Using non-IBM Hard Drives

[ronbo613]

I want to get another hard drive for the T30, but a little sketched about which one I should buy. I'd like to get a 7200rpm drive, but I've been told they might run too hot. A larger capacity drive would be nice, 100G would be great.
Are there any hard drives that definitely do not work with the T30? I've been warned about incompatibility issues, but it's hard to pin down these issues to a specific drive.

[al7kz]

I'd like to get a 7200rpm drive, but I've been told they might run too hot.

Just get the specs for power usage to compare drives. No. of watts used equals heat generated. ie for Hitachi 7K100, PATA:

Power
Requirement +5VDC (+-5%)
Dissipation (Typical)
Startup (peak, max.) 5.5W
Seek 2.3W
Read (avg.) 2.0W
Write (avg.) 2.0W
Active idle (avg.) 1.1W
Low power idle (avg.) 0.85W
Standby (avg.) 0.2W
Sleep 0.1W

[ronbo613]

The 5400rpm drive that I have is not that bad, but what computer user doesn't want more speed and more storage?
The compatibility issues are causing me some worries. On my PCs, I buy a new hard drive every few months(video production), not being able to just buy a hard drive and slap it in there is new to me. Flashing firmware to make hard drives compatible is something I don't particularly care to do.

[JHEM]

The T30, along with most other Thinkpads except the T43, T60 and their lesser brethren, will run any PATA HD you can purchase.

No hacks, flashing or other magic required.

7200RPM HD heat is primarily a myth! The Hitachi 7K100 HD uses LESS power than many of the older HDs it replaces.

Regards,

James

[brooklynboy]

The Hitachi 7K100 has worked perfectly in my T30 for about six months now, replacing the 30 GB, 4200 RPM Hitachi that came with the machine. No T30 or Hitachi firmware updates were required, though I was already running the latest T30 BIOS.

It's now under $150.

[ronbo613]

The T30, along with most other Thinkpads except the T43, T60 and their lesser brethren, will run any PATA HD you can purchase.

No hacks, flashing or other magic required.

The Hitachi 7K100 has worked perfectly in my T30 for about six months now, replacing the 30 GB, 4200 RPM Hitachi that came with the machine. No T30 or Hitachi firmware updates were required, though I was already running the latest T30 BIOS.

Thanks guys, that's exactly what I wanted to hear.
I'm replacing a couple 3.5" drives in my workstation, so I'm going to try some Thinkpad cloning while I'm shuffling hard drives. My T30 just got back from having the system board replaced(with a whole two weeks left on the warranty), so I'm pretty sure it has the latest BIOS.
The 7K100 sure looks good for about $140, but I just bought a 7200rpm, 320G desktop drive for $95. There's got to be some kind of hardware discrimination there.

[JHEM]

The 7K100 sure looks good for about $140, but I just bought a 7200rpm, 320G desktop drive for $95. There's got to be some kind of hardware discrimination there.

Bigger isn't always better, but that's certainly the way the smart money bets!

Yeah, a one third smaller HD means one third more money.

The 7K100 can sometimes be found for slightly less than $140:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6822146052

Regards,

James

[tfflivemb2]

I have seen a few posts about people having problems with Seagate. I have used Hitachi, Toshiba and IBM Travelstar drives. Hitachi seemed to be my favorite thus far.

As for the discrimination, the drives are expensive, just like PCs are cheaper than Laptops. It is the technology that you are paying for.

I would take a look at brentpresley's drives, though, I know that you are looking for a 100GB drive, which I am not sure about whether or not Brent has any. His overall prices are great though.

[ronbo613]

Brent is a good guy to buy stuff from. He gave me a great deal on memory.
Usually, Seagates would be my first choice, but for the T30, Hitachi seems to be the best choice. I've never had any issues with Seagates in my desktops, but when everybody is having success with Hitachis in Thinkpads, looks good to me.
My problem is, desktop or laptop, I can't stop tinkering around with them.