ESATA Detection / Boot

-1

Here is the issue.

I recently bought an extention card to add an ESATA port to my computer at home that allows me to do my school work at home.

when the esata drive is plugged into the card, i can see the drive and explore it in windows 10 booted on my main disk. it is also seen by the disk partition tool. So in all logic, the card is fine and the cable is good.

But it is NOT detected by my UEFI BIOS and therefore i cannot boot from it.

When i try to boot on it via usb 3.0, it fails every time.

Any suggestions ?

Edit : The disk has 3 partitions (mbr) 0 : Windows Server 2012 (ntfs) 1 : Linux CentOs (ext4) 3 : swap (linux-swap)

The cloned one i tried was the same but with a GPT partition table.

Ronin825

Posted 2018-04-04T20:53:35.123

Reputation: 1

You don't understand the UEFI boot process. It requires an ESP (EFI System Partition) in the drive it is booting from with the proper EFI entries/files, or the proper entries/files in an ESP of another drive and that set as the booting device. Since you have neither then obviously it can't boot from the external driver just like that. – None – 2018-04-05T11:25:29.113

Not i dont have a deep knowledge of the UEFI. I have cloned my disk on one.with an GPT partition table has i hear the MBR is ussually a problem with UEFI BIOS. Still cant see it in the BIOS.

I than proceeded to.install ubuntu on the disk with the GPT partition table and booted it throught USB and it booted.fine. so im starting to feel like the card might have a compatibility problem – Ronin825 – 2018-04-06T12:46:26.657

Not knowing about UEFI isn't an option if you intend to boot media in a UEFI machine. And please [edit] your question and, at the very least, post what OS is (supposedly) installed in that external drive. – None – 2018-04-06T12:51:18.460

Edited the post to show the disk config – Ronin825 – 2018-04-06T15:20:57.733

1You cannot boot to an MBR disk while in UEFI mode. This is based on the description, of the current disk partition layout, described in your question. You will have to wipe all partitions, use GPT instead, and in order to boot to an OS it would have to contain the required EFI drivers. – Ramhound – 2018-04-06T15:21:35.350

Yes i did figure that coudl be a problem. But when i cloned it to a GPT disk. It still didnt see it in the BIOS – Ronin825 – 2018-04-06T15:22:58.130

Again, not knowing about UEFI is not an option. The OSes installed are in Legacy mode and that can't be easily changed (and "legacy" Windows in a GPT drive can't work, at all). You may change the mode at the firmware (UEFI) settings, then set the external HDD as the first boot device, changing it back to the original settings whenever you need to use the internally installed OS. Is it worth the trouble? Certainly NOT!! Why would you want to run server OSes at home? If you're learning about Windows server or CentOS use VMs like everybody else. – None – 2018-04-06T15:28:23.743

MichealBay you dont have to be rude. This is a disk we use at school and i just want to be able to do that work at home, not running any server from home. Sorry for not knowing the full extent of UEFI and not being up to your standards but im still learning. – Ronin825 – 2018-04-06T15:34:58.490

I beg your pardon?!? Where or how exactly was I rude to you? You asked a question regarding something you want to do and for that a basic knowledge about how this things work is unavoidable. We explained that twice and my last comment merely reiterates that fact. I understand you're young and still learning. But in order to have productive interpersonal relationships in the grownups world you have to be mature enough, irrespective of your age, to understand that people pointing out your mistakes in a respectful albeit stern way is not rude in any shape or form. – None – 2018-04-06T16:54:05.810

Im sorry rude was a poor choice of word. Im just looking for an anwser, not to be pointed out.my lack of knowledge which i already agreed with you i dont have. Do you have any helpfull litterature i coudl read to elevate my knowledge in the matter ? – Ronin825 – 2018-04-06T17:04:20.843

This will likely require reinstalling either your OS or the two on the external drive, as @MichaelBay suggested. To have them both boot easily without requiring changing BIOS boot mode options, you would be best to configure them at install to the same boot mode (EFI/legacy). Though he said it wasn't "worth the trouble," the work-around he mentioned might be a acceptable if you don't plan on switching much / only doing this for a limited time. We don't recommend learning material here at SuperUser, successfully installing Arch Linux would teach you about partitioning and boot configuration. – None – 2018-04-06T17:25:16.107

