Thinkpads Forum

I recently purchased a refurbished T410, and am quite pleased with the machine. I needed a decent workhorse and was on a tight budget, and the 410 fit the bill nicely. It came with a DVD drive, which I have since upgraded to a Blu-ray. I also got a SATA drive caddy so that I can optionally mount a 2nd hard drive in my TP.

Anyway my questions today are about what to do with the Serial Ultrabay Slim devices when *not* in use in my Thinkpad.

First, is there some sort of cable, dock or case that would let me use my optical devices outside of my TP? Ideally I'm imagining something with a USB plug on one end and a case with a slot where you can insert the Ultrabay device on the other end. IBM used to make something that looks exactly like what I'm picturing in my mind, the "Portable Drive Bay" http://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/Portable_Drive_Bay, only it appears to be for an older Ultrabay standard. Is there something similar (or even within the ballpark) for the new Serial Ultrabay Slim form factor?

Last, I'm concerned about how to store and transport my devices when not in use. In particular, the optical devices seem to me to be rather delicate. The thought of slipping it in my laptop case and have it bang and jostle around is troubling. Does anyone make some sort of hard plastic storage case that I could use to store and protect my devices? I guess I could always get a small Pelican case and carve out the inner foam to fit a Serial Ultrabay Slim device, but would prefer an already-made option if one exists.

Thanks!

Welcome to thinkpads.com!

A quick search on eBay leads to this: http://www.ebay.com/itm/221507744656

This was found using the following search string: (serial,sata) ultrabay (t400,t410,slim,9.5) (case,housing,external) You might find others by adjusting the terms.

As to your other question about a case or storage bag... I'm not familiar with any hard/plastic case. There was a pouch sold by IBM for carrying/protecting Ultrabay devices. The FRU is 05K4562. The only one I can find at the moment on eBay that references this FRU is being sold with an Ultrabay 2000 CDRW/DVD drive: http://www.ebay.com/itm/251201776475

Using a more general search, there's this one: http://www.ebay.com/itm/371123797284

Not sure on how much much physical protection both these pouches can offer. I think that they were mainly intended to be used to keep dust and dirt away from the Ultrabay device. Me? I've thrown the Ultrabay devices (optical and HD adapters) into my laptop bag willy-nilly and have yet to damage one. Generally they are placed next to the laptop in the main (innermost) compartment, as opposed to the side pocket where I keep the AC adapter, cables, etc. This can cause some scratches on the laptop so if you are concerned about looks, don't do what I do.

Slightly OT: What Blu-ray drive are you using in the T410? I recently bought a couple of T410 systems and was planning on putting a slot-load Blu-ray drive in one. Something along the lines of a Panasonic UJ1x7. I don't think I need a Blu-ray burner so that's why I'm not looking at the UJ2x7 series.

dburr wrote: is there some sort of cable, dock or case that would let me use my optical devices outside of my TP?

rkawakami wrote: A quick search on eBay leads to this: http://www.ebay.com/itm/221507744656

Nice find! Thanks


Have a Magical Day