Hot-swapping OS drives

WetGeek

I've been so happy with a change to one of my desktop machines that I wanted to share the idea with others who might want to try it:

https://c1.neweggimages.com/productimage/17-990-011-03.jpg?ex=2

This little device is simple to install in any external 3.5" bay, it's very affordable, and greatly expands the capabilities of one computer. It will mount two 2.5" drives in that bay, and allows them to be changed easily. All I needed to do was adjust the boot order to target these drives.

With this device I've been able to change this high-spec desktop machine into whatever kind of computer I want just by swapping a disk and rebooting. For Windows 10, I use two SSDs for drive C: and drive D:. And as cheap as 120 GB SSDs are these days, I can convert it to any flavor of Linux machine I want. That currently includes three flavors of Solus, as well as MX, Manjaro, Suse, Mint, and a few others.

DataDrake

Just make sure you install them all as BIOS or UEFI to save yourself a headache later on.

WetGeek

DataDrake Just make sure you install them all as BIOS or UEFI to save yourself a headache later on.

Yeah, in this case it's a new "gaming" motherboard. I'm not sure it even offers a BIOS, Good point, though. Thanks.

dbarron

A concern of mine (I haven't researched so just off top of head) would be the likely performance hit of an external drive connection vs M2 or other internal. Especially important on many games.

WetGeek

dbarron
It might not be apparent from the photo, but this device is internal to the computer case, and connected directly to the SATA ports on the motherboard. The only thing that's "external" about them is the hot-swap feature.

dbarron

Oh, so it really is just a container with no wiring of it's own?

WetGeek

The device is wired to the SATA ports, so that when the drives are inserted, they become wired to the SATA ports. There's no logic involved, simply mechanical.