Thinkpads Forum

Right,
My question is straightforward

When you remove the optical drive to use a SATA HD Caddy, does one have to use a regular hard drive caddy (the ones that can carry rubber bands to each side) to put the HD in? [=HD in HD Caddy in SATA Caddy in laptop]
Or does the HD go directly in the SATA Caddy w/o an HD Caddy?

Couldn't find info 'bout this, and the instructional pictures aren't that clear.

Thank you

No, you don't need the 2.5" bay caddy hardware. I have found that the drive will fit (snugly) with the caddy still attached but it is a much better fit without it. It won't fit with the rubber bumpers.

theterminator93 wrote:No, you don't need the 2.5" bay caddy hardware. I have found that the drive will fit (snugly) with the caddy still attached but it is a much better fit without it. It won't fit with the rubber bumpers.

Right thanks, and are you sure? Isn't the HD better protected against electrostatic energy when it has the 2.5" bay caddy hardware?

The hard drive fitting inside the second HD Ultrabay adapter with the caddy still attached also depends upon the design (read: manufacturer) of the adapter. Generally I've seen that the factory adapters will allow a hard drive with caddy to be mounted inside the adapter, but as theterminator93 says, it can be snug. Note that this is with the thicker factory Ultrabay 2000 PATA adapters. The SATA Ultrabay 2000 adapters that I have are aftermarket and I don't think any of them allow the drive to be mounted with the caddy still attached.

I've used both factory and aftermarket adapters and none of them has required, or allowed, the use of the rubber bumper rails. As far as electrostatic discharge (ESD) safety is concerned, it probably would be safer to have the caddy attached to the HD as that covers the bottom of the drive where the printed circuit board is exposed. ESD damage via the SATA connector is not as likely as say on a PATA drive with its exposed pins.

right right
thanks for the swift and informative answers