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Any way to use an M.2 SSD in older Machine/ Server without M.2 port?
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crashnburn
- ThinkPadder

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- Joined: Sat Apr 22, 2006 4:26 pm
- Location: TX, USA & Bombay, India
Any way to use an M.2 SSD in older Machine/ Server without M.2 port?
Any way to use an M.2 SSD in older Machine/ Server without M.2 port?
Since the prices these days are similar to SATA SSDs and performances higher, and the intent for M.2 is so that I can pop it out and use it in a newer machine (laptop or desktop).
Is there some PCIe > M.2 daughter dongle/ card?
The server can boot disks of PCIe RAIDs so some kinda PCIe > M.2 - Daughter board/ RAID or similar emulator?
or SATA > M.2 - Will slow it down but allow future usage.
Since the prices these days are similar to SATA SSDs and performances higher, and the intent for M.2 is so that I can pop it out and use it in a newer machine (laptop or desktop).
Is there some PCIe > M.2 daughter dongle/ card?
The server can boot disks of PCIe RAIDs so some kinda PCIe > M.2 - Daughter board/ RAID or similar emulator?
or SATA > M.2 - Will slow it down but allow future usage.
T61 8892-02U: 14.1"SXGA+/2.2C2D/4G/XP|Adv Mini Dock|30" Gateway XHD3000 WQXGA via Dual-link DVI
X61T 7767-96U: 12.1"SXGA+/1.6C2D/3G/Vista|Ultrabase
W510 4319-2PU: 15.6"FHD/i7-720QM/4G/Win7Pro64 (for dad)
T43 1875-DLU: 14.1"XGA/1.7PM-740/1G/XP (Old)
X61T 7767-96U: 12.1"SXGA+/1.6C2D/3G/Vista|Ultrabase
W510 4319-2PU: 15.6"FHD/i7-720QM/4G/Win7Pro64 (for dad)
T43 1875-DLU: 14.1"XGA/1.7PM-740/1G/XP (Old)
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axur-delmeria
- Senior ThinkPadder

- Posts: 4413
- Joined: Mon May 28, 2012 5:49 am
- Location: Metro Manila, Philippines
Re: Any way to use an M.2 SSD in older Machine/ Server without M.2 port?
It really depends on the type of M.2 SSD you have.
M.2 SSDs can either have a SATA or PCIe x4 connection. If it's SATA, then it's likely that an adapter kit that turns it to a normal SATA drive already exists.
I believe some PCIe-based SSDs already come with adapters that allow them to be plugged into a normal PCIe slot.
Booting might be an issue--it mainly depends on the firmware of the SSD I guess: for example, Samsung statesd that its PCIe-based 950 Pro M.2 SSD can boot on PCs that support booting from IDE devices.
M.2 SSDs can either have a SATA or PCIe x4 connection. If it's SATA, then it's likely that an adapter kit that turns it to a normal SATA drive already exists.
I believe some PCIe-based SSDs already come with adapters that allow them to be plugged into a normal PCIe slot.
Booting might be an issue--it mainly depends on the firmware of the SSD I guess: for example, Samsung statesd that its PCIe-based 950 Pro M.2 SSD can boot on PCs that support booting from IDE devices.
Planned Purchase: T480s i5-8350 FHD Touch
Impulse Buy: Thinkpad not named for safety reasons
RIP: X220 4291-C91 X61 7676-A24 760XD-U9E
Impulse Buy: Thinkpad not named for safety reasons
RIP: X220 4291-C91 X61 7676-A24 760XD-U9E
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automobus
- Senior Member

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- Location: USA : Illinois : Chicago
Re: Any way to use an M.2 SSD in older Machine/ Server without M.2 port?
Yes, for example, LyCOM DT-120.crashnburn wrote:Is there some PCIe > M.2 daughter dongle/ card?
The server can boot disks of PCIe RAIDs so some kinda PCIe > M.2 - Daughter board/ RAID or similar emulator?
Question of bootability is same as for any other (system bus to storage expansion) card: ask vendor whether card has IBM PC BIOS-compatible Option ROM.
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crashnburn
- ThinkPadder

