Thinkpads Forum

Hello all!

New guy to the forum.

I need an answer to the questions below. Most of the w500 (and T) series laptops come with HDDs at a maximum of 500GB. But I would need a bigger second HDD because of my large music projects. External HDDs won't do because of speed of data propagation issues. So how large an HDD would I be able to get into the Ultra Bay?

Second, I am a little confused about Ultrabay Enhanced (even after consulting the service manual ). Do I have to buy an Ultrabay Enhanced, pop out Ultrabay, buy a caddy for the HDD and stick it into the Ultrabay Enhanced now sitting inside the computer?

or

The w510/520s already have Ultrabay Enhanced installed and I just have to buy an HDD caddy? Wold the HDD be a 9.5mm or 7mm one?

Thanks everyone in advance.

You can boot from drives that do not exceed 2TB. For general storage, > 2TB drives should still work.

sylva wrote:Hello all!

New guy to the forum.

I need an answer to the questions below. Most of the w500 (and T) series laptops come with HDDs at a maximum of 500GB. But I would need a bigger second HDD because of my large music projects. External HDDs won't do because of speed of data propagation issues. So how large an HDD would I be able to get into the Ultra Bay?

Second, I am a little confused about Ultrabay Enhanced (even after consulting the service manual ). Do I have to buy an Ultrabay Enhanced, pop out Ultrabay, buy a caddy for the HDD and stick it into the Ultrabay Enhanced now sitting inside the computer?

or

The w510/520s already have Ultrabay Enhanced installed and I just have to buy an HDD caddy? Wold the HDD be a 9.5mm or 7mm one?

Thanks everyone in advance.

the ultrabay HDD caddy's hold both 7mm and 9mm drives. Usually they come with bumpers for smaller HDD's.

Thanks both of you.

After re-reading my post, I think that my last question (about Ultrabay and Ultrabay Enhanced) sounded more like a statement, rather than a question. So here it is again.

Do the w510/520 automatically come with the Ultrabay Enhanced or I'll have to buy it separately and install it by popping out the DVD player/recorder and only then, after Ultrabay Enhanced is installed pop in the HDD/caddy ensemble?

Thanks again.

Oh, forgive me guys, it looks as though today I am only capable to be thinking in fragments.

Hans: you're talking about Ultrabay. Is it enough to stick in the HDD into Ultrabay, or you meant Ultrabay Enhanced?

Can devices in Ultrabay be hot swapped or I'll need Ultrabay Enhanced?

Thanks.

There are two sizes for Ultrabay devices, 9mm Ultrabay Slim and 12mm Ultrabay Enhanced.

Thin Thinkpads like classic T series up to T500, T410, W500, X300, and 14.1" Z series, and new "s" models like T420s and T430s use Ultrabay Slim 9mm devices.

Thick Thinkpads like classic R50, 15.4" Z series, R60, R61, R400 and R500, and W700, and newer Thinkpad T and W series like T510 through T530, W510 through W530, and even 14" T420 and T430 use Ultrabay Enhanced 12mm devices.

Also note that beginning with 2008 lineup, Thinkpads use SATA Ultrabay devices that connect to the laptop through a SATA connector. Pre-2008, eg. T61, R50p, T42, Z60m, etc. use IDE/PATA Ultrabay devices that connect to the laptop through an IDE/PATA connector. Post-2008, like T500, W500, T410, T520, etc. use SATA.

Ultrabay Slim devices can be inserted into Ultrabay Enhanced laptops with a gap, but they are held in by the locking mechanism and they work and function. For example, 9mm Ultrabay Slim SATA HDD adapter that connects to the laptop with IDE, fits and works in the 12mm drive of an R50p with a gap.

I was also able to use a 12mm Ultrabay Enhanced SATA Optical Drive from a T420 in my 12mm Ultrabay equipped Frankenpad with T500 motherboard.



Now to the specifics of your machine:

Your W500 has a 9mm SATA Ultrabay Slim, and you cannot physically put any 12mm Ultrabay Enhanced sized device in your W500. 9mm adapters exist and I use them. You would need a 9mm SATA adapter, with SATA connector that connects to the laptop with SATA. One advertised for T500, W500, T410, T410s, T420s, or T430s would work.

A 9mm adapter for sale may be advertised for even the thicker laptops, for example for 9mm T500 and 12mm R500, because Slim devices work in Enhanced. Make sure what you're getting is 9mm and with a SATA connector.



