Thinkpads Forum

I have a Ultrabay battery and the DVDRW drive for my T61. I currently have no plans to use the DVDRW drive for a while, however I still want to carry it with me. Does Lenovo or someone else make nice protective cases for the devices?

They do exist, and ship with new multiburners and possibly other drives. Try asking on the marketplace forum if anyone wants to sell one. Here's an example - (you could always buy this drive and resell it on EBay, keeping the case)

EBay Auction Showing Case

Allelectronics has a pseudo thinkpad case thats not bad for
the price.



http://www.allelectronics.com/cgi-bin/i ... CASE_.html

eBay search: "thinkpad drive case"

you get quite a number--most the genuine black, w/
'thinkpad' embossed in leather on the flap. Part
number is 05K4562,

very classy:-)

I just got an OEM one off of eBay.

I'll report back how the sale went.

They aren't OEM. They're seconds, or fakes.

tom lightbody wrote:eBay search: "thinkpad drive case"

you get quite a number--most the genuine black, w/
'thinkpad' embossed in leather on the flap. Part
number is 05K4562,

very classy:-)

The ones you see featuring the part number are mostly the same. In fact, the one madmax posted is what I received when I bid on two of the more official looking listings with that part number. They seem to be a mix of these and the one harryc posted, which is exactly the same but without an attempt to look real.

The near-real looking ones, or seconds, are not quality. The ones I got had internal labels stating they are made in Mexico and list a part number of NP05K4562. They also are not stitched well with fraying trim, and most importantly, have crooked imprints of the logo.

The fact they're from Mexico makes me think they might be rejected seconds like I believe of those cheap Apricorn IBM HD enclosures on those Asian sites, but they could just as easily be total fakes since the blue text ones are out there too, and those could never have been real.

I just purchased a cheap hard-sided cd travel case at Staples, cut out the cd sleeves, and tucked some foam inside for protection. I've used this setup to carry my dvd drive and ultrabay sata drive during extensive travel over nearly two years and it has worked perfectly. They both fit in a single case that is only marginally larger than the two devices when stacked.

These are real (but used): ebay auction 160151715824

The seller is known here, many people have bought other parts from them. (Search for Nancy, thinkpads-r-us, you'll find quite a few posts).

Cool! I had no idea these things even existed! I'll have to pick up a couple.

-- Nathan

gator wrote:These are real (but used): ebay auction 160151715824

The seller is known here, many people have bought other parts from them. (Search for Nancy, thinkpads-r-us, you'll find quite a few posts).

Unfortunately, that picture shows the same case that was pictured in the auction I bid on. That seller is still offering them as well. Nancy's cost a bit more, which may be the "tell" here if hers are really genuine, but I'd love to see pictures of received cases from her to see for sure.

I'm not that [censored] off, though. Mine will serve their purpose, but I just won't place them logo-side up with others around.

Yeah, Nancy is cool and she shipped / responded ULTRA fast. She also said they were OEM. I take the word fot it...

CRSO wrote:Yeah, Nancy is cool and she shipped / responded ULTRA fast. She also said they were OEM. I take the word fot it...

The seller I bought from said the same.

I don't know Nancy, but from what has been said above, she sounds cool, and I don't mean to call her credibility into question. I just see similarities between both items and listings, and many more of the same on eBay. That's the only reason I asked to see pictures of cases received from her. I may be interested in getting others in the future, and I now take most of the "OEM" statements I see with a grain of salt.

Incidentally, did any of her cases have the same internal label I mentioned? If not, that may be a plus if the ones I got were fakes and not seconds or thirds.

Tholek wrote:They aren't OEM. They're seconds, or fakes.

The ones you see featuring the part number are mostly the same. In fact, the one madmax posted is what I received when I bid on two of the more official looking listings with that part number. They seem to be a mix of these and the one harryc posted, which is exactly the same but without an attempt to look real.................snipped

This is what I GOT ALSO!!!! IT is okay I guess but in NO way resembles OEM quality.

"Thinkpad" is embossed on it, that's all... The stitching is all messed up, etc...

Any thoughts?

MOD EDIT: Snipped for large quotes.

Sorry to hear it, but I'm not surprised.

I wonder whether or not the internal label is real, but if it is, and real versions of the case have the same label, then it could be that they're illegally sold seconds. I only keep that possibility alive in my mind because there used to be Thinkpad assembly there in the 90s and maybe the real cases were manufactured there as well.

Any place where I can buy them and let them ship to Europe? -Without $60 shipping-...?

Okay, here's my little contribution to the debate:

http://www.kawakami-ca.com/ultrabay_case/index.html

I received five of the "Mexico" version cases along with combo drives that I bought last month from eBay. They were not mentioned in the auction description and the drives were cheap so I figured these are the knock-offs. The "Indonesia" version I got a couple of years ago (also off of eBay) along with a laptop and some accessories. I'm assuming for the moment that it's a genuine Thinkpad item from the discussion so far. It has the better stitching; closer spaced, cleaner turns, straight lines.

Still, the Mexico versions aren't that bad. Time will tell how they hold up alongside the genuine article.

I got 2 cases from nancy in summer, and they had no label ... they look more like the "indonesia" cases Ray posted above (but not exactly like it)

I just had a brainwave and compared the case that came with the (fake) IBM USB HDD enclosure and the ones I got from nancy. They look identical, except that nancy's cases were used.

What do I make out of this

I am really sorry if I had mislead anyone here, I did not intend to.