NEC USB3.0 not bootable?
 

So I bought a USB3.0 case for a space 30GB Vertex to keep as a mosterously fast bootable external. However I can't boot from it. When plugged in to the USB3.0 port it doesn't even list the drive in the bios. If I plug the drive in to a USB2.0 port it shows up in the bios. So I know that the USB3.0 drive case isn't the issue. I don't suppose anyone else has tried booting from a USB3.0 port?

Maybe the firmware isn't there yet for your motherboard, have you tried updating to the latest?

Yes. I've now tried two different Gigabyte boards w/ USB3.0 (X58A-UD3R & H55M-USB3). Neither of them even list the HDD as an option to boot from in the bios.

I would like to see if any Asus boards or other standalone USB3.0 cards have similar issues.

I researched this earlier when you posted and I saw some threads that confirmed the issue you had but i assumed you had seen them:
W510 BIOS USB 3.0 support - lenovo community
Booting from USB 3.0 card? - AnandTech Forums

Various theories on why not (from the add-in card not having a BIOS, etc) but nothing I saw that would be really helpful. i was not sure what mobo you were using, but I know that gigabyte has lots of boards with USB 3.0 around and I saw nothing over at the Gigabyte support forums.

Ya I saw those threads in my search as well. I was just hoping that the boards w/ the NEC USB3.0 chip would have an updated bios or something. Guess I am stuck w/ using eSATA until they resolve this.

EDIT: Looks like I can't use eSATA to install windows from either as it chooses the eSATA drive to install the MBR on. :blarg: