Laptop to Desktop Docking

[Jack22]

Hello,

Is it possible to use a laptop as an external drive for a Desktop Via USB3.1 or thunderbolt 3 ?  (i.e . The desktop should boot from the same laptop SSD boot drive)

 you may ask   Why ?

We have all seen the new ultrabooks with thunderbolt 3 for external GPU use , the idea that it should give the mobility of an ultrabook and the performance of a desktop when docked. the main issues is : 

1. these ultrabook's CPUs is not that powerful as a desktop one.
2. The Docking station is pepraitory and Expensive.
3. The external GPU performance is reduced.

for about the same cost you could buy a cheap ultrabook and a separate powerful desktop , now the main problem is syncing the ultrabook with a Desktop , it's a pain in the B**t and you always will forget a file on one device or the other.

 

Conclusion 

My Idea is why not dock the laptop as an external SSD (with its win10 installed) to a standard desktop (the desktop will boot from the laptop's SSD) that way you are working on the exact same drive (win10) from both devices (not at the same time of course).

 

Any Idea please comment

I wish LINUS and ANTHONY could make a video about this Idea.

[GoodBytes]

You can't. The system would need to boot in some special mode which make the drive accessible via USB.

 

But here is an idea:

You can network share folder to share the drive or folder(s) on your laptop, so that it is accessible on your desktop. On your desktop you can just access that folder which would give you access to the laptop files. You can go a step further and create a map network drive on your desktop from that laptop shared network folder. This means, on your desktop, you can have a drive called, say, Z:\ (or whatever letter you want that is not used already) that you'll see in "This PC" in file explorer Just double click on it, like any other drive and access you laptop content that way.

 

[Jack22]

Dear GoodBytes,

Thanks for the comment

Yes I'm well aware of that but the apps and app's settings would be different from laptop to desktop  + you can't share you desktop (files saved on pc desktop) , it's not the optimum solution but it's a lot better than syncing via onedrive or g drive ..........ext.

 

Is it possible to install some linux destro (e.g.Gparted or any other ) on the laptop that makes it like an external hard drive to the desktop pc . with duel boot (Laptop SSD1 is Win10 , Laptop SSD2 is linux os) then you could restart the laptop to go to dock mode (linux os  i.e.hard drive simulator) then turn on the desktop and boot from external hard drive (SSD1 laptop) ?

 

Thanks again

[LogicalDrm]

9 hours ago, Jack22 said:

Dear GoodBytes,

Thanks for the comment

Yes I'm well aware of that but the apps and app's settings would be different from laptop to desktop  + you can't share you desktop (files saved on pc desktop) , it's not the optimum solution but it's a lot better than syncing via onedrive or g drive ..........ext.

 

Is it possible to install some linux destro (e.g.Gparted or any other ) on the laptop that makes it like an external hard drive to the desktop pc . with duel boot (Laptop SSD1 is Win10 , Laptop SSD2 is linux os) then you could restart the laptop to go to dock mode (linux os  i.e.hard drive simulator) then turn on the desktop and boot from external hard drive (SSD1 laptop) ?

 

Thanks again

Aren't you making this harder than it needs to be? Besides network folders, there are multi-platform software to handle file syncing. I don't understand what you achieve by booting desktop hardware from laptop SSD. You could do same thing with USB3 external drive or flashing drive. USB3 is still the bottleneck of transfer speeds.

[Jack22]

Dear LogicalDrm,

Thanks for the comment

These software sync app are very problematic and unreliable ,  Do you   have an experience with one that sync without an internet connection? please advice

 

Thanks

[homeap5]

If you want to sync files, you must use SOME filemanager or sync software. And it doesn't matter what type of connection you establish (lan, plug drive directly etc.) - this still will be the same software. Everything will be problematic, if you don't know how to share directory over network.

[DeaconFrost]

I think you are over thinking this process while sprinkling in some misinformation as well.  Online sync apps work very well, provided you have a stable internet connection.  There are plenty of quality ones out there.  I use pCloud because it gives me more space than DropBox, but has native Windows and Linux clients.

You can find a way to sync the two devices over a local network without an internet connection, but that's no different than setting up network shared folders.  You can't do it without that or an internet connection.  I don't think you're understanding the limitations here, and that's causing you to eliminate workable solutions.  You also don't want to boot two different hardware systems from the same drive.  That's a lot of corruption to be had with needing to have drivers installed each time you swapped back and forth.

 

If it's that much of a hassle and you don't want to go out over an internet connection, then get a NAS.  

[LogicalDrm]

12 hours ago, Jack22 said:

Dear LogicalDrm,

Thanks for the comment

These software sync app are very problematic and unreliable ,  Do you   have an experience with one that sync without an internet connection? please advice

 

Thanks

I do, but not automated one. I use FreeFileSync for my backups. However, I would prefer using Resilio Sync for example. I also think that setting up private WiFi (LAN only) is option even if you you would not otherwise have internet access. Resilio Sync can also sync files over internet, not just in LAN. But that might be premium feature as I haven't got it working.