X230 - what SSD will best fit in the WWAN slot?

[br1anstorm]

My trusty T430 has just failed (and I have posted separately about this in the T430 sub-forum). Might take some time to repair. Looks as if I will have to check and maybe replace the screen and/or its cable.

Meanwhile I need to bring an alternative/replacement laptop into action. I have a "spare" x230. That's why I now post this question....

Before installing and or transferring anything on to this X230, I would like to prepare it by adding an SSD into the WWAN slot (as I did on the T430 which has now gone faulty...), as the X230 has only its original 240GB 2.5" SSD drive.

Accessing the WWAN slot on the X230 looks a bit more complicated that it was on the T430: seems that the keyboard, palmrest etc all have to be removed. So before I open up the laptop to gain access to the WWAN slot, I need to get an SSD that will fit correctly.

And that's the problem. Looking online, there seem to be such a variety of specifications that I cannot figure out what will fit or what to order. I want to add an SSD with 256 GB capacity. But all the other tech details are confusing. mSATA or NVME? M.2 or not? Is 2242 the correct size? Should the connector have one key slot or two ('B' and/or 'M')? Should the drive have a single central locating screw at the other end, or two screw-holes one in each top corner?

I want to make sure I order the right item which will fit properly before I start opening up and disassembling the laptop.

So the question is basically very simple: what EXACT specification/size/shape/connection type of SSD will fit into the WWAN slot of a ThinkPad x230? I'm not hugely worried about the specific brand or manufacturer (Kingston, Integral, Samsung, Crucial, whatever... ) although comments on reliability of different products would be interesting.

[TPFanatic]

It uses the same type as what you put in your T430.

mSATA in the "mpcie full-height" form factor.

[br1anstorm]

Thanks for that...

I have found a note on my files that suggests the mSATA SSD I installed in my T430 (I haven't yet opened the laptop up to look) is a Kingston SKC600MS256G.

The specs and images on the Kingston website suggest it has a single key-slot in the connector, and two screw-holes at the other end. So.... not M.2? Not NVME? And it looks as if it is the 2242 size.

Regret I don't know what "mpcie full-height form factor" actually means (and that doesn't seem to help with a Google or Amazon search).

[TPFanatic]

The same ssd you put in the t430 is an example of "mpcie full height" form factor. It uses SATA protocol and it is called MSATA. It is distinguished by the two holes you noticed.

2242, 2230, 2260, 2280 are only relevant to the "m2" form factor also known as "NGFF" which is acronym for "Next Generation Form Factor". 22 is width, then 30,42,60,80 are length. It is distinguished by a single hole. Not relevant to X230 or T430 because they physically do not fit.

NVME is a PCI-Express based protocol. It only exists in "m2" cards. Again not relevant to X230 or T430 because they don't fit.

But good on you for doing your research! For even more confusion, research the different "keys" used in m2 slots, makes me want to throw my computer out the window.

[axur-delmeria]

Comparison photo of an mSATA SSD (top) and an M.2 2280 SSD (bottom).


If you can find a decently-priced Samsung T5 external SSD, get one and crack it open: there's an mSATA SSD inside.

[br1anstorm]

Thanks very much for those replies - and to axur-delmeria for proving yet again that a picture is worth a thousand words!

I think I now have a plan for the way forward. But I still have some choices to make, and would welcome a bit more advice and guidance before I make the next moves. Just to explain....

I'm having to set up the X230 as a successor/replacement for my T430 which has a screen problem. My T430 had both Win10 and Linux Mint installed as dual-boot, as I am now almost entirely a Linux user. The 'spare' X230 only has its original drive (a 240GB SSD), on which Win10 is installed. I want to increase the X230 storage capacity, and install Linux as a dual boot, by adding an mSATA before I actually bring it into use. Hence my original post asking what mSATA drive/card would be appropriate.

I could just order up a new mSATA SSD, or indeed look for a Samsung T5 and crack it open; and then do a fresh install of Linux on to it, leaving Win10 on the original drive.

Or..... I already have a perfectly good Kingston 256GB mSATA SSD in the faulty T430, which I now understand will fit the slot in the X230. That mSATA SSD currently has what was my main operating system on the T430, Linux Mint Debian Edition (LMDE5) installed on it.

So can I (should I?) simply remove that MSATA SSD from the T430, and put it into the X230? And if I do so will it be recognised and will its installed LMDE5 system operate "out of the box"? Or will I have to mess around with the BIOS, with disk management, and with Grub-updating, in order to get LMDE working in the X230?

[axur-delmeria]

So can I (should I?) simply remove that MSATA SSD from the T430, and put it into the X230? And if I do so will it be recognised and will its installed LMDE5 system operate "out of the box"?

Check the BIOS boot order (make sure that it's the first one), and UEFI/Legacy boot options-- if the SSD has GPT partitions, set it to UEFI. If it's MBR, set it to Legacy. If you don't know, see if there's a "Both" option.

If GRUB is installed on that SSD, then you don't have to mess with it.

[br1anstorm]

Thanks again axur-delmeria - great to have your expert advice (you can tell that I need a bit of hand-holding!)

I can confirm that both the 'spare' X230 which I'm aiming to bring into use, and the mSATA SSD which I'm looking to transfer into it from the faulty T430, are formatted/partitioned to boot in MBR/Legacy mode. I have never managed to get my head around GPT/UEFI.

