Thinkpads Forum

Forgive me for buying fake IBM Thinkpad accessories again. Last time was a so-called replacement battery from Hongkong. It was a nightmare: I can't turn the machine on with the battery only, and I can't turn the machine off after turning it on with PSU pluged.

This time was an ultrabay slim SATA hdd adapter. I bought a brand new hitachi 250GB hdd and this fake adapter on ebay recently to upgrade my T60. After a little prolonged displaying of Thinkpad logo, my T60 gave 2102 error "Initialization error on HDD1". After pressing "ESC" to ignore the error, I can't see the 2nd hdd in windows. However, if I reboot my T60 a couple of times, the 2nd hdd does appear and work well! It drives me crazy to reboot my t60 until it finds the 2nd hdd!

My system is Vista 64-bit, and I did upgrade BIOS to the latest one. Reseat the hard drive in the adapter doesn't help a little.

Any suggestions?

I swear this is my last buy of fake Thinkpad accessories!

It is kind of funny! The 2nd hard drive only appears after the 2nd boot.

Anyone has the same problem with the ultrabay slim SATA HDD adapter (non-genuine)?

I have exactly the same problem but with a "real" IBM Ultrabay and a brand new Seagate 320GB SATA drive:
-if I boot with the HD in after a swap with the DVD burner I get the error (like you described), reboot again and then everything is fine.
-I cannot not hot-swap anymore the two drives going from the DVD drive to the hard drive
-but I can hot-swap taking out the hard drive and putting the DVD drive in instead.
Have you found any solution to your problem?
Thanks for sharing if you did!

I don't have an answer, but it sounds like the PATA->SATA bridge in the ultrabay adapter isn't compatible with 64-bit.

fyi, I have never had a problem with any of my three genuine Lenovo Ultrabay SATA adapters in either of T60p or T61p with Win XP, nor with one of them in the T61p as bootable drive for Windows 7 64-bit beta.
So I don't think it's a problem with 64-bit per se.

@richk:
there is no PATA-SATA bridge in it.
This is/was a problem of earlier models T43/R52 and some X4x.

Is there a setting in your T6x BIOS for delaying bootup, to give it time to find all hardware?

In my case, I am running XP Pro so as I understand it, it cannot be related to 64 bit.

I should add that to me I have two different problems but I suspect there is one solution:
My two problems:
The UltraBay HD is not hot swappable anymore (as I explained earlier) with this new Seagate 320GB
And as I have to reboot to see the drive again, I get the error 2102 (resolved after second boot)
The UltraBay device seems OK: tested by sticking in it my old hard drive without a problem.
The motherboard and connection seem OK: I can hot-swap taking out the the Ultra Bay HD to replace it with the UltraBay DVD drive.
I cannot find anything which would indicate my drive is password-protected: I only set up a password to boot (through fingerprint device).
The HD Seagate has been tested for error with no result indicating any problem.
My suspicion is that there is a setting somewhere which prevents the hot-swap and create an issue at boot-up.
My competence is at its limit... so I am stuck here.

My problem has gone completely since I got a genuine SATA adapter made by Lenovo. So it is not related to 64-bit OS, nor my T60/p.

Stay away from fake thinkpad accessories (especially on eBay). Some of them look like a real one and may even have 'Lenovo' or 'IBM' logo on them. They save you a few quids, but they cause all sorts of problems.

Shoot. I just bought a SATA adapter for the ultrabay. By the way, how do you know if it's fake? I'm hoping I don't have any problems. We'll see when the adapter arrives.

@sushiwasabi:
It would help you and all of us enormously, if you would put your Thinkpad Type and Model in your Signature (see mine).

@redblackstuff:
Following your suggestion I included below informations on my system.
Lenovo Thinkpad T60 2623D6U
Core Duo Intel T2400@1.83GHz
3GB Ram
Windows XP SP2
ATI Mobility Radeon X1300
Hitachi Travelstar 100GB 5400RPM
IBM DVD-RW drive or ThinkPad Hard Disk Ultra Bay Adapter 26R9246 with Seagate 360GB Moementus 5400RPM drive.

ninjaronin18 wrote:Shoot. I just bought a SATA adapter for the ultrabay. By the way, how do you know if it's fake? I'm hoping I don't have any problems. We'll see when the adapter arrives.

An example of fake SATA adapter on ebay: 350154552924

This one even has FRU 26R9246 and 'ThinkPad' printed on it, but it is fake (sometimes it is called OEM version or compatible replacement). Normally this kind of adapter is usable, however you could have the problem as I mentioned.

