Dell 1545 - boot from SDHC card?

I have a two year old Dell Inspiron 1545 notebook computer (Dual Core
Pentium, 3gb RAM, 320gb hard drive, Intel graphics). Is it possible to
install an OS on an SDXC card and boot from it? I'm thinking about trying
the Chrome OS (not the Chrome browser). There's at least one port that can
be installed on a USB flash drive. I'd rather use a SDHC card, because the
card would fit entirely within the computer, not dangle off the side).

Can I totally shut down the hard drive so it isn't drawing any power? If so,
how much of a difference will this make with my battery life?

On Jul 13, 1:12*am, "Richard Stephens" wrote:
I have a two year old Dell Inspiron 1545 notebook computer (Dual Core
Pentium, 3gb RAM, 320gb hard drive, Intel graphics). Is it possible to
install an OS on an SDXC card and boot from it? I'm thinking about trying
the Chrome OS (not the Chrome browser). There's at least one port that can
be installed on a USB flash drive. I'd rather use a SDHC card, because the
card would fit entirely within the computer, not dangle off the side).

Can I totally shut down the hard drive so it isn't drawing any power? If so,
how much of a difference will this make with my battery life?

To see if it is possible to boot from an SHDC card, put one in the
slot, power on the laptop and press F12. If the 1545 knows enough to
boot from SHDC, it will give you the option as one of the choices of
boot devices.

There is no BIOS option to shut down the hard drive. Removing it,
though, works wonders. Shuts it down cold. Probably not what you
want... Ben Myers

In ,
Richard Stephens wrote:
I have a two year old Dell Inspiron 1545 notebook computer (Dual Core
Pentium, 3gb RAM, 320gb hard drive, Intel graphics). Is it possible to
install an OS on an SDXC card and boot from it? I'm thinking about
trying the Chrome OS (not the Chrome browser). There's at least one
port that can be installed on a USB flash drive. I'd rather use a
SDHC card, because the card would fit entirely within the computer,
not dangle off the side).
Can I totally shut down the hard drive so it isn't drawing any power?
If so, how much of a difference will this make with my battery life?

Well even built in SDXC/SCHC card readers are usually connected by USB
interfaces internally. And Windows (and many other OS) can't normally
boot from any USB device. The reason for this in the case of Windows is
that Windows resets the USB ports in the middle of booting, thus causing
the booting process to freeze.

And while Microsoft claims it cannot be done, others know better. Yes
Windows can be hacked to not reset the USB ports while booting.
Searching for booting from an USB drive should show you the many hacks
available.

But can Chrome OS boot from an USB drive? Checking a quick search, it
appears you need a special hacked version of Chrome OS.

Now having said the above, now the real sad news... USB connected drives
are S-L-O-W! Roughly 10 times slower. Are you willing to wait that long
to boot?

--
Bill
Gateway M465e ('06 era) - OE-QuoteFix v1.19.2
Centrino Core Duo 1.83G - 2GB - Windows XP SP3

On Wednesday, July 13, 2011 1:12:05 AM UTC-4, Richard Stephens wrote:
I have a two year old Dell Inspiron 1545 notebook computer (Dual Core
Pentium, 3gb RAM, 320gb hard drive, Intel graphics). Is it possible to
install an OS on an SDXC card and boot from it? I'm thinking about trying
the Chrome OS (not the Chrome browser). There's at least one port that can
be installed on a USB flash drive. I'd rather use a SDHC card, because the
card would fit entirely within the computer, not dangle off the side).

Can I totally shut down the hard drive so it isn't drawing any power? If so,
how much of a difference will this make with my battery life?

I have a dell 1545 and I removed the drive, It slips right out, I don't even screw it permanently in any more, I boot from the flash card an alternate os called Joli, avail on the internet for free, it has the chrome browser, and loads up great with wireless. and is somewhat fast.