Replacement optical bay devices for T60?

[oldroggy]

Hey ThinkpadForums, first poster here.

Has anyone managed to replace the optical drive in their T60 with anything useful? I moved to a T60 from desktops and I haven't used an optical drive in a long time, I'm hoping there's something else I can use it for. Failing that, I guess I'll have to make use of it by digging up my foreign language CD's

Thanks!

[RealBlackStuff]

Welcome to the forum.
You have three options for that Ultrabay:
- Parallel/Serial ports adapter (very rare)
- battery http://www.ebay.com/itm/300784299932
- 2nd HD adapter for SATA drives http://www.ebay.com/itm/161062738489
For both battery and drive adapter: original Lenovo parts are available (but rare), and also cost a lot more

[oldroggy]

Thanks, I've got a place to start. Do you have any experience with the battery or the HDD adapter? I like the idea of the battery but the shipping to my country is exorbitantly expensive.

[RealBlackStuff]

Lots of people with T60 and similar have a 2nd HD in their Ultrabay.
Up to 500GB there is rarely a problem with those adapters, even the cheap ones.
For a bigger HD/SSD, get a Lenovo one ($30-50).
Batteries: no experience there.
They are small batteries anyway, max. 1-2 hours I'd guess. Not worth it IMHO.


BTW: the eBay links I gave you are just for showing what those things look like.
Check other sources...

[Kasm279]

The battery isn't worth it. The EC ends up trashing it by discharging it to zero before switching to the main battery, which destroys the battery very quickly. The serial/parallel port adapter is very useful if you're working with stuff that needs a serial port, like legacy GPS units or Cisco switches.

[ajkula66]

The battery isn't worth it. The EC ends up trashing it by discharging it to zero before switching to the main battery, which destroys the battery very quickly.

Agreed.

The serial/parallel port adapter is very useful if you're working with stuff that needs a serial port, like legacy GPS units or Cisco switches.

Or working with fiber shelves...not too many people have such a requirement, though.

HDD UltraBay adapter is the way to go, IMO.

[hhhd1]

Lots of people with T60 and similar have a 2nd HD in their Ultrabay.
Up to 500GB there is rarely a problem with those adapters, even the cheap ones.
For a bigger HD/SSD, get a Lenovo one ($30-50).

what difference does it make for a hdd to be up to 500gb only VS larger hdd or SSD ?

[RealBlackStuff]

Google "ultrabay adapter problem"

[hhhd1]

Just did, thanks for the info.

[Garth]

I have a T60p fitted with a 240Gb Samsung SSD as the main drive and a 500Gb WD Scorpio Black mechanical HD in an ultrabay adapter (non-Lenovo) bought from Ebay. This works really well running Win 7. I've also bought a Lenovo-branded DVD writer which plugs into 2 USB ports for those occasions when I need it. The T60p will natively boot from either hard disc or the DVD.

My T60p has the original-fit 9-cell Panasonic battery which still retains a full charge capacity of 67.6 Wh (originally 84 Wh when new). This is after 400 charge/discharge cycles. I find this amazing! As this will power the T60p for several hours I've never really considered fitting an ultrabay battery, as I would then lose my storage of 15-years-worth of digital photos and thousands of music tracks.