Thinkpads Forum

Hello all,

I am wondering if it is possible to boot up with the SSD I have installed in a T61p in a W520. I don't know if it will work because of different SATA controllers, but I just wanted to ask if anyone has done this successfully before.
Please do not respond if you're going to tell me to reinstall or do the usual steps that the stereotypical technician will tell me. I just want to know if it's possible or not. Thanks.

It's definitely possible. Not always easy, not always desirable, but possible.

Yes, I did this when I needed to flash Middleton Bios on multiple T61s. Only one had Windows installed, so I just swapped out the drives into each and used the installer. Works fine on both HDDs and SSDs.

While the controller is different both are still intel, if you still have access to the T61 I'd suggest upgrading the ahci driver ahead of time, that way it'll recognize the new hardware without issue.

The alternative is you enable compatibility (ide) mode in the registry and 520 to get it booted and change the driver after.

Moving HDD's from older to newer Intel controllers has never been a problem here. I even moved RAID 5 arrays from one desktop to a newer one