Regarding hot swapping: Actually I'm interested in this as well. I've hotswapped optical drives for HDD adapters with the laptop on - but when removing the HDD adapter I always use Windows "Safely Remove Hardware".

Removing an Ultrabay device during boot or BIOS, however, makes the Thinkpad upset and it gives an audible warning.

sylva wrote:Oh, forgive me guys, it looks as though today I am only capable to be thinking in fragments.

Hans: you're talking about Ultrabay. Is it enough to stick in the HDD into Ultrabay, or you meant Ultrabay Enhanced?

Can devices in Ultrabay be hot swapped or I'll need Ultrabay Enhanced?

Thanks.

Let's make some clarifications:
In simple words - Ultrabay is a hole in your ThinkPad where you can plug different devices. Ultrabay Enchanced is 12.5mm height hole found in W700 ThinkPads. Your W500 have serial ultrabay slim (9.5mm height). To connect 2.5" hdd into ultrabay you'll need serial ultrabay slim hdd caddy. You'll place hdd in caddy and pop it into ThinkPad.

Yes ultrabay is hotswappable. And i can submit that 2Tb 2.5" hdd working in ultrabay well.

TPFanatic wrote: ... X300... use Ultrabay Slim 9mm devices.

Even worse - it is 7mm. I don't know the right name for this Ultrabay, ThinkWiki named it "7mm Option-bay".

Thank you both, gentlemen, very much. To be very precise, my computer is w510 (Q720 processor) and I am thinking about upgrading to a w520 (at least with a 2720QM processor). I cannot find a user's manual for the w510, but I found one for the w520 plus the spec sheets. Somehow I'll reckon with the issues by looking into the Service manuals again. My problem is that I am very familiar with desktops, but quite a newbie at laptops. This is why I have all these questions that may seem minor to laptop aficionados, but essential to me.

Anyway, thanks a lot, J.

This post contains misinformation.
Lenovo ThinkPad W510 has a 9mm–class bay, and W520 has a 12mm-class bay. They are not officially called ultrabay. Usually, drive thickness near 9mm is specified to be 9.5 mm. What I call 12mm-class, historically drive manufacturers have called 12.5 mm or 12.7 mm. 12.7mm seems more common.

• ThinkPad Serial ATA Hard Drive Bay Adapter III (Option 43N3412) will fit, with full air gap layers above and below.
• ThinkPad 12.7mm Serial ATA Hard Drive Bay Adapter III (Option 0A65623) would be ideal sled/tray/module to hold 1cm/9.5mm drive, fills gaps, IF it is compatible.
• RAID adapter for workstation models (FRU 60Y5513) is "correct" Option to hold a 12 mm-class drive.

2016-05-19 edit: Thank you, TPFanatic and brchan. It seems W510 does have a ~12mm bay (evidence in doc PD024256 : ThinkPad Ultrabay DVD Burner 12.7mm Enhanced Drive III - Overview). I did not ever touch, or even see, a W### 'Pad, so I am just spewing B.S.

2016-06-01 edit: Uncertain compatibility of W510 is now mentioned in ThinkWiki. This might have been tested by 龙星 on 51nb, but I am not a member so I do not see the photos, and I do not read the language.

I think W510 also uses the 12mm bay. The Thinkwiki and this thread (http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?t=84711) suggest it too wants the 12mm devices.

The old 15.4" W500 used the 9mm bay since back then top of the line Thinkpads were thin - but the 15.6" W510 has the new, bigger body with the thicker bays.

Yes, the W510 uses the 12.7mm ultrabay adapters. I just measured the one in my W530, which basically uses the same chassis. I recall 12mm drives having a tight fit. The 9mm drives are thin enough to even allow you to attach rubber rails to them while in the HDD ultrabay.

Just a data point here; i have had very satisfying performance on a W500 with an SSD in the main bay and a 1TB data drive in the ultrabay adapter. It can be a good way to go if you don't have constant need for an optical drive. Or grab a dock with a ultrabay if you need it more than occasionally.