How to I know if mine is a fake? I did not buy it from Lenovo (from Page Computers, Inc in California). Is this how you can tell?
I bought it in 2006 and I never had any issue with it until I recently ran it with my new drive in (Seagate 320GB Momentus).


Lenovo Thinkpad T60 2623D6U
Core Duo Intel T2400@1.83GHz
3GB 987MHz Ram
Windows XP SP2
ATI Mobility Radeon X1300
Hitachi Travelstar 100GB 5400RPM
IBM DVD-RW or ThinkPad Hard Disk Ultra Bay Adapter 26R9246 with Seagate 360GB Moementus 5400RPM

Does it have a small tab that sticks out in the back? If it doesn't, then it is fake. If it does, it may or may not be fake. All the genuine ones do have this tab (which will prevent it from being used in Thinkpads before the T/R6x line).

It has a tab (7/8 wide by 1/4 deep). Also, as I compare it to the Ebay one mentioned previously as an example of a fake, mine has more writing on it (mainly little icons trying to tell me it is fragile like a champagne glass, I should not drop it on its corner, push the cover with my index finger, put a huge magnet over it and finally I should read books with big i's on the front cover...).
More seriously, I have an additional tag telling me where it is made (philippines), by whom (Lenovo Group LTD), voltage and amperage and all the usual standard logos referring to compliances with US and European manufacturing laws (UL US listed and CE).

In relation to my problem of loosing hot-swappability (see my previous posts), I doubt it is a question of my ultrabay being fake...


Lenovo Thinkpad T60 2623D6U
Core Duo Intel T2400@1.83GHz
3GB 987MHz Ram
Windows XP SP2
ATI Mobility Radeon X1300
Hitachi Travelstar 100GB 5400RPM
IBM DVD-RW or ThinkPad Hard Disk Ultra Bay Adapter 26R9246 with Seagate 360GB Moementus 5400RPM

Stay away from fake ultrabay adapters from ebay! My advice, just stick with paying the $55 and buy it directly from lenovo.

I repeat: the UltraBay I am experiencing issues with is NOT a fake and was not bought on EBay...

ninjaronin18 wrote:Stay away from fake ultrabay adapters from ebay! My advice, just stick with paying the $55 and buy it directly from ebay.

??? Got a link to the ones from ebay that are non-fake?

RealBlackStuff wrote:@richk:
there is no PATA-SATA bridge in it.
This is/was a problem of earlier models T43/R52 and some X4x.

Is there a setting in your T6x BIOS for delaying bootup, to give it time to find all hardware?

You are mistaken. It was not until the Montevina Thinkpads were released that the Ultrabay port went from PATA-native to SATA-native. The Ultrabay of the T60 connects to an internal PATA-port. The Ultrabay SATA adapter contains a SATA-to-PATA bridge. This is also the reason for disks performing worse in the Ultrabay than in the main bay.

I can also tell you that I opened up one of the Ultrabay SATA adapters (not original) I use in my T60. Inside I found a Marvell chip. When I googled the chip number, it revealed that the chip was a SATA to ATA/133 bridge.

JketZetera :

can you post more info about that chip,- I wanted to open my T61 but don't want to void the warranty.
Maybe there is some kind of way to update chip's firmware or do something about it ?
Also, the main drive is SATA connector , - the Ultrabay has SATA-to-PATA and then PATA connector to motherboard ?

kotovsky7 wrote:JketZetera :
can you post more info about that chip,- I wanted to open my T61 but don't want to void the warranty.

The chip is in the Ultrabay SATA adapter and not in the notebook itself. If I re-open the adapter this weekend, I will post the chip number.

kotovsky7 wrote: Also, the main drive is SATA connector , - the Ultrabay has SATA-to-PATA and then PATA connector to motherboard ?

Yes, that is correct.

kotovsky7 wrote: Maybe there is some kind of way to update chip's firmware or do something about it ?

