Stuck Ultrabay release lever on your A31?

[rkawakami]

I was asked a few days ago if I knew of a way to get a stuck A31 Ultrabay release lever "un-stuck". After playing around for a few minutes here at work with my A31, I think I've got something. What I used to free the lever is a straight dental pick. You may be able to substitute a long needle or a thin nail. I also tried a hacksaw blade but couldn't get it to work.

The technique is to pry the internal restraining bar away from the lever so that it can pop out. You need to insert the pick/needle/nail on the TOP of the release lever and slightly angled TOWARD the sliding switch. Push/slide your implement of choice toward the outer edge of the Ultrabay (i.e., towards the sliding switch) and that should release the lever.

If you can't picture this, then download one of these video clips:

http://www.kawakami-ca.com/images/a31_u ... elease.3gp (QuickTime - 381KB)
http://www.kawakami-ca.com/images/a31_u ... elease.avi (Windows Media Player - 1.4MB)
http://www.kawakami-ca.com/images/a31_u ... elease.mp4 (QuickTime - 940KB)

I would assume that this will work for the other Thinkpads which use a similar Ultrabay 2000 or Plus design.

Note: Deleted my own topic and posted updated version with .AVI and .MP4 versions of the clip

edit: I should note that this technique will only work if there seems to be a "disconnected" feeling when using the sliding switch (it moves aside but nothing happens). If there's something actually jamming the mechanism and preventing it from releasing the lever, then this won't work. If this is the case, then check the threaded insert on the bottom of the laptop to see if there's something causing the obstruction (broken off screw, debris, etc.).

[Phazer]

Ray......your worth your weight in gold.

[rkawakami]

At current market price, that would be $1,622,400 . You can PayPal that to me... I think Maybe my personal PayPal account won't accept that amount. Yeah, I think there's a $500 limit per month. So that would take (Ray gets out the calculator again).... 3,245 months or 270 years . Okay, fine, you can send me a check .

(Go ahead... do the math; figure out my weight!)

[Jathm]

roughly 166 pounds? just off the top of my head.


and thanks for the video thats really helpful. I don't need another reason to take my thinkpad apart again.

[rkawakami]

roughly 166 pounds?

Hmm.. price of gold must have gone down in the last month or so .

and thanks for the video thats really helpful.

No sense in stripping down the machine when a potentially easier solution is at hand. Of course there's the slight problem of finding just the right implement to use.