I reckon I ought to be able to get into the BIOS and ensure the right boot order and configuration.

I am however embarrassed to say that I cannot now be certain that GRUB is installed on that mSATA SSD. I think it is.... I could simply suck it and see. But I wonder: since I can still get access (using a live session of Linux from a USB stick and an external monitor) into the faulty T430 which currently contains that mSATA and has my Linux and Win10 systems installed on it, is there a way of using terminal commands to check exactly where GRUB is and how it is configured?

[axur-delmeria]

Does the T430 have other drives aside from the mSATA SSD? If yes, why not transfer it to the X230 as well? The closer the two are in terms of hardware configuration, the lesser the chance of issues cropping up.

[br1anstorm]

OK, here's my best effort at answering the question without trying to copy and paste from terminal commands or to post screengrab images.

The T430 has three drives:

sda is the original factory-fitted 240GB SSD. It has Windows 10 installed. It has 3 NTFS partitions (sda1 System Reserved, sda2 Win10, sda3 Filesystem - which is perhaps the 'recovery' partition?)

sdb is a 1TB SSD fitted into a caddy in what was the CD/DVD drive bay. It is basically my "Data" storage; but it also has Mint19 installed as a fail-safe/contingency. It has four partitions (sda1 is ext4 and has Mint19 installed, sda2 is swap, sda3 is an extended partition containing sda5 which is my data storage partition formatted NTFS to be readable by Win and Linux, and sda6 where I would save any Mint19 backups)

sdc is the 256GB mSATA in the WWAN slot. It has my main operating system, Linux Mint Debian Edition, (LMDE) installed. sdc1 is LMDE root, sdc2 is LMDE home, sdc3 is swap, and sdc4 is a partition for LMDE backups.

I suppose I could aim to transfer not only the mSATA drive (with LMDE on it) to the replacement computer, but also the 1TB SSD containing my data which is in the CD/DVD caddy-tray. I am not sure it is wise or sensible to try to remove and transfer the original installed SSD (with Win10 on it) as well, since this "belongs" to the T430 itself.

The further slight issue is that the X230 has no CD/DVD bay or caddy option. Of course it has its original SSD with Win10 on it. While there's a slot for the mSATA, there's nowhere to put an additional 1TB SSD.

I do have a possible alternative. As well as the X230 (which I was looking at as my preferred replacement laptop) I do also have a spare T430S, with Win10 on its original SSD. That could be another alternative/replacement laptop. It has an easily-accessible slot for the mSATA; and it also has a CD/DVD drive bay. So if I can find a caddy that fits (the slot may be slimmer than the one on the T430) then I could move the 1TB Data SSD into it from the faulty T430.

So now I have to choose which spare laptop to bring into use. I am really hoping not to have to do a complete reinstall from scratch, and I don't want to move the mSATA and perhaps the 1TB data SSD and then find that I can't boot into either or both. Hence my concern about GRUB and its location.

I'd be interested to know what you - or others - would do, and any other points I need to think about.

[TPFanatic]

I favor the T430s plan.

There's an "ultrabase series 3" available for X230, it plugs into X230's dock port, that grants a cd drive slot in the same slim 9.5mm size as t430s. With t430s you'll only "need" to get the drive adapter.

[axur-delmeria]

I agree with TPFanatic. All you need is the Serial Ultrabay Slim HDD adapter or a generic SATA HDD caddy for 9.5mm optical drive, though you'll have to modify it a bit-- trim the bezel and transplant the mounting bracket from the T430s' DVD drive.

[br1anstorm]

I favor the T430s plan.

There's an "ultrabase series 3" available for X230, it plugs into X230's dock port, that grants a cd drive slot in the same slim 9.5mm size as t430s. With t430s you'll only "need" to get the drive adapter.

Thanks, TPFanatic. Useful to know about the ultrabase series 3. I've had a look at it. But - apart from the fact that it's not cheap - I have never used (and am not very keen on) any kind of docking setup. It rather negates the flexibility and portability of a laptop.

So I too am leaning towards bringing the T430S into use as a replacement rather than the X230, and looking to fit a caddy (which is what I presume you mean by a drive adapter) into its CD/DVD drive bay.

I see that axur-delmeria agrees. I'll have to look more closely at exactly what is needed (trim bezel, transplant mounting bracket) to get a caddy/adapter to hold the SSD and which will fit sensibly into the optical drive bay of the T430S.

The story continues......!

[dr_st]

I once did a pretty detailed comparison of X220 (which is a lot like X230) and T430s, including different aspects of portability and expansibility. You can find the start of the deep-dive in the following post (and those that follow):
https://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.p ... 92#p797092

[axur-delmeria]

This could be the HDD caddy you'll need:

https://www.amazon.com/Bfenown-Replacem ... 07VNFVCJ9/

[br1anstorm]

Thanks again, axur-delmeria - I can see exactly the caddy/adapter that's needed, and I'm getting one as soon as possible.

And although the deep-dive by dr_st into the merits of X220 and T430S is more detail than i could have imagined, it does confirm what seems to be the agreed view in this thread - that bringing the T430S into use, rather than the X230, is the better option as a successor to my faulty T430.

As soon as i have the caddy lined up, I'll transfer both the 1TB SSD 'data' drive and the mSATA with LMDE installed, from the T430 into my T430S. Hope it all goes well!