Hi everyone.
I just discovered the existence of thinkpads.com last night but had a little trouble with the registration process. I’m very excited about being able to connect with people like yourselves.
I have a W500 4058CTO . I am very fond of this laptop and have tried to keep it in good working condition.
1. Display has been replaced once under warranty.
2. Original hard Drive was replaced with SSD 240 GB about 2 years ago.
3. Ram is original 4 GB .
4. Using Win.7 professional currently.
5. I have run out of space on the SSD drive. My primary work folder is 95 GB and I don’t have the room for it any longer.
I plan to replace the SSD / 240 GB with a Crucial MX 300 / 750 GB SSD . I don’t think I will need to utilize the ultrabay as the archived files which I occasionally need can be accessed from an external WD passport 2 TB drive which I keep with me when I travel.
I will add an additional 4 GB ram so that I am maxed out at 8 GB. I don’t expect a significant increase in speed from this upgrade but it helps when I need to work with Photoshop.
I was originally going to upgrade the OS to Win. 10 but recently thought about leaving Win 7 as the OS. I have upgraded all the other computers to Win.10 and don’t really feel there is a significant difference. The only real consequence will be the loss of support by Microsoft. Any thoughts on this?
I am concerned about my W500 being able to fully access this 750 GB SSD drive. I don’t think Lenovo was anticipating SSD drives with this capacity when they designed the W500.
I work primarily from desktop computers in my office. I think this will be the last upgrade for this laptop but I think it will give it another three to four years of life.
Does all of this make sense? I have developed an attachment to my W500 and feel as if I talked myself into making this investment ( approx.. $220.00 )

Welcome to the forum.

If you upgrade to 8GB RAM, you'll also need to have a 64-bit OS to use that RAM.
W7 is still supported till 2020, so no reason to panic.
When that time comes, your W500 is 10 years old and most likely still going strong.
Just look after your fan and thermal paste, and make regular backups.
You'll also have a few years time to learn other OSes like Linux, W10 is NOT the way forward!
The W500 takes any HDD or SSD you care to throw at it, no limits there other than your wallet...

Thank you for your comment. One in particular is of concern. " Just look after your fan and thermal paste, and make regular backups" . I am fairly disciplined about backing up. When I replaced the first hard drive with the 240 GB SSD , I sort of relaxed about the temperature as the SSD was more efficient and consumes less power. What is thermal paste ?

I should have mentioned when I changed the OS from XP to Win. 7 , I made sure I was using the 64 bit version. I realized that I was unable to access all the RAM unless using this.

How do I monitor the fan and temperature ? Given the age of this laptop , is it a good idea to replace the fan as well.

Thanks again for your input.

Due to a lack of driver support, Windows 10 will cripple the ATI Graphics, consequently the Displayport video output as well, and the PCmcia card slot. If you do any 3D things with your W500 or use any of those features, you're best sticking with Windows 7 or moving Linux past-2020.



Thermal paste refers to a paste that is put as a heat conductor between the metal of the heatsink and the dies of the CPU, GPU, and Intel Northbridge in the back-left corner of the laptop. If you haven't been under the heatsink assembly or replaced the CPU, the stock Lenovo thermal paste tends to dry up and the fan can collect dust. Compressed air can blast the dust out of the fan without removing the heatsink.

You can get TPFancontrol http://tpfancontrol.com/ and look at its temperatures. Needs a reboot.

You can also get HWMonitor and inspect the reported temperatures for CPU and GPU http://www.cpuid.com/softwares/hwmonitor.html

Don't bother 'upgrading' to W10. Stick with 7 or better yet go with linux for better driver support and performance.

brchan wrote:You can boot from drives that do not exceed 2TB. For general storage, > 2TB drives should still work.

The boot DRIVE can't exceed 2TB? Did you meant the PARTITION can't exceed 2TB?

http://en.community.dell.com/techcenter ... and-beyond

https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/librar ... s.85).aspx

Article on GPT and MRB drives. It's clear and well written . Should answer most of your questions. I was assembling a new computer with large storage capability. Two SSD Drives / 2 / 3TB standard hard drives and one 5 TB hard drive. I was unable to see the drives ( 3 TB and 5TB ) beyond 2 TB. I knew there was a problem which was the introduction to the GPT issue.

Good Luck .

Thank you very much for the excellent explanation of Thermal Paste . When I install the new SSD drive , I will dust off fan. Will also download the software to monitor temperature. Appreciate this.

For Linux OS , I have worked in the PC / Windows world a long time. Not always happy but somewhat comfortable. I am now 73 years old and a little reluctant to hike up this mountain. I have no idea how long it would take me to achieve some facility with Linux . Will read up on this to get a better idea of what is involved in switching to this OS.

Again , Thanks for the suggestion.

this is a VERY informative topic with lots of knowledgeable members great opinions. I just wanted to say thisboth as Thanks to those long time members and as a heads up for any newbies.

RealBlackStuff wrote:W10 is NOT the way forward!

Holy words!