What comes in an Original 41U3148 HD Caddy package? *PIC*

[farhaddad]

Hi everyone,

Sorry if this question has been answered before. I'm buying an original 41U3148 HD caddy and would like to know if I need to buy any other accessory in order to install my HD into it. I've noticed that there is something like an internal caddy attached to the HD in the following picture!



Is this right? If yes, will I find it in the original package or should I buy it separately?

Thanks

Admin note: Added *PIC* description in subject line per forum rules.

[davidspalding]

If this is the UltraBay Slim 2nd HDD adapter, nope, no other hardware is needed ... other than a little tape. You drop the drive in, slide it gently onto the female connector port, then flip down the little plastic doohickie that keeps the drive from coming off the connector.

Nothing holds the drive down IN the caddy though (when out of teh TP), so I put two strips of masking tape on each side. Plug it in and run DISKMGMT.MSC in Windows (2000, XP) to see your new drive.


CORRECTION: In your pic, they do have the little "sleeve" screwed on (it's on the bottom, unseen). I didn't notice anything in the docs requiring one when I bought mine, and I don't use one with zero issues.

[sktn77a]

Two screws in the side of the drive slide into a recess on the caddy before you push it onto the IDE connector (preventing it popping up - the clip at the back prevents it popping back). I don't know if they come with the caddy. They are just the regular Thinkpad HDD mounting screws.

[davidspalding]

Never tried it like that.

Here's the documentation. See page 8 (EN-US).

[rkawakami]

The picture shows that the hard drive has a standard HD caddy attached. I do not believe that your Ultrabay Slim adapter kit will come with one. It's assumed that you already have one installed on the drive that's going to be put inside the Ultrabay adapter. The screws which mount the disk drive to the caddy are actually used to hold the drive down inside the Ultrabay 2nd HD adapter. You can physically install the hard drive inside the Ultrabay adapter without using any screws or HD caddy but there's a potential problem with shorting out the drive electronics due to the metal bottom of the Ultrabay 2nd HD adapter and it might flop around a little bit since it's not secured in the normal manner.

That said, I've installed plenty of hard drives into Ultrabay adapters without using any screws or HD caddies. I line the bottom of the Ultrabay adapter with a sheet of plastic (to prevent shorts) and am very careful when handling the adapter; basically, not turning it upside down.

[mgo]

Nothing holds the drive down IN the caddy though (when out of teh TP), so I put two strips of masking tape on each side. Plug it in and run DISKMGMT.MSC in Windows (2000, XP) to see your new drive.

.

I also make sure the tape holding in the drive does not cover any of the vent holes. (there are little warning signs on the drive label) I guess they may be to allow moisture out, or allow for pressure changes) Just my guess on that...

[davidspalding]

The picture shows that the hard drive has a standard HD caddy attached. I do not believe that your Ultrabay Slim adapter kit will come with one. It's assumed that you already have one installed on the drive that's going to be put inside the Ultrabay adapter. The screws which mount the disk drive to the caddy are actually used to hold the drive down inside the Ultrabay 2nd HD adapter. You can physically install the hard drive inside the Ultrabay adapter without using any screws or HD caddy but there's a potential problem with shorting out the drive electronics due to the metal bottom of the Ultrabay 2nd HD adapter and it might flop around a little bit since it's not secured in the normal manner.

That said, I've installed plenty of hard drives into Ultrabay adapters without using any screws or HD caddies. I line the bottom of the Ultrabay adapter with a sheet of plastic (to prevent shorts) and am very careful when handling the adapter; basically, not turning it upside down.

Just this week some events made me reevaluate how I was using the adapter. I put a Hitachi drive from my X32 into the adapter, and started getting drive fault errors and a siren-like whine from the drive. Your post pointed out that I needed some insulation ... and it just so happens my IT Help Desk at work as emptying a closet and I got a nylon "sleeve" thingie that fits a laptop drive perfectly. Drive works happily now.

No screws though. Since at minimum only 2 are needed, I borrowed 2 from the T43's internal drive (once in the primary HDD bay, the caddy is secure), and voila, the little side mount screws fit under the tabs which I'd never noted before, keeping the drive from pivoting up.

I'm disappointed that the manual makes no mention of this.

So ... I wonder where I get a spare caddy and 4 screws? They don't come from the third party HDD vendors....

[farhaddad]

Thanks everyone for the useful info I really appreciate every reply.

So ... I wonder where I get a spare caddy and 4 screws? They don't come from the third party HDD vendors....

You can easily get one from ebay or even from the advertised shop on thinkpads.com, newmodeus.com (If you don't like/ trust ebay).

[rkawakami]

<snip> ... and it just so happens my IT Help Desk at work as emptying a closet and I got a nylon "sleeve" thingie that fits a laptop drive perfectly. Drive works happily now.

My fix was a little bit more easier to find. I used one of the transparency sheets for the photocopier. You know, the clear plastic sheets that you use for making copies meant for an overhead projector. Used MS Word to draw out several boxes in the exact size I needed for the tray of the Ultrabay adapter and then fed the plastic sheet into the laser printer. The sheet did get slightly discolored (fogged), no doubt to the higher heat from a laser printer than a regular photocopier, but it's still a very good insulator.

[davidspalding]

... You can easily get one from ebay or even from the advertised shop on thinkpads.com, newmodeus.com (If you don't like/ trust ebay).

Thanks for the suggestion. I found someone nearby selling them for $5 or so, free shipping.

My fix was a little bit more easier to find. I used one of the transparency sheets for the photocopier. You know, the clear plastic sheets that you use for making copies meant for an overhead projector. Used MS Word to draw out several boxes in the exact size I needed for the tray of the Ultrabay adapter and then fed the plastic sheet into the laser printer. The sheet did get slightly discolored (fogged), no doubt to the higher heat from a laser printer than a regular photocopier, but it's still a very good insulator.

Good idea. I just realized that a year or two ago, the helpdesk was throwing out a T41 with busted screen (not to mention other nonfunctional parts). I snagged the NMB keyboard out of it (yes, wasn't that tasty...), but it never occurred to me to grab the HDD or caddy. D'oh!!

[yak]

I bought a Chinese copy of the 2nd HDD PATA Adapter for my T60. Luckily, it came with 4 screws that slide under the tabs on the sides of the HDD compartment. To insulate the drive, I unscrewed the aluminum bottom of the caddy and put a sheet of anti-static foil (as usually used to package electronics) in. The sheet is a bit bigger than the HDD compartment so that it is kept in place by the bottom case. Works great.