Take a look at our
ThinkPads.com HOME PAGE
For those who might want to contribute to the blog, start here: Editors Alley Topic
Then contact Bill with a Private Message

W520 DIY add msata to WWAN for second internal disk

W500/W510/W520 and W700/W701 Series
Post Reply
Message
Author
AdaSch
Sophomore Member
Posts: 184
Joined: Sun Jan 29, 2006 5:38 am
Location: Poland, Gdansk

W520 DIY add msata to WWAN for second internal disk

#1 Post by AdaSch » Thu Jan 27, 2022 9:45 am

Hello, I can confirm successful adding MSATA disk to W520 as additional device over WWAN 3G modem
I just soldered wires directry to 3G modem connector
Ground, +3,3V A+,A-,B+,B-, and detect msata signal. (it's not easy!)
I didn't want to lose my modem afer add alone msata disk
Connector is responsible for SATA2 and this mods don't make confict with extrernal sata's

Now I have two independed internal SSD disks. Thinkapad correctly identify WWAN and MSATA on one connector :)

I use halfsize pci ssd device from kingspec (256GB) transfers are 250MB+/s

I add some photos later...

cheers!
W520 CS, FP, WWAN, I7-2920XM, Q2kM 1TB SSD i540s
current W520, W700, X301, X120e, X230*2, MSI GT72 I7-6700Hq GTX980m, MSI GT683 I7-2860QM GTX970M,
before T23, T40, T43p*3, T61p*3, W500

mikemex
Senior Member
Senior Member
Posts: 615
Joined: Mon Oct 04, 2010 8:54 pm
Location: Coyoacan, Mexico

Re: W520 DIY add msata to WWAN for second internal disk

#2 Post by mikemex » Fri Jan 28, 2022 5:51 pm

That's pretty sweet. I've been thinking about adding mSATA to my X301 as well... I just wonder if it's worth all the hassle at this point...
X301: SU9600 | 8GB | 1TB | WXGA+
X1C5: 7600U | 16GB | 1TB | FHD
X1C9: 1145G7 | 16GB | 1TB | WUXGA | WWAN
X1Y8: 1365U | 32GB | 1TB | WUXGA
P14s G1 AMD: 4750U | 32GB | 1TB | PG FHD Touch
T14 G2: 1145G7 | 32GB | 1TB | FHD

TheForgottenKing
Senior Member
Senior Member
Posts: 511
Joined: Fri Apr 13, 2018 11:41 am
Location: Chicago, IL

Re: W520 DIY add msata to WWAN for second internal disk

#3 Post by TheForgottenKing » Thu Feb 03, 2022 11:49 pm

mikemex wrote:
Fri Jan 28, 2022 5:51 pm
That's pretty sweet. I've been thinking about adding mSATA to my X301 as well... I just wonder if it's worth all the hassle at this point...
I don't think the mPCIe slot on the X301 has the pins at all (pre-xx20 models don't), but you can and should replace the primary 1.8" drive with an mSATA or m.2 drive.
theforgottenki.ng
X1 Extreme Gen 3: i7-10750H - 1650 Ti - 16GB - 512GB
W701ds: i7-940XM - 32GB - 256GB + 1TB - FX 2800M - 17" 1920x1200 + 10" 768x1280 - Wacom - Dock
701R: i5-1135G7 - 16GB - 512GB - 10.2" 2160x1620 [WIP]
PC XT: 5160 + 5151 + F XT - Intel 8088 - 640 KB - 2GB CF

rezax
Posts: 2
Joined: Sun Jun 14, 2020 10:27 pm
Location: Halifax, NS Canada

Re: W520 DIY add msata to WWAN for second internal disk

#4 Post by rezax » Thu Mar 31, 2022 3:55 am

AdaSch wrote:
Thu Jan 27, 2022 9:45 am
I add some photos later...
Photos or it didn't happen :D
X230T i7 (daily driver)
Others: 2 x X230T i5, X220 i5, X220i i3, X201T i7, R50

Post Reply
  • Similar Topics
    Replies
    Views
    Last post

Return to “ThinkPad W500/W510/W520 and W700/W701 Series”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 49 guests