PATA vs. SATA & compatibility with my T41 and future mod

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hydrostarr · #1 Post by **hydrostarr** » Mon Jun 11, 2007 8:58 am

I may be upgrading my disk drive in my 3-plus-year-old T41. I'd like to know:

1) are SATA drives are compatible in my T41 in any way (judging by other thread posts I'm guessing the answer is "no," even with a physical converter if such a thing exists in 2.5" drives)? If not, then I assume I'm stuck with buying only PATA drives for my T41.

2) are PATA drives compatible with newer laptops/thinkpads that speak SATA (so that if I buy a PATA drive today I can use it for a future laptop purchase)?

Thanks for any help.

#2 Post by **Harryc** » Mon Jun 11, 2007 9:02 am

The answer to both of your questions is no, but if you just need more capacity and are worried about buying a laptop drive that's future proof, get an SATA drive now and use it in an external USB 2.0 enclosure. The worst case is that your internal PATA HD drive fails down the road and you have to replace it anyway, or sell the laptop without a drive.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductLi ... re&x=0&y=0

hydrostarr · #3 Post by **hydrostarr** » Mon Jun 11, 2007 9:07 am

Thanks for the suggestion Harryc.

A side note: I do see that some models do appear to have a pata-to-sata bridge, at least according to:

http://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/Problems_ ... _and_Linux

Models using a SATA controller and a PATA (IDE) system disk with a SATA-to-PATA bridge:
ThinkPad T43, T43p
ThinkPad R52
ThinkPad X41, X41 Tablet

although I get the impression that these capabilities are rare, and that most new models won't have a pata-to-sata bridge. Is this correct?

#4 Post by **Harryc** » Mon Jun 11, 2007 9:13 am

Right, most new models would have an SATA controller and use SATA system disks, therefore no bridge.

aaa · #5 Post by **aaa** » Tue Jun 12, 2007 12:52 am

I pretty sure 'SATA-to-PATA' bridge refers to a sata-to-pata converter chip only, with no actual pata connector anywhere, probably because SATA wasn't integrated properly into the Intel chipset yet or something. So no, there aren't any sata laptops that can take ata drives... the info's only significant from the driver perspective.

#6 Post by **GomJabbar** » Tue Jun 12, 2007 5:19 am

aaa wrote:I pretty sure 'SATA-to-PATA' bridge refers to a sata-to-pata converter chip only, with no actual pata connector anywhere, probably because SATA wasn't integrated properly into the Intel chipset yet or something. So no, there aren't any sata laptops that can take ata drives... the info's only significant from the driver perspective.

Actually its just the opposite.

http://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/Problem_w ... hard_disks

aaa · #7 Post by **aaa** » Tue Jun 12, 2007 9:09 am

Ah, had it backwards. In any case, if the laptop uses PATA it can't take SATA, and vice-versa. Then again, you can use the Ultrabay adapter to put a PATA drive in a SATA system, but then you won't have optical...

The error is displayed when the system drive is not one of the few approved disks listed inside the BIOS, and may indicate a real problem. These systems have a SATA disk controller, and employ a SATA-to-PATA bridge in order to use PATA (IDE) drives. It is rumored that this bridge requires changes in the drive firmware, and the BIOS checks for this adapted firmware.

#8 Post by **bill bolton** » Tue Jun 12, 2007 12:44 pm

mattengland wrote:are SATA drives are compatible in my T41 in any way

You can use a SATA drive in an external enclosure, using a USB 2 interface. Otherwise, you are out of luck.

Cheers,

Bill B.

DirkM · #9 Post by **DirkM** » Wed Jun 13, 2007 6:42 pm

I used a PATA drive in the multi bay of my T60 (which is SATA), using a multi bay hard drive carrier from a T42 though. Doesn't work the other way around though (T60 bay with SATA drive will not work in a T42).

hydrostarr · #10 Post by **hydrostarr** » Wed Jul 04, 2007 11:24 am

All great info, thanks!

I'm considering getting a T43 as a backup/upgrade system. It looks like per this discussion that my 7K100 PATA drive will work in a T43.

But I'm curious: will a SATA drive (that I might purchase in the future) work in a T43, even with its SATA-to-PATA bridge?

#11 Post by **GomJabbar** » Wed Jul 04, 2007 5:26 pm

A SATA drive will not work IN a T43. It will only work via USB to an external SATA HDD enclosure.

chocorem · #12 Post by **chocorem** » Wed Oct 31, 2007 6:15 pm

GomJabbar wrote:A SATA drive will not work IN a T43. It will only work via USB to an external SATA HDD enclosure.

Does the solution of the modified T60 Ultrabay work in a T43p with a SATA drive ?

Desciption here !
http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.ph ... c&start=30

I have a external USB WD 250Go Passoprt, and it would much better to put it in the ultrabay !!

PATA vs. SATA & compatibility with my T41 and future mod

PATA vs. SATA & compatibility with my T41 and future mod

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