Thinkpads Forum

I removed the drive from one T420s and tried to install in another. The fit seems too tight, the rails bind when I try to force the drive into the bay. Then tried to reinstall in original machine with same result. I know the fit should be snug but this seems impossibly tight. Is there some piece of plastic that needs to be pushed away to slide the drive into position? It seems that forcing it further may well result in broken case.

Thanks for any suggestions.

There is nothing that should slide out of the way for the drive to go in. I have two T420s's, I have SSD's and they fit fine. You should make sure the drive is a 2.5" x 7mm size, not a 9.5mm. It may have been forced in originally if from a prior owner. I don't know if the rubber rails come in different thicknesses but do make sure they are fit onto the drive properly before pushing the drive in. I suppose in a pinch you could use an Exacto to trim the rubber.

The T420s is designed to use 7mm thick drives. This thickness PLUS the two rubber caps (rails) will fit easily into the slot. No forcing should needed.

If you have a 9mm drive, omit the rubber caps (rails) and it should fit. *** warning *** Doing so however, is not to the design specs. Without any rubber caps/rails, you may find that the drive is not properly protected from bumps and undesirable movement within the slot.

My ignorance. I didn't realize there were the two thicknesses of 2.5" drives so of course that was the problem. Any other thoughts/experiences re: using the thicker drive w/o the rails appreciated.

Wasn't there a case where the SATA port on the laptop broke off when a 9.5mm hard drive was forced in?