be achieved in a laptop/notebook environment.

>

>As I'm sure you know this capability is relatively easy to achieve in

>a desktop PC environment through a variety of means - chiefly through

>a motherboard's (or computer case) eSATA port or through an adapter

>affixed to the backplane of the desktop's computer case.

>

>Unfortunately laptops/notebooks are not equipped with an eSATA port

>except in rare circumstances, so booting from an external device,

>i.e., a HDD containing the cloned contents of the laptop/notebook's

>internal HDD and capable of SATA-to-SATA connectivity, cannot be

>accomplished. We were hoping that the ExpressCard devices (equipped

>with an eSATA port) would routinely provide that capability much the

>same way we've achieved that capability with desktop machines. (Our

>previous experience with a wide variety of the older CardBus (PCMCIA)

>devices convinced us this capability was absent from those devices).

>Anna

 

Hi Anna,

 

I'm sorry I don't have a better answer for you. I have a WD passport

250Gb hard disk that I carry on my belt along with a Hiren's 9.1 bootCD

in mini-CD format. With that I can boot from the mini-CD and then I

have images of or install packages for all of the software that I need

for doing maintenance. I have one partition of the Passport that

contains a clone of my system drive. between the mini-CD and the

Passport, I could restore my main development machine very easily.

 

I think though that I might see what you are saying. You want to be

sure that there is little or no down time in the event of a hard disk

failure . . . thus the ability to boot directly from the external

drive. I have been fortunate and not had that dire a need for a backup.

 

Although I see your point, I'm not sure that without more complete

standardization of the ExpressCard that such a goal could be

accomplished. I think quite often that people don't realize just how

specialized laptops and there components are. The situation is similar

to the "PC standards" of 1986 to 1989. Although there were some basic

conceptual standards, you could buy expansion cards that worked in a

Kaypro that didn't work in the Morrow Micro-Decision or the Tandy 1000.

because there is a lot of things that can be done better on laptops,

there are simply to many manufacturers that are trying to find

different, better, cheaper ways to make laptops. In this kind of

environment expecting companies to compromise probably won't happen

(ie. set standards that might stifle their creativity).

 

--

 

Sincerely,

C.Joseph Drayton, Ph.D. AS&T

 

CSD Computer Services

 

Web site: http://csdcs.itgo.com/

E-mail: cjoseph@csdcs.itgo.com