Will T4x take the SATA HDD in Ultrabay Slim Adapter?

[ulrich.von.lich]

The HDD adapter 41N5661 I have seems to be a PATA one. Do I need a different HDD adapter, or anything that fits in the Ultrabay Slim slot in order to use a SATA drive?

[z2000]

you can use "new one" ( for T6 one) that is SATA and you have to modify a bit to put in your T4 ultraslim

[Harryc]

You can't run an SATA drive in an Ultrabay adapter in a T4X machine simply because there is no SATA controller in a T4X. You can however run a PATA drive in an Ultrabay slim PATA 2nd HDD adapter in a T6X machine because the T6X's support both SATA and PATA.

[Johan]

The HDD adapter 41N5661 I have seems to be a PATA one. Do I need a different HDD adapter, or anything that fits in the Ultrabay Slim slot in order to use a SATA drive?

Ulrich:

I am not sure that the below is actually an answer to what you ask - but in any case, have a look and see if that helps you any:

See the thread Can my T43 1871-I31 use Hitachi Travelstar E7K200 ? (see the post of Wed Nov 21, 2007 5:55 am) which in particular will point you to FS: Mint T43p 2668-H1U 15" UXGA (there, see the post of Sat Aug 11, 2007 12:05 pm - the part: "About usable Ultrabay-storage in T43’s").

Hope this might be of some help...

Best regards,

Johan

[paulyosh]

You can't run an SATA drive in an Ultrabay adapter in a T4X machine simply because there is no SATA controller in a T4X. You can however run a PATA drive in an Ultrabay slim PATA 2nd HDD adapter in a T6X machine because the T6X's support both SATA and PATA.

Actually, if you did deep enough into the threads that Johan quotes, you'll find that at least two of us are running SATA drives in the Ultraslim bay on our T43s. It just requires filing off the tab on the back of the tray so that it physically fits into the slot.

The only remaining question is, can this be done on T40/41/42 machines, which don't have the SATA-PATA bridge. My thinking is that yes, it can, but I don't have such a machine to verify with. So, for the OP, if you have a T43, you're in the clear. If you don't, it may or may not work...

-Paul

[ulrich.von.lich]

Thanks everyone for the feedbacks!

Paul, may I ask you where you saw in Johan's post (and related posts) that two of us are running SATA drives in the Ultrabay of the T43? And if it was true, it would apply to all T4x TPs I think. The SATA-PATA bridge doesn't seem to help anything, but only to complicate things..

Harryc, I've no idea about the SATA controller. Can you please tell me if I can use a SATA drive via USB connection or in the Ultrabay 2000 slot in the Dock II?

[aaa]

I'm not seeing how having a SATA controller or not affects the Ultrabay, but it might just be me.

It definitely has nothing to do with anything if you're connecting via USB, as that will work regardless.

[ulrich.von.lich]

Just found some info:

http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?t=53734
http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?t=41927

Someone did put a SATA HDD in the Ultrabay of a T43!! However you'll have to sever something first. It'd be difficult without instructions..

Nice to know USB HDDs don't have any limit. For the Dock II, I guess it's negative since there doesn't seem to be any official SATA HDD adapter for Ultrabay 2000

[paulyosh]

Thanks everyone for the feedbacks!

Paul, may I ask you where you saw in Johan's post (and related posts) that two of us are running SATA drives in the Ultrabay of the T43? And if it was true, it would apply to all T4x TPs I think. The SATA-PATA bridge doesn't seem to help anything, but only to complicate things..

Harryc, I've no idea about the SATA controller. Can you please tell me if I can use a SATA drive via USB connection or in the Ultrabay 2000 slot in the Dock II?

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

In the above link, jayober says he got it working.

http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?t=46717

In this thread, I confirm that I've done it also.

If you have the drive adapter in hand, it's pretty obvious what needs to be removed. There's a square tab on the back of the unit (the edge that gets inserted first), which will prevent the adapter from seating in the bay completely. Just file that down flush with the rest of the adapter, and you're all set.

-Paul