W520 built-in hard drive bay SATA connection slightly loose

W500/510/520 and W700/710 series specific matters only
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thecuriousWill
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Location: Houston, Texas

W520 built-in hard drive bay SATA connection slightly loose

#1 Post by thecuriousWill » Tue Oct 25, 2011 3:16 am

I know I might sound a little crazy but does your ThinkPad w520 hard drive bay SATA port (or that black connector that slightly juts out and connects to the SATA connection on your hard drive) a little loose or firm and immovable. Mine juggles very very slightly up and down and I am not sure if that is normal. The reason why I ask is because the laptops I repair for my job don't have this issue and are solidly still. Your input or opinion would be greatly appreciated! Thanks.
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Edit:

Thanks for the responses, but I think I need to clarify my question because I think you guys might be thinking about the add on hard drive bay you can connect to the ThinkPad (which you purchase separately of course). I was actually referring to the bay that is at the bottom of the laptop where only a hard drive can be inserted. So I take out the hard drive and I am looking at the black SATA connector that is soldered onto the motherboard. That connector seems a little flimsy. If I just nudge it a little it will move, but will not move by itself. Like I mentioned earlier, all the laptops I worked with have theirs rock solid and will not budge at all even if you try to nudge it. I was hoping someone can take their hard drive out and look at the connection to see if they have the same issue as well. Sorry for the confusion!
Last edited by thecuriousWill on Tue Oct 25, 2011 10:18 am, edited 3 times in total.

davidhbrown
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Re: W520 hard drive bay SATA connection slightly jittery

#2 Post by davidhbrown » Tue Oct 25, 2011 7:26 am

The connector in the adapter I have from Lenovo does not move (FRU 43N3429 / ASM 43N3428). However, one in a third-party adapter I have does "float" a bit until the connected drive is secured to the sled/adapter with screws.

I'm not sure whether the connector inside the W520 moves or not. Hopefully/presumably not.
W520 (2820QM, Q2000M, FHD, mSATA SSD, dock)
Previous: T61p (died 1m past warranty :-(), Dell 8600, iBook ("Dual USB"), Gateway Millennium, Macintosh G4 , PowerPC Mac clone, Mac Duo 210, iBook (clamshell), Quadra 630, Mac IIsi, C-128, C-64, Vic-20

AMATX
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Re: W520 hard drive bay SATA connection slightly jittery

#3 Post by AMATX » Tue Oct 25, 2011 9:52 am

I think someone posted that a little duct tape wrapped around a drive or caddy would do the trick, so you might give that a try.

One more use for duct tape, eh? :D

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