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Max Size Hard Drive for ThinkPad T43

T40/T41/T42/T43 Series
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WT
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Max Size Hard Drive for ThinkPad T43

#1 Post by WT » Sat Oct 18, 2008 3:33 pm

I have a ThinkPad T3 (2687). I want to put a 120 or 160 GB hard drive in it like this one.

I used the compatibility tool on lenovo.com and it says they only have a 80GB HD that is compatible with my T43/2687. I called them and the guy on the phone said the same thing.

Am I stuck with an 80 gb drive as my largest option? I don't want to buy a new computer, but 80gb isn't enough storage.

Currently I have:
* 60 gb internal drive -- Ubuntu Hardy
* 40 gb internal drive in Ultrabay -- Windows XP
* 120 gb external

I need to upgrade to 120 or 160gb internal...

Thanks

sparta.rising
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#2 Post by sparta.rising » Sat Oct 18, 2008 4:15 pm

See the stickied post at the top of this forum:
http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?t=11059

The maximum capacity is that of any IDE drive, which is currently 250GB. However, those drives will give a 2010 error, which you can live with. If you don't want that error, you can update the firmware of a 160GB Hitachi drive, but the firmware will reduce the capacity to 137GB.
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#3 Post by sarbin » Sat Oct 18, 2008 4:15 pm

welcome to the forum. :)

i believe that the largest drive you can install in the main bay, without getting the 2010 error, is a 120gb fujitsu. i don't have the model number handy, but it should be in the big t43-hd thread. if you're not worried about the 2010 error message, which can be hidden with a setting in the current bios, you can go with the 160gb hitachi travelstar or the 250gb western digital scorpio. both are 5400rpm drives and both are under $100 at places like newegg or zipzoomfly.

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#4 Post by WT » Tue Oct 21, 2008 7:40 pm

Thanks for the info.

Do you mean this Western Digital HD?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6822136123

Does the error message mean there is a problem, or it' sjust a cosmetic issue? Easy to hide with BIOS setting?

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#5 Post by sjthinkpader » Tue Oct 21, 2008 7:56 pm

sarbin wrote:welcome to the forum. :)

i believe that the largest drive you can install in the main bay, without getting the 2010 error, is a 120gb fujitsu. i don't have the model number handy, b...
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#6 Post by SteveS » Tue Oct 21, 2008 9:00 pm

WT wrote:
Does the error message mean there is a problem, or it' sjust a cosmetic issue? Easy to hide with BIOS setting?
As stated elsewhere in the threads, the error message indicates that the drive lacks extended SATA commands that would offer some incremental protection from physical damage in some circumstances. Specifically, the Active Protection System relies on the “Unload Immediately” command present in SATA drives to park the head when the accelerometer detects a g force that might damage the drive. Parking the head requires some time, so depending on the steepness of the acceleration profile, it may or may not save the drive – for example, there is a good chance it would survive being dropped from your lap to a carpeted floor, but possibly not if dropped to a hard concrete one. Without these commands, the drive will be only somewhat more protected then one in a standard laptop.

“Easy to hide in with the BIOS” is not 100% correct. A setting in the BIOS allows the boot to continue after displaying the error message and a pause of a few seconds, without the need to manually hit the ESC key. You still get the error message, and need to wait a couple seconds before the boot continues.
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#7 Post by sarbin » Tue Oct 21, 2008 10:08 pm

WT wrote:Do you mean this Western Digital HD?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6822136123
nope. that's an sata drive. won't work in the main bay, which only accepts pata/ide.
have a look at this one: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6822136159
same one at zzf: http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDe ... e=10007592

you *can* use sata drives in the ultrabay with the appropriate 2nd hdd ultrabay adapter.
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Re: Max Size Hard Drive for ThinkPad T43

#8 Post by ViBE » Fri Apr 23, 2021 6:17 am

i just bought a Delock IDE converter for my Kingston mSATA SSD. it's an 240 GB SSD but Windows detects only 128 GB in my T43. is the BIOS restricted or something else is the problem?

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Re: Max Size Hard Drive for ThinkPad T43

#9 Post by RealBlackStuff » Fri Apr 23, 2021 10:27 am

AFAIK it is your version of Windows that can only use ca. 128GB partitions.
Make a 2nd partition for the rest (but leave ~15%/36GB of the total free for provisioning).
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Re: Max Size Hard Drive for ThinkPad T43

#10 Post by dr_st » Fri Apr 23, 2021 1:55 pm

ViBE wrote:
Fri Apr 23, 2021 6:17 am
i just bought a Delock IDE converter for my Kingston mSATA SSD. it's an 240 GB SSD but Windows detects only 128 GB in my T43. is the BIOS restricted or something else is the problem?
Which exact Windows version (including service pack)? Are you trying a fresh installation?
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Re: Max Size Hard Drive for ThinkPad T43

#11 Post by ViBE » Mon May 24, 2021 7:36 am

Ah, I totally forgot this... So yes, it's a fresh installation of Windows 8.1 Pro and totally up-to-date. Meanwhile I contacted with DeLock and they confirmed that the IDE converter is not restricted so it should handle the max theoretical capacity of the standard.

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