Ultrabay floppy drive available for T41?

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sojourner · #1 Post by **sojourner** » Mon Nov 12, 2007 1:33 pm

I've looked for a 1.44MB floppy drive to fit in the T41 Ultrabay but have found none. Is such a one available?

Thanks

steveg47 · #2 Post by **steveg47** » Mon Nov 12, 2007 1:41 pm

None manufactured for the ultrabay. Get yourself an external usb floppy.

frankiepankie · #3 Post by **frankiepankie** » Mon Nov 12, 2007 4:46 pm

There is one existing. I know my dad has one at his company with his T30. It is not an Ultrabay i thought, but it resides in an external casing and is connected to the dockingstation with a small connector.

#4 Post by **rkawakami** » Mon Nov 12, 2007 6:23 pm

frankiepankie wrote:There is one existing. I know my dad has one at his company with his T30. It is not an Ultrabay i thought, but it resides in an external casing and is connected to the dockingstation with a small connector.

It's probably an Ultraslimbay external floppy. Those were designed for the 600-series systems and plug into the side of the 600s and into the port replicators for the A/T/R/X systems. The T41 is an Ultrabay Slim design and there apparently was never any floppy drive offered in that format.

ref: http://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/UltraBay
ref: tawbook.pdf; quote - "Diskette drive - None standard/use optional USB-based diskette drive"

#5 Post by **bill bolton** » Mon Nov 12, 2007 10:13 pm

rkawakami wrote: It's probably an Ultraslimbay external floppy. Those were designed for the 600-series systems and plug into the side of the 600s and into the port replicators for the A/T/R/X systems.

I have one here, connected to my MiniDock II... the only problem is that I can't use it for low level system updates (like BIOS and embedded controller etc) as the relevant install utility wont complete when the T4x is on a dock. So I have a USB floppy drive for that anyway!

The advent of low cost and reliable USB connected floppy drives effectively killed any need to do a Ultrabay Slim floppy drive.

Cheers,

Bill B.

robert213 · #6 Post by **robert213** » Tue Nov 13, 2007 12:09 am

In my left hand, I am holding...

T30 Ultrabay 1.44MB Floppy Disk Drive.

ASM P/N 08K9604
FRU P/N 08K9606

Teac P/N 19308410-01

It is an internal drive, like the CD-RW/DVD drive currently residing in my T30's Ultrabay.

Will this work in a T40, T41, or T42?

visionviper · #7 Post by **visionviper** » Tue Nov 13, 2007 12:52 am

From the little I have been able to dig up:

It will work, but only externally with the "IBM ThinkPad T Series FDD External Cable Kit."

#8 Post by **rkawakami** » Tue Nov 13, 2007 1:10 am

robert213 wrote:In my left hand, I am holding...

T30 Ultrabay 1.44MB Floppy Disk Drive.

That's an Ultrabay 2000 device.

robert213 wrote:Will this work in a T40, T41, or T42?

Assuming that's in your right hand, those systems are Ultrabay Slim.

Neither one will fit inside the other without extra help. To be specific, an Ultrabay Slim device can be inserted into an Ultrabay 2000 system by using a special adapter. Physically, the Ultrabay 2000 device will not fit inside an Ultrabay Slim laptop, unless you use a hammer

. As an external device, you can use the external cable kit as visionviper has referenced, however you will need a port replicator or docking station in order to plug in the cable. It appears to plug into the back of the Ultrabay 2000 floppy and on the other end is the same type of connector that's on the external floppy drives for the 600 series. Since the T4x systems do not have that type of floppy port, you would need to mount the laptop on the port replicator or docking station with that type of jack.

ref: http://www5.pc.ibm.com/vn/products.nsf/ ... ite=lenovo

chan_man · #9 Post by **chan_man** » Tue Nov 13, 2007 10:10 am

The cable kit that plugs into the internal floppy will allow you to plug the drive into the parallel port, I have not tried this on a T4x so not sure if the bios in the T4x recognizes it. I will try this when I get home...

Amigaman · #10 Post by **Amigaman** » Tue Nov 13, 2007 8:44 pm

Eventhough the A/T/R/X dock's have a special plug for the "floppy cable kit", from my brief research on Thinkwiki, I believe that it will not work with a newer machine like a T40 - because the T40 lacks the circuity for that peculiar floppy interface.

http://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/Floppy_Connector

Re: Docks -
"These devices only feature pass-through functionality, the actual Floppy Controller logic needs to reside in the ThinkPad for the port to work"

In short: Unless you are using a T20/21/22/23 the floppy connector on your port replicator/mini dock/dock for A/T/R/X has no effect!

The same rules apply when you put a T43 with no ATI chipset on a dock and try to use the DVI plug - it does nothing!

Solution: Buy a USB floppy (there are IBM branded ones if you prefer the IBM look), and stop trying to use an Ultrabay 2000 (ancient) drive in a modern (Ultrabay slim) machine!

Regards.

Stargate199 · #11 Post by **Stargate199** » Tue Nov 13, 2007 9:32 pm

It may be possible because Windows Device manager lists a floppy controller. You will likely need a dock for the T4x series with one of those floppy cable inputs to make it work. It worked with a T21 I had, so why not a T4x if it has a floppy controller?

#12 Post by **bill bolton** » Tue Nov 13, 2007 9:50 pm

Amigaman wrote:Eventhough the A/T/R/X dock's have a special plug for the "floppy cable kit", from my brief research on Thinkwiki, I believe that it will not work with a newer machine like a T40 - because the T40 lacks the circuity for that peculiar floppy interface.

I can categorically assure that it works fine on T40/41/42/43 Thinkpads. I have one here, running right now, with a T43!

Cheers,

Bill B.

sktn77a · #13 Post by **sktn77a** » Tue Nov 13, 2007 11:28 pm

chan_man wrote:The cable kit that plugs into the internal floppy will allow you to plug the drive into the parallel port, I have not tried this on a T4x so not sure if the bios in the T4x recognizes it. I will try this when I get home...

Yes, the floppy drive cable that plugs into the special floopy connector at the back of the dock works fine with the T4x. But the parallel port cable (that works with the T2x and T3x parallel port) doesn't work with the T4x. I don't think the T4x hardware supports that floppy connection through the parralel port.

Amigaman · #14 Post by **Amigaman** » Thu Nov 15, 2007 4:10 am

Re: Floppy cable works with T4X

That's great to read, now I can go and buy one, because I had been afraid of it not working, even with a dock

Perhaps someone who has verified it should go to the ThinkWiki web site and update it, because it currently suggests that it wouldn't work.

Bill B: Any recommendations on where to buy one in Sydney?

Regards.

Ultrabay floppy drive available for T41?

Ultrabay floppy drive available for T41?

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