just bought an x41 and now need a hdd

[tintin13]

Hello eveyone,
First post and already here with a question.

I've just bought a X41 tablet and am eager for it to arrive, it's main use will be reading pdf's. It doesn't come with a hard drive (but i got with the dock included) and i'm looking at possible hard drive options.

I Don't want an ssd as the only ones that i can find at a decent price are the kingspec ones, and they don't seem to last very long. I would rather prefer a 1.8 zif 5400 hdd, which is a lot easier to find and from what i've read would be faster than the cf card/adapter set as time passes.

I've spotted a ide connector to zif (i think) and would some opinions or like to know if any one has tried this connector.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/160904039211? ... 1438.l2649

Thanks in advance for any help.

[Tasurinchi]

That could work, but there are better adapters than that one, check this old thread here for a list of drives you can use. There's a link to an adapter there too.

One more hint, newer ZIF drives with 4200 RPM perform quite good as well.

Happy hunting...

[tintin13]

I was hoping to find something cheaper, the adapter in the thread you mention costs more than what i paid for the laptop with dock and accessories.

Last night i found another vendor of the same adapter so hope will get a response from that one, and while searching i found a 44 pin ide/cf adapter that takes 2 cf cards. Might have to read up on that combo and reconsider.

Thanks for the help.

[Tasurinchi]

Wow... The price is insane! Probably they don't have stock and increase the price to avoid having bids.

That adapter is being sold by a variety of Ebay sellers, I don't remember from which seller I got my last two ones, but they were quite cheap, around 10 USD if memory serves me well...

P.S.: This type of adapter works too...

[tintin13]

Cheers mate, that's more like it.

[twistero]

P.S.: This type of adapter works too...

This adapter has a 3.3V voltage regulator that must be bypassed/removed if you wish to use it in a X41.

[Tasurinchi]

D@rn... I thought they were already modified...

[RealBlackStuff]

Look for a thread by Harryc, about an X41 project which he fully described. It includes pictures of how to get rid of the 3.3V part of the HD-adapter.

[Raceboy]

On X41 why bother with slow and incomplete solutions? Just buy a mSATA SSD (64GB one for ~€40), unsolder some miniPCI-e slot from dead motherboard and do a SATA mod (only 6 wires are needed). Result is compact (no need to cut anything on X41), quiet and fast laptop. CF cards tend to stutter when there is much random writes and they are no cheaper too.

[tintin13]

@ raceboy

I can't find a 64 gb msata ssd for 40€, any links ?
Have never soldered anything in my life, so that's not the most attractive solution for me. Any links or tutorials about this mod ?

How about http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/221098148762? ... 8.l2648%20
Supports 3.3v and 5v

[Raceboy]

Here are few examples. They are more like €45-50 but he shipping is free: http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_trksid= ... tpos&gbr=1

Unfortunately there is no way to get the max out of the X41 without soldering. The SATA-> PATA bridge chip robs performance and creates heat on X41 and with this removed it is possible to use m/SATA SSD's without any adapters.

There are several tutorials regarding the X41 SATA mod, one is here: http://www.thinkpads.com/forum/viewtopi ... =3&t=90285

If you are not comfortable with doing this, you can send it to me and I can do it. Shipping to Estonia from Belgium and back is not too expensive also.

[tintin13]

Raceboy, cheers for the offer, but i won't be going the sdd route. Or do i still need to remove the sata->pata bridge chip if using a zif hdd ?

I'll use this little guide, http://www.think4d.de/nbb/x41_ssd.htm, seems quite straightforward.

I've ordered the connector, now for the hdd.

Will any 1.8 zif drive do ?
For example, http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1-8-inch-80GB ... 33799bf08b

Thanks for the support so far, really appreciated.

[Tasurinchi]

The drive from the link will work, seems to be a good price for a 5400 RPM drive!

[sjthinkpader]

Because this HS08XJC is a 2 platter design, it has low areal density and not very fast. The HS081HB and HS082HB are single platter 4200RPM designs and are quieter and faster. Single platter of the same capacity is 100% faster than dual platter. 4200rpm is only 23% slower than 5400rpm driver.

[tintin13]

i haven't bought anything yet so thank you for the tips.

[tintin13]

Ok, bought a samsung HS06THB but sadly it seems my soldering skills or worth nowt, drive isn't working. Is there anyone who could modify one of these adapters for me ? http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/130768692519 ?