HP ProBook 4545s, refuses to boot from SDD caddy

Not all notebooks can boot from a drive installed other than in the primary SSD connector.  What model system is this (and is secure boot turned on?)

You don't say what laptop you have. We use that directly, but often sometimes just to gauge its age (likely-hood to have certain features).

As @ejn63 says, with SecureBoot Enabled, many have an option that only extends to INTERNAL SSD/HDD.

On an UEFI-class computer ... I never saw a way to auto-boot an external drive without using F12 (One Time Boot Menu) each time.

@ejn63​ I have HP ProBook 4545s and secure boot is turned off.

@Bushido1b91af3​ ,

@ejn63​ I have HP ProBook 4545s and secure boot is turned off.

Well ...

First, you are in the wrong forum for support on that laptop.

Second, (since we are nice) I'll still try to help you. Just because you keep SecureBoot turned off (risky now-days) that doesn't negate the fact that it is still a UEFI-class computer. 

This thing you want to do seems to not be allowed on UEFI-class computers for security reasons (think, locking it down to prevent it from ever booting on un-authorized drives or OSes).

@Tesla1856​ Thank you for helping me as I have had no luck from two other forums.

In the UEFI boot options menu I see "Optical drive UEFI" option. Selecting it shows a black screen for a few seconds and then laptop restarts.

Meanwhile I installed EasyBCD Non-commercial version and installed their boot screen to Windows11 on HDD and I added a new boot option to the EasyBCD boot screen which should boot from the correct .efi file from SDD but laptop restarts instead. Now the boot to working Windows11 on HDD is also longer as I have to wait for the EasyBCD boot screen in order to select Windows11 on HDD.

If I had SDD installed in the original hard disk bay, I managed to boot to Windows11 on SDD by selecting the relevant .efi via UEFI boot menu but now the same procedure fails via caddy.

Do you suggest that booting via caddy is forbidden/disabled by BIOS?

@Bushido1b91af3​ ,

Yes, you can use Boot-Menus ... Windows has one a Grub is also popular. 

With modern UEFI-based computers, my experience is:

You can only use them to boot internal drives and/or partitions (like using interfaces like SATA or NVMe/PCIe). 

The only way I saw to boot something attached to USB, was with the computer's One-Time-Boot-Menu ... in the UEFI-Environment (near the BIOS).

@Tesla1856​ ,

I am using SATA interface of DVD drive to connect SDD with the laptop. I have replaced the drive bay with the caddy.

@Bushido1b91af3​ ,

Sounds like that might work. Unless it is somehow not "just another SATA port". Sometimes, optical-drive ports on laptops are unique.

Remember, toward the last page of BIOS Settings ... sounds like you might want that SSD to have a higher Boot-Priority than your regular boot drive.

@Tesla1856​ I have set that SDD with the highest Boot-Priority in the BIOS and in the UEFI.

@Bushido1b91af3​ ,

Maybe it's not "just another SATA port". Sometimes, optical-drive ports on laptops are unique.

Actually, since DVD-ROM is "removable media" similar to a USB-Flash Drive ... maybe the whole UEFI-LockDown is why it is treated special in the first place ... think about it.

@Tesla1856​ How to find it out?

@Bushido1b91af3​ ,

@Tesla1856​ How to find it out?

1. It still calling the interface "Optical drive UEFI" even with a SSD connected is a clue

2. Everything set properly and it still not working ... is another clue.

3. Ask HP Tech-Support

4. Ask someone who owns and supports HP laptops alot (sorta like we do with the various Dell laptop model-lines)

If your HP laptop can really only have one internal SSD, I think the solution to your dilemma might be to simply Partition it into two drive-letters.

@Tesla1856​ My HP laptop can have two hard disk simultaneously as at the moment I am using HDD for Windows11 and SDD is detected as a hard drive.

Another issue is that it cannot be the other way around i.e. laptop does not detect HDD in caddy if SDD is on the original hard disk slot inside laptop.

That can happen if one drive is a clone of the other -- is it?