W510- W520 : can they boot from Esata?

[deickos]

T500 and T510 cannot...

[ZipZap]

My W520 does indeed boot from eSATA. In fact, I bought a special cable so I can plug a 2.5" drive directly into the USB / eSATA port and boot right up:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002MKKTWA

I haven't checked out booting from my 3.5 drive in an enclosure.

[deickos]

that cable powers the hdd also?

well that seems a top end stuff - so how's your machine - any issues?

[ZipZap]

Yeah, that cable (or another brand like it) is the way to go. I like to boot experimental builds from the external drive - no fuss, muss or bother. No drive enclosure or external power source required. I get to leave my Utrabay drive installed.

The W520 is now working fine, since the release of BIOS 1.30 and Power Manager 3.62. I think you get a lot for the money, but it isn't perfect in every way. At this stage of the game, I would probably wait for the "W530" with Ivy Bridge, if I had the luxury. Main gripes: no USB 3 on the dock, only 2 external monitors permitted natively ( you can drive more via Displaylink etc). Otherwise, great machine.

[deickos]

I  too experiment multi linux boot but i have to do it with the second hdd in the bay -t would be better if i could boot from esata and just change hdds...

i just checked your machine rates like 7200 in cpu - my T500 gets 1800 and the T510 gets 2400 - your machine must fly !

but I love the 16:10 - it is so sad you cannot get it... 

and the T/W 520 / 510 are thicker than T/W 500 - hope 530 series be better...

[denial]

Hi ZipZap,

can be your esata cable used also to connect the internal DVD drive if you remove it?

Thanks

[ZipZap]

No, the optical drive fits in the Ultrabay and has a different connector. Sorry.

[ThorsHammer]

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deickos wrote:

that cable powers the hdd also?

well that seems a top end stuff - so how's your machine - any issues?

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It's actually a pretty well defined standard now called eSATAp.  More commonly referred to as a combo eSATA USB port.  The power come from the USB side.

[deickos]

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ThorsHammer wrote:

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deickos wrote:

that cable powers the hdd also?

well that seems a top end stuff - so how's your machine - any issues?

---

It's actually a pretty well defined standard now called eSATAp.  More commonly referred to as a combo eSATA USB port.  The power come from the USB side.

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yea i too  was thinking to write about it -

do you know why T500/  510 cannot boot from esata/ usb?

[ZipZap]

Thor is correct about the eSATAp terminology. Good stuff.

The eSATA port on the machine as well as the eSATA port on the minidock are available simultaneously. So I am able to transfer data between eSATA disks.

I've found that eSATA runs at least as fast, perhaps faster, than USB 3 for disk transfers. I have both types of docks/enclosures. I like being able to leave a disk plugged into the minidock with eSATA, not possible with USB 3.