up vote 2 down vote favorite
share [g+] share [fb]

Using an ExpressCard/34 eSata card in a MacBook Pro, is it possible to boot from an external eSata drive, which has an installation of Mac OS X 10.6 on it?

The card in question is this one, which has a SiliconImage SiI3132 chipset.

link|improve this question
57% accept rate
feedback

2 Answers

up vote 2 down vote accepted

According to this account you can.

Yes, you can boot Mac OS 10.6.4 via eSATA

link|improve this answer
Thanks, this was very helpful. – Alex Reynolds Dec 17 '10 at 15:29
feedback
up vote 0 down vote

Not all eSATA cards work. The OWC card (single SATA port) did, the dual port cards did not. Further, I was unable to boot from a powered docking station but was able to boot from a quad interface AC powered drive. I have not tried OWC's bus powered eSATA drives because they draw additional power through the Firewire 800 port.

So the bottom line is yes, but only some combinations work. It is also possible to boot OS X 10.7 by this approach as well.

link|improve this answer
feedback

Your Answer

 
or
required, but never shown
discard

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.