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[760XD] Replacing hard drive with a CF card - got a few questions

Older ThinkPads from the 300, 500, 600, 700 Series, iSeries, Transnote etc.
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acutesyntax
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Joined: Thu Apr 01, 2021 6:58 pm
Location: Detroit, Michigan, USA

[760XD] Replacing hard drive with a CF card - got a few questions

#1 Post by acutesyntax » Thu Apr 01, 2021 8:14 pm

Just scored a used 760XD earlier this week with a hard drive that's on its last legs. I was planning to replace the failing drive with a CompactFlash card and an IDE to CF adapter, since smaller hard drives are incredibly hard to come across nowadays (plus, the lack of noise and reduced battery consumption due to using flash memory is pretty nice). Before I grab the parts I just wanted to ask about a few things:
  • What is the maximum drive capacity of this specific TP? I was planning to just get a 4GB card to match the size of the old HDD, but other 700-series models can apparently accept a max of 6/8GB cards and drives.
  • Will the TP be able to detect the card through the caddy adapter? There's an additional connector that hooks up the IDE drive to the port on the system board, and while people have had luck with attaching cards to this adapter on other legacy models, I'm not for sure if the two would play nice with each other in this case.
  • Are there any specific brands of CF cards that are known not to work or have higher compatibility with legacy TPs in general? I'm assuming the actual card picked shouldn't make a difference, but I just wanted to be sure.
Thanks in advance! :D

axur-delmeria
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Re: [760XD] Replacing hard drive with a CF card - got a few questions

#2 Post by axur-delmeria » Thu Apr 01, 2021 9:48 pm

From what I remember, the maximum size supported in BIOS is slightly below 8GB. A 4GB CF card will work, 8GB is more of a question mark.

That said, one way to surpass this limitation is to install a dynamic drive overlay on the CF card before installing it on the 760XD. However, that requires having another laptop with IDE ports and better BIOS support. Said overlay can be found in older versions of Ontrack Disk Manager.
Planned Purchase: T480s i5-8350 FHD Touch
Impulse Buy: Thinkpad not named for safety reasons :lol:
RIP: X220 4291-C91 X61 7676-A24 760XD-U9E :cry:

goldeneagle
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Re: [760XD] Replacing hard drive with a CF card - got a few questions

#3 Post by goldeneagle » Sun May 23, 2021 2:53 pm

I don't remember on a 760, but I've had problems going over a 6.4GB drive on a 755. I *might* have a 760XD, but I know for a fact I have several ED's and 2 765's I could try, and see if they work with say a 16GB compact flash card.

I personally prefer Western Digital SiliconDrive, as they are considered industrial compact flash, and fairly cheap. All of my vintage ThinkPads right now are using 1GB and 2GB SSDs, and I'm in the process of moving some to larger capacticy CF cards (so I can do multiple OSes with System Commander).
Historic ThinkPads owned:
300, 360C/CE/PE, 510CS, 560/E/Z, 600/E/X, 700C, 701C/CS, 720C, 730TE, 750C, 750P, 755C/CE/CX/CDV/CD, 760L, 760EL/XD, 765L
Newer ThinkPads owned:
P50, T480

killerkiko
Posts: 8
Joined: Wed Jun 23, 2021 11:54 am
Location: Mesa, AZ

Re: [760XD] Replacing hard drive with a CF card - got a few questions

#4 Post by killerkiko » Wed Jun 23, 2021 11:59 am

Im working through this right now. Ive tried larger hard drives where i make smaller partitions (that doenst work, system never boots) Ive tried a 1gb CF card in an adapter, and it seems to me that the adapter i got ($4 on ebay) isnt working. and im waiting on an SD to ide adapter to use a 2gb SD card. Its kind of fun figuring out how to make this work :)
Currently restoring:
T30
X31
760XL

killerkiko
Posts: 8
Joined: Wed Jun 23, 2021 11:54 am
Location: Mesa, AZ

Re: [760XD] Replacing hard drive with a CF card - got a few questions

#5 Post by killerkiko » Thu Jun 24, 2021 4:58 pm

Finally got a 2gb full size SD card to work. Installing windows 98 now. Though i really wish i had the original recovery media :/
Currently restoring:
T30
X31
760XL

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