Replacing HD in X41 - The Basics

[ColMaki]

I've read a lot in this forums about the different options on replacing the X41 hard drive. SSD option is too expensive for me right now so I've decided to stick with new "1.8 hard drive.

As far as I've read my only option now is to get a ZIF "1.8 hard drive from the list here:
http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=83139

Anyone knows about better/newer models? where is the best place to find them? I'm looking for 60GB-80GB.

I've found lot's of adapter in X41 as the original Lenovo issued replacement adapters, anyone has a recommendation on one of the adapters? experience?
http://shop.ebay.com/?_from=R40&_trksid ... Categories

any help will be appreciated.

[sjthinkpader]

A single platter 80GB would be the best, such as Samsung HS082JB or Toshiba MK8025GAL. Best performance for a reasonable price is still the Samsung HS122JC. There is a single platter 160GB but very expensive at the moment.

[ColMaki]

sjthinkpader thx for the response.

will all of them cause the 2010 error?

[sjthinkpader]

Yes, they all cause this error, but I've never encounter any other problems with this.

[Tasurinchi]

I've just added to benchmarks from my Toshiba MK8025GAL in my thread. It's working like a champ in my X40! I went for it because it seemed to me a good price/performance ratio.

It waaaay more silent and faster than the stock drive, but I have no experiences with other drives, the Samsung models seem to be faster, but they cost more...

I bought this adapter. Just plug the drive into it and then inside the X41, it's really dead easy...

My 0.02 cents...

Cheers

[ColMaki]

thx for all the tips. will try all if it soon and report back. the computer is actually x40, not x41 (it's a friend's computer) but as I understand it's the same.

[Tasurinchi]

the computer is actually x40, not x41

It''s better then! No annoying 2010 error!

Have fun and let us know when it's working. What HD do you have in mind?

[haraldnote]

Bought a Toshiba MK1214GAH ZIF drive and adapter for my X41T.
1.)How does the ZIF connector work?
There is a narrow and long black strip in the connector.
Which direction do I move it to open it to insert flat cable?
toward the connector end or toward the body of the drive?
And inverse to lock it?
There is no obvious click or lock?
2) There are no screw holes at all in the body of the drive and no means to attach the handle from the original drive. How do I secure the drive mechanically and how do I install and withdraw it. Do I have to disassemble the palm rest of the X41T?

[sjthinkpader]

Open the ZIF connector by flipping the black bar up towards the edge. Close by flip the back bar down towards the drive body.

Yes, there are no side screws to secure the plastic cover. Just push it in place and secure with the single screw.

[Tasurinchi]

This link may help. You'll see the pictures of how to install the drive

[guarddog68]

Do I have to update the BIOS in order to get these ZiF drives to work? I have made several attempts to load XP into a X41T that I have installed the Toshiba MK1214GAH ZiF drive with convertor, with no results. I can get XP to start the install, format the disk and everything, but when it comes to start on its own to continue the install, I get a hard drive compatibility error. and nothing happens. Now I am not an expert by any means, and there might be a possibility that my install is flawed somehow. I am using a 2Gb thumbdrive to install XP. I followed the instructions from another website and the thumdrive seems to be working fine. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

[sjthinkpader]

Set the hard drive to "continue" on error in BIOS.

[chener]

Open the ZIF connector by flipping the black bar up towards the edge. Close by flip the back bar down towards the drive body.

Yes, there are no side screws to secure the plastic cover. Just push it in place and secure with the single screw.

How does one yank the drive back out if the cover is not attached to it?

[guarddog68]

I use a small dental hook that you can buy from Radio Shack for very little money. Just be careful that you 'hook' the metal holder and not the drive itself.

[haraldnote]

I installed Toshiba 120GB drive plus Win7 Ultimate on my X41T. All runs well after getting all the drivers from Win update or Lenovo.
To extract the drive I looped a string (dental floss works well) between the connectors, which allows me to pull the drive back out and replace it with the original. To insure you insert the drive in the correct orientation look inside the X41T and align the connectors.

[sjthinkpader]

Yes, I also pull the drive out by the metal tab on the ZIF-IDE adapter plate. I used a small screw driver to do that.

Dental floss sounds interesting (em Portuques: floss dental).