Because of the above, it is highly unlikely that any firmware update (unknown if this even is possible) to the SATA to ATA bridge chip in the Ultrabay adapter will resolve the throttling of the SATA-speed on the SATA-port in the main bay.

wow, just realized something -
opened my adapter for serial ata (and for pata along the way) .
there is no bridge in pata adapter.
if there is a sata-pata interface translator (without protocol converion chip) or sataHD with IDE interface (unlikely)-
there is a way to plugin sata ssd 'natively' in ultrabay ( see if the interface can handle sata-I), maybe even sata2.
then a bios fix might be possible to 3G, (or bios mod(or Bar_edit)

*I assume it's safe to steal this thread, since original user's solution been 'happened' ?:)

In response to kotovsky7, the problem discussed int his thread is the one described by crazyfrog which happens to be similar
to mine (sushiwasabi). This problem has not been resolved. The debate about whether or not the Bay is SATA, PATA, or has a chip
is maybe related but so far this does not seem to produce a solution...

sushiwasabi wrote:In response to kotovsky7, the problem discussed int his thread is the one described by crazyfrog which happens to be similar
to mine (sushiwasabi). This problem has not been resolved. The debate about whether or not the Bay is SATA, PATA, or has a chip
is maybe related but so far this does not seem to produce a solution...

I've read somewhere recently that the genuine Lenovo/IBM SATA ultrabay does have problem in recognising some new hard drives, including Seagate's. The solution is to flash a chip inside the hard drive to cheat T60's BIOS like people did before to cheat T43's BIOS. I can't remember the details. But I will try to find the information.

Obvisouly the genuine Lenovo/IBM SATA ultrabay doesn't have problem with my hitachi 250GB hdd. But the fake one does.

This information would be welcomed. Thanks for trying to find it again as on my side I have not found anything comparable to my problem
except your post...
As mentioned earlier, my bay is not a fake model.

Good news, I have a new element which somewhat gives an answer to this problem:
Today, I bought a new drive (Western Digital Scorpio Blue WD3200BEVT 320GB), tried my set-up with it
instead of the Seagate Momentus 5400.5 320GB I had purchase earlier and saw my problem disappear!
So, after much searching, tries and finally this event, my conclusion is that the UltraBay works fine with many
hard disks (I had several installed before) but this particular model causes this bug...
For any users wishing to upgrade their UltraBay hard disk: either pick the Western Digital Scorpio Blue WD3200BEVT 320GB
or buy one making sure you can return it. Go home, install the drive and test the hot-swap function.
Good luck to all of you.
Over and out.

Quick question about the Western Digital WD3200BEVE 320GB 5400 RPM IDE Ultra ATA100 Notebook Hard Drive:
Has anyone installed one of these as the main drive in a T43?
I've got a 100GB Hitachi 7K100 that's just about full. I no longer use my T43 as a desktop replacement, but do need to start using it for photo storage when traveling.
I have a "genuine IBM" Ultrabay HDD adapter, but would really like to just replace the main 100GB with this 320GB as it will give me much better battery life.

crazyfrog wrote: I've read somewhere recently that the genuine Lenovo/IBM SATA ultrabay does have problem in recognising some new hard drives, including Seagate's. The solution is to flash a chip inside the hard drive to cheat T60's BIOS like people did before to cheat T43's BIOS. I can't remember the details. But I will try to find the information.

Obvisouly the genuine Lenovo/IBM SATA ultrabay doesn't have problem with my hitachi 250GB hdd. But the fake one does.

I for one ran into this issue when I purchased a pair of 7200.4 500GB Seagate disks for my T61p. Near 95% of the time when one disk was in the genuine SATA media tray it would fail to initialize upon boot with both the HDD led stating lid as well as the HDD icon. After doing some web searching and thread searching here I ran across a Seagate jumper setting which lowered the speed from 3Gbps to 1.5Gbps. I applied this jumper and it reduced the initialization error percent to near 25%. Clearly there is an issue. Although it did not solve the problem, it lowered the probability of it occurring. Of the times when it does occur, it takes about 3-5 boots and/or removing and reseating to get it to work. While not a show stopper, I am definitely not happy about it and it has forced me to look at alternatives. What compounds the problem is that it also occurs in the Advanced Dock with the SATA tray. Both disks test fine in the primary bay and using USB connection. Clearly either there is a power and/or speed issue with these disks using the SATA adapter.

Of interesting note, I tested both a Hitachi 200GB 7200RPM and 160GB 5400RPM disks in the media tray without problems never having to adjust a jumper.

For me the response is clear: do NOT use Seagate hard drive in your UltraBay. I don't care about the technical reason why it does not work as I am the consumer, not the engineer developing a product. Also from my experience with Seagate support, they do answer but are not going to dig into it for you. Besides they do not know what a T60 is and never heard of an ultrabay...