PATA or SATA Ultrabay HD adapter for X41 T

[globalkiwi]

Admin note: Split this part of the discussion from the original thread: http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=75814

Was about to chime in, as I have the same dock, that it's a totally non-essential cosmetic item (designed to cover the "empty" space created when you are using the smaller battery on the X41 for example) - but you've discovered that for yourself!

On a related note, I was trying to find out exactly what 2nd hard drive adapter works with the X4 - from the Lenovo site it appears one for the X4 Ultrabase will work in the X4 also but it's very vague. Ordered one through eBay so I guess I'll eventually find out whether it works or not.

[rkawakami]

The standard Ultrabay Slim hard drive adapter (FRU 62P4553; the parallel ATA version) fits inside the X4 dock. I haven't actually tried attaching a hard drive yet, but I have no reason to believe that it won't work.

[globalkiwi]

Yikes, I just purchased the Serial ATA version of that part number. Will it work or do I absolutely need the PATA version?

[rkawakami]

Serial ATA (SATA) should work from what I understand. The connector on the outside of the Ultrabay Slim HD adapter (i.e., what plugs into the motherboard's connector inside the Ultrabay) is standard and looks like this:

http://www.kawakami-ca.com/images/ultra ... _drive.jpg

There's this eBay auction in which the seller asks the buyer which version is needed:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... 0395316957

Of course, you will need to use a SATA hard drive inside the adapter. That same SATA hard drive will not work inside the laptop itself since, a) it's too big and b) it's not a parallel ATA drive.

[globalkiwi]

Ray, thanks for your prompt & thorough reply. I guess I'm a little obtuse as I'm still slightly confused. Correct me if I am wrong - please! - but am I right in thinking that the caddies are externally the same - the difference is the type of drive they will accept (PATA or SATA)? I have a SATA drive which I wish to use in the caddy & so bought the SATA caddy - only to have a moment of panic when I read your post & wondered if X4 base would *only* accept a PATA drive. But, if I read you correctly, the base will accept either & the caddy type (PATA or SATA) is determined by the drive (not the base). Do I have that straight?

[rkawakami]

Yes, that's my understanding (as I have not used any SATA HD adapter/caddy). The Ultrabay Slim is a "standard". Any device which is said to plug into a system which has that same type of Ultrabay, in this case the T4x systems and X4 dock, will work. So, as long as your eBay seller has listed the adapter as being "Ultrabay Slim" or provided a list of Thinkpads which use the Ultrabay Slim form-factor, then you should be fine.

[globalkiwi]

Ok, well I've ordered a SATA caddy so I will let you know what transpires!
Thanks for your help.

[rkawakami]

Well, after reading your thread at the Lenovo Community board, I went and ordered this one:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... 0291362875

The description says "Ultrabay Slim". It's supposed to be compatible with "X4, X6 UltraBase Dock". The connector on the back panel looks like a normal Ultrabay Slim device. They have a well-stated return/refund policy. Sure it's coming from China but at less than $25 it's worth the risk. I've split off this discussion into its own thread since we've veered off from the original issue....

edit: Picked up a cheap 60GB 7K100 SATA drive since I don't have any already.

[globalkiwi]

After reading that thread I sent an email to the same folks in China, requesting that they change my shipment from a SATA caddy to a PATA one! We should probably have agreed on a division of labor as I have a SATA drive already & now need to buy a PATA one to fit in the revised order. On the upside, eventually, we can post the definitive result here at Bills ...

Unfortunately, I'm not going to be able to test it in the X4 dock until the end of the month when I return to the US, so maybe I'll hold off buying a PATA drive until I find out how you fared.

[rkawakami]

Here's the good news: that SATA HD adapter works inside my X4 dock:

http://www.kawakami-ca.com/ultrabay_sli ... d_adapter/

It also works inside a T41 without any changes or alterations needed on the adapter (despite what ThinkWiki has said). Maybe this knockoff has already taken care of that problem? All I know is that I swapped out the DVD drive from my T41 and pushed this SATA HD adapter in and it works.

[phr]

That's interesting. I have a Lenovo SATA ultra slimbay hd tray in my T61 and it physically will not fit in the X4 Ultrabase that I use with my X40. I do swap a DVD burner between the T61 and the X4. I remember someone saying the sata hd tray had a tab that you could cut off to get it into the X4 but I figured the tab must be there for a reason. I had figured I'd just get a PATA tray for the X4 if I wanted to add a second HD to my X40.

[rkawakami]

Based on that observation, I have updated my site with some photos and measurements of the SATA adapter as compared to an IBM PATA adapter. From the looks of the label and the construction of the SATA adapter I bought, it appears to be a knockoff; a fairly good one from what I can tell. I don't have a genuine Lenovo/IBM SATA adapter so I can't say what the tab might be for.

[ayagroupdotcom]

Hello All!

This is how I have mine set up since I do a lot of backup.

I removed my optical drive and insert the following caddy with 160GB drive. A lot of our customers uses a SSD.


IBM LB010587 Universal 2.5" SATA-to-SATA 2nd Hard Drive Caddy UltraBay
http://www.ayagroup.com/product.php?pro ... t=0&page=1

With the optical drive, I used the following slimline enclosure and is now an EXTERNAL USB2.0 Optical drive.


Sabrent EC-BSAT SATA to USB 2.0 CD/DVD/RW Slimline Drive Portable Case Enclosure
http://www.ayagroup.com/product.php?pro ... 328&page=1

Thanks for looking!

[keithsketchley]

At risk of covering what others have said, note that the "Slim" takes max 9.5mm whereas the non-Slim takes up to 12.5mm IIRC.

IIRC the IBM adapter will even take a 1.8" drive as there is a fold-down blocker piece to fill the gap left by the shorter 1.8" drive, the user manual should show that.

A general caution regarding purchasing off eBay:
Many sellers are sloppy about compatibility, including:
- they'll list several Thinkpad models their item will fit, but the fine print and/or their
- many are ignorant of details of Thinkpads, especially the oddball x41
- some are jerks, the satisfaction rating is not a good-enough indicator of ability

I just received an x4 Ultrabase instead of the ordered X4 Dock, the seller says he is shipping me the correct product now. (That's an example of possible terminology confusion, since some Lenovo documents use the term "base" with "x4 dock". In this case I think they carelessly grabbed the wrong product to ship.)

[keithsketchley]

The seller did send me the correct x4 Dock.

I’ve also briefly seen a tablet x41, the stylus slides into the left near corner from the side – that location is covered by a vertical tab on the x4 Ultrabase.

I’ve also looked inside an x4 Ultrabase – what an expensive-to-make mess!

And the first bullet of my earlier message should have said:
- they'll list several Thinkpad models their item will fit, but the fine print says they are not responsible for ensuring fit, and some have a no-return policy.
Talk is cheap, guarantees are good if you think the seller is solid – some on eBay are not.]