Also this

– None – 2018-04-06T17:26:59.353

1@Dial Nice find. I hope you don't mind me adding it to the answer. – None – 2018-04-06T17:31:33.330

@MichaelBay Not at all. Nice answer, this topic can be confusing for those who haven't read up on UEFI. – None – 2018-04-06T17:34:37.947

Answers

0

The disk has 3 partitions (mbr) 0 : Windows Server 2012 (ntfs) 1 : Linux CentOs (ext4) 3 : swap (linux-swap)

This is a typical Windows+Linux dual-boot in Legacy (BIOS) mode. That alone prevents it from being booted in UEFI mode which is the current mode you have for the internally installed Windows 10. As already mentioned in comments by @Ramhound :

You cannot boot to an MBR disk while in UEFI mode. (...) You will have to wipe all partitions, use GPT instead, and in order to boot to an OS it would have to contain the required EFI drivers.

To which you replied

But when i cloned it to a GPT disk. It still didnt see it in the BIOS

It should be easy to understand why it didn't when you know how UEFI mode works and the specific OS requirements for each OS regarding that mode.

https://help.ubuntu.com/community/UEFI

The above link is generally applicable to almost all other major Linux distros and the information is presented in a simple and educational way. It's a good starting point but doesn't replace the required specific knowledge about the PC's firmware. How to access the settings and the settings themselves vary a lot depending on the UEFI/BIOS manufacturer. The Ubuntu documentation tries to be as generic as possible but can't cover all possible variants therefore users must be familiar with their own specific UEFI/BIOS settings.

Also of notice is the specific partitioning required. Windows strictly requires MBR ("msdos") for Legacy and GPT for UEFI. @Dial, in comments, posted a very nice link to help understand the differences: https://wiki.manjaro.org/index.php?title=Some_basics_of_MBR_v/s_GPT_and_BIOS_v/s_UEFI

Addendum: As also pointed out in my own comments,

You may change the mode at the firmware (UEFI) settings, then set the external HDD as the first boot device, changing it back to the original settings whenever you need to use the internally installed OS.

The change is from UEFI mode to Legacy (AKA "Legacy" AKA "BIOS") if the intention is to boot the external HDD as it is know. Please note it's imperative to change it back to the original settings to boot the installed Windows. Please also note this is just a workaround and understand that neither OS in question was meant to be used as "portable". Virtualization is often used instead and that is something you should consider for furthering your studies.

For a generic yet comprehensive guide about the requirements and method for dual booting in UEFI mode (recommended)please refer to https://askubuntu.com/questions/221835/how-do-i-install-ubuntu-alongside-a-pre-installed-windows-with-uefi .

user772515

Posted 2018-04-04T20:53:35.123

Reputation:

Yes. I did see that Legacy BIOS / UEFI setting and its currently set to a third setting called BOTH which is described to handle both. – Ronin825 – 2018-04-06T17:25:50.393

1If so, you should know "see" the external HDD twice in the one-time boot menu, one preceded by "UEFI" and other without it. Choose the latter. It may not boot either way and if it does CentOS will probably work but Windows most likely will not. The huge hardware differences between your PC and your school's PC for which it was installed being the reason. – None – 2018-04-06T17:29:55.310

This is the issue at hand. Even with thoses settings which were already set at the start. It still doesnt see this drive throught the esata port. It will see it trought an USB 3.0 port but will fail to boot CentOS and go to rescue dracut> – Ronin825 – 2018-04-06T17:32:25.773

I was thinking maybe i have a compatibility issue between the esata extension card and the Motherboard but since it works to mount the drive in windows 10 i suppossed it worked fine. Am i wrong assuming that or is it possible it works in some minimalistic capacity ? – Ronin825 – 2018-04-06T17:35:37.943

eSATA is no different from internal SATA so it should be recognized by UEFI as a drive like any other. Maybe you aren't looking in the right place? Can't help you with that not knowing your specific hardware. And again, even the proposed workaround is probably a waste of time because the OSes involved were never designed to work as you want them to. – None – 2018-04-06T17:44:11.283

Alrigjt. Well thank you so much for your time, patience and knowledge. Ill keep digging – Ronin825 – 2018-04-06T17:59:13.830

Asked: 2018-04-04T20:53:35.123

Viewed: 541 times

Active: 2018-04-06T17:38:23.797