Self install T420 mSata drive

[wolfman]

OK, Thanks Wolfman, very good. I had to look up the "ultrabay" jargon and still a bit uncertain but will follow the dots. Couple of other questions.
Do you agree with the earlier recommendations regarding the particular variety of 750 HHD?
Will the Windows 7 64 bit "Home edition" be any drawback to operation or should I get a Professional version?
I assume that this issue has been discussed in other topics but seeing as you have just been through a configuration decision making thought you would have an opinion.
Thanks.

Sure. The ultrabay is the term for the drive bay your DVD burner is presently in. You can get an adapter for a second hard drive, use the release mechanism on your Thinkpad to eject the DVD drive, insert the second hard drive adapter and boot.

I have an Hitachi 750gb 7200 RPM drive. You should be good with Hitachi, Western Digital or Seagate (IMHO). It's all luck of the draw with hard drives at the end of the day it would seem. The major manufacturers are a lot more alike than different.

I don't think that you'll have issues with Windows 7 64 bit home edition - unless you have a particular need for Windows 7 Professional (do give that a look over before you order just in case), you'll be able to use all the drives being discussed in this thread and up to 16gb of RAM with 64 bit home edition, so barring a use case for Professional, you should be OK (http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/wind ... ts/compare).

I just want to mention that I'm a linux user, Windows 7 (home 64 bit) was on my machine for less than an hour after receiving it (long enough to boot, make sure it worked and burn recovery CD/DVD's).

[Ankerre]

OK, got it. I note that there are a large range of the Ultrabays, and some discussion regarding the size and "vibration" caused while working. One member talking about using poly adhesive tape to "seal up the gap". I would have thought design and build were done for a purpose and that maybe the wrong part was purchased - too slim perhaps? There must be a right size for the T420?

Re unix, I appreciate the whole efficiency and superiority of that sotfware, and have cursed Mr Gates et al over many years, but remain in the mainstream as it is one bubble of activity I close the door on - LOL. (This maybe be ignorance but assume that ArcGIS etc I use, plus a wheelbarrow full of other software, would not be compatible) Will certainly check the URL re Win 7 comparisons.

[wolfman]

OK, got it. I note that there are a large range of the Ultrabays, and some discussion regarding the size and "vibration" caused while working. One member talking about using poly adhesive tape to "seal up the gap". I would have thought design and build were done for a purpose and that maybe the wrong part was purchased - too slim perhaps? There must be a right size for the T420?

I encountered this issue when I first purchased my T420 to replace my T410. Lenovo says the same ultrabay second hard disk drive adapter is compatible for both. However, the T410 is ultrabay slim - which is 9.5 mm height - and the T420 is ultrabay - which is 12.7mm height. This results in the gap you mentioned folks were complaining about (and rightly so).

I purchased a replacement ultrabay adapter from newmodeus - they advertise at the top of the forum. This was ultrabay (e.g., 12.7mm in height) and was color matched to the Thinkpad and works perfectly with no gap. Also, the vibration others might have encountered is eliminated with this drive due to the fact that the drive is screwed into the adapter.

[wolfman]

Re unix, I appreciate the whole efficiency and superiority of that sotfware, and have cursed Mr Gates et al over many years, but remain in the mainstream as it is one bubble of activity I close the door on - LOL. (This maybe be ignorance but assume that ArcGIS etc I use, plus a wheelbarrow full of other software, would not be compatible) Will certainly check the URL re Win 7 comparisons.

That's what virtualization is for: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ymFS2diPZ5U!
I get that not everyone can / wants to run linux.

[Ankerre]

Would be happy to try Linux but getting the downtime to see how my system can all go together using same is simply something I have not made happen. I do know it is not as consumptive of space and quicker, but yet to run into another consultant like myself who is running.

Re the Windows comparison, I guess the Win 7 Ultimate is as good as MS gets - if the extra $'s are actually worth it. I note the problem with "Home" is maybe not having MS backup function - which is not a problem with the great Lenovo built in backup. Just as an aside, wonder if I can just get an upgrade from Mr Gates cos my present T410 has 32 bit Win 7 Professional.

cheers.

[Ankerre]

Does anyone find overheating problems when adding the extra Harddrive in the T420?

Also, does the track record look like for refurbished disks? Is it not worth the gamble?

[ZaZ]

The quality of the drives probably depends on who did it. If it's from the manufacturer, it's probably pretty good. If it's a third party refurb, it's probably a little more sketchy.

If you're concerned about heat, 5400RPM drive tend to run cooler and if it's just for storage, speed isn't as important.

[bluesceada]

Sorry for digging this out...

Is there now a whitelist for mSATA drives, or can I just buy any? I would guess that any should work from your discussion, but nobody stated it clearly, so it would be nice if someone can clearly state that a drive that isn't of a type you could buy with the T420 (at least some 80gb intel) or a non-lenovo-branded drive was working in his T420. Thanks in advance!

I have a T420s, but hope it will be the same as for the T420 ...

[chx1975]

I have a Crucial M4 and it works. Noone sanctioned it the BIOS predates the disk by a year or two, no way it is on any whitelist.

[bluesceada]

Ok thank you very much. So this is clarified.

On the other end I kind of "accidentally" got a new Samsung PM851, which is probably a bit wasted in the mSATA's SATA II speed slot versus the main sata slot with SATA III....

[Temetka]

It's not wasted.

You'll be flooding the bus at it's max speed and that is a good thing. Also, you can re-use the drive when you get a machine that supports mSATA III.