Internal DVD Burner for T42 notebooks

T4x series specific matters only
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Scorpiontico
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Internal DVD Burner for T42 notebooks

#1 Post by Scorpiontico » Fri Dec 10, 2004 10:35 pm

im confused, please get me out of doubt, what are the options (specificly) of dvd burners (internal) for T42 models?

i went on ibm.com and saw some units but then i checked on ebay and those same units are advertised as not to work for T42s???

thanks all

im gonna get a 2373M3U and then a dvd burner for it = PERFECT LAPPY wouldnt you agree?

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#2 Post by JHEM » Fri Dec 10, 2004 11:08 pm

At the moment there's one, and only one, 9.5mm thick DVD burner that will fit in the UltraBay Slim of the T4X series machines, the Panasonic UJ-812: http://www.panasonic.com/industrial/com ... UJ-812.pdf

Don't confuse this with offerings for other T series machines on eBay. The Ultrabay 2000 on earlier machines will take 12.5mm thick optical drives which opens up a much greater range of choices.

Regards,

James
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Scorpiontico
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#3 Post by Scorpiontico » Sat Dec 11, 2004 12:22 am

JHEM wrote:At the moment there's one, and only one, 9.5mm thick DVD burner that will fit in the UltraBay Slim of the T4X series machines, the Panasonic UJ-812: http://www.panasonic.com/industrial/com ... UJ-812.pdf

Don't confuse this with offerings for other T series machines on eBay. The Ultrabay 2000 on earlier machines will take 12.5mm thick optical drives which opens up a much greater range of choices.

Regards,

James

what do you mean? is 12 mm better than the 9 mm? will both fit in the lappy? what about ibms drives on ibm.com? whats the difference between the slim and normal ultrabay i mean whats the big deal weight?

thanks please try to answer all ?s

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#4 Post by lfeagan » Sat Dec 11, 2004 12:52 am

The (somewhat) big deal is the thickness. By using a thinner driver it makes it easier for IBM to get the thin profile they want on their T42. I have to admit, I am a bit peeved by this whole almost-proprietary drive. I know its not proprietary, but when only one company uses it the manufacturer isn't nearly as likely to shove new features into it as, say, the 12.5mm drive that surely over 90% of notebooks use. It makes it feel like its some proprietary part to me since it isn't updated and apparently isn't made by anyone but Panasonic/Matshita. I do love my thin notebook and can tell from the side that adding another 3mm would directly translate into an overall 3mm thicker notebook which would not make me happy. So, I guess we will just have to suck it up for our low profile beauties. High maintenance gals...are't they? :D
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Scorpiontico
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#5 Post by Scorpiontico » Sat Dec 11, 2004 1:05 am

lfeagan wrote:The (somewhat) big deal is the thickness. By using a thinner driver it makes it easier for IBM to get the thin profile they want on their T42. I have to admit, I am a bit peeved by this whole almost-proprietary drive. I know its not proprietary, but when only one company uses it the manufacturer isn't nearly as likely to shove new features into it as, say, the 12.5mm drive that surely over 90% of notebooks use. It makes it feel like its some proprietary part to me since it isn't updated and apparently isn't made by anyone but Panasonic/Matshita. I do love my thin notebook and can tell from the side that adding another 3mm would directly translate into an overall 3mm thicker notebook which would not make me happy. So, I guess we will just have to suck it up for our low profile beauties. High maintenance gals...are't they? :D


so if one driver is 9.5 and the other one 12.5 and both fit in the T42, then what happens to the space left by the 9.5? (the 3 mm)

is there big weight differences?

how do you plug them if they are swapable?

ok there is the slim ultrabay and the normal ultrabay with some enhaned stuff. whats that?

how does the swithching extra hard drive, battery and etc for the ultrabay work?

thanks so much.

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#6 Post by DrSmile » Sat Dec 11, 2004 1:19 am

This was covered a few posts down. Try the search feature. Short answer is NO the T42 will not fit the 12.5mm drive.

http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?t=6136

http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?t=6021

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#7 Post by chrisnyc » Sat Dec 11, 2004 1:24 am

Wow, this is my first post -- I've been reading the forum for a little while and just registered -- and I actually know the answer to this, mainly from the information on IBM's web site and not this forum.

The T42 models take only the "ultrabay slim" devices -- optical drives, hard drives (you can buy a caddy), battery. The "ultrabay 2000" devices cannot be used on the T42's (except with a docking station or something).

That said, I do find much of this very confusing and it takes some time to figure out. If you're on the IBM web site to purchase a notebook, some of this information is available, but it's in small print and not always easy to understand.

Hope that helps -- and if anything I've said is incorrect, someone please correct me ! Thanks.

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#8 Post by JHEM » Sat Dec 11, 2004 10:16 am

Scorpiontico wrote:what do you mean? is 12 mm better than the 9 mm? will both fit in the lappy?
The 12.5mm drives are "better" to the extent that there are far more choices in drives available in that size.

The T4X series Thinkpads will only accept 9.5mm thick drives, they cannot take 12.5mm thick drives.

Regards,

James
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#9 Post by schoefer » Wed Jan 05, 2005 9:16 am

where can I buy the panasonic drive? GERMANY

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#10 Post by JHEM » Wed Jan 05, 2005 10:24 am

schoefer wrote:where can I buy the panasonic drive? GERMANY
I have no idea. Perhaps it would be best to search for "Panasonic UJ-812" or simply "UJ-812" in your favorite DE shopping search sites.

Regards,

James
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