[SOLVED] can you boot from an SSD using sata to USB cable?

[shaun88]

I have an Acer cloudbook (model: AO1-131-C726) and it's starting to get too slow.
It has an eMMC 32GB, I can't swap this for an SSD but if I was to attach an SSD to the cloudbook using a sata 22pin to USB 3.0 cable, would this work to boot windows from the SSD?
Obviously I know to go into BIOS and select to boot from USB first, but on ebay there's two types of sata to usb cables, one is basically a sata to usb (which I'd like to use) but another type is sata on one end, and the other end has 2 usb's, apparently one is for data transfer, the other is for extra power, but i'm limited to USB slots.

please advise

 

[Nirmith Akash Anawarathne]

Usually, Laptop SSDs and HDDs can access only using a single USB but when it comes to PCs components I think you need to plug both USB cables to provide enough power to the drive otherwise it won't show up. In your case you can try using a HUB but make sure to plug that laptop to the charger, battery powers will not be enough.

 

[TerryLaze]

Besides the power issue you can only boot windows to go from a USB drive a normal installation will fail to boot.
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/deployment/planning/windows-to-go-overview

In your case you can try using a HUB but make sure to plug that laptop to the charger, battery powers will not be enough.

Also the hub should be a powered one with external power since the whole point is to get power from different USB ports so the two power draws can be added while a single USB port with a hub will still only provide as much power as a single USB port.