- Posts: 1728
- Joined: Sat Apr 22, 2006 4:26 pm
- Location: TX, USA & Bombay, India
Re: Any way to use an M.2 SSD in older Machine/ Server without M.2 port?
Interesting. The more I read about these SSDs the more I get confused /:)automobus wrote:Yes, for example, LyCOM DT-120.crashnburn wrote:Is there some PCIe > M.2 daughter dongle/ card?
The server can boot disks of PCIe RAIDs so some kinda PCIe > M.2 - Daughter board/ RAID or similar emulator?
Question of bootability is same as for any other (system bus to storage expansion) card: ask vendor whether card has IBM PC BIOS-compatible Option ROM.
So this is the most inexpensive M.2 512 G SSD I could find. It says its SATA - Can you point me to an adapter that will allow me to boot this?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... APK4BU3355
Based on your link it wont work with that card. Is there another that will work?
Also, since I plan to move this to a future machine in an year.. when it comes to Notebooks (& Mini ITX MoBos) and M.2 will this work? e.g. the dark Thinkpad Surface Pro Clone..?
PS: The next type of Non SATA M.2 NVMe that is cheapest is almost triple price.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 12K3GB5852
PPS: Would this work? http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... -_-Product
Searched using: http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductLi ... ageSize=60
Last edited by crashnburn on Wed Jun 29, 2016 9:56 am, edited 1 time in total.
T61 8892-02U: 14.1"SXGA+/2.2C2D/4G/XP|Adv Mini Dock|30" Gateway XHD3000 WQXGA via Dual-link DVI
X61T 7767-96U: 12.1"SXGA+/1.6C2D/3G/Vista|Ultrabase
W510 4319-2PU: 15.6"FHD/i7-720QM/4G/Win7Pro64 (for dad)
T43 1875-DLU: 14.1"XGA/1.7PM-740/1G/XP (Old)
X61T 7767-96U: 12.1"SXGA+/1.6C2D/3G/Vista|Ultrabase
W510 4319-2PU: 15.6"FHD/i7-720QM/4G/Win7Pro64 (for dad)
T43 1875-DLU: 14.1"XGA/1.7PM-740/1G/XP (Old)
-
axur-delmeria
- Senior ThinkPadder

- Posts: 4413
- Joined: Mon May 28, 2012 5:49 am
- Location: Metro Manila, Philippines
Re: Any way to use an M.2 SSD in older Machine/ Server without M.2 port?
Something like this: https://www.amazon.com/DT-119B-M-2-NGFF ... B00FKCSMYYcrashnburn wrote:So this is the most inexpensive M.2 512 G SSD I could find. It says its SATA - Can you point me to an adapter that will allow me to boot this?
Planned Purchase: T480s i5-8350 FHD Touch
Impulse Buy: Thinkpad not named for safety reasons
RIP: X220 4291-C91 X61 7676-A24 760XD-U9E
Impulse Buy: Thinkpad not named for safety reasons
RIP: X220 4291-C91 X61 7676-A24 760XD-U9E
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crashnburn
- ThinkPadder

- Posts: 1728
- Joined: Sat Apr 22, 2006 4:26 pm
- Location: TX, USA & Bombay, India
Re: Any way to use an M.2 SSD in older Machine/ Server without M.2 port?
Thanks for the response.axur-delmeria wrote:Something like this: https://www.amazon.com/DT-119B-M-2-NGFF ... B00FKCSMYYcrashnburn wrote:So this is the most inexpensive M.2 512 G SSD I could find. It says its SATA - Can you point me to an adapter that will allow me to boot this?
Thanks for the response.
Did some digging and found the most economical:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... APK4BU3355
Would the above SSD work with this adapter: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... -_-Product
And boot up?
PS: Isn't there some adapter that supports PCIe to all 3 M.2 types: SATA, AHCI and NVMe SSDs? unlike this one:
http://www.lycom.com.tw/DT-120.htm
T61 8892-02U: 14.1"SXGA+/2.2C2D/4G/XP|Adv Mini Dock|30" Gateway XHD3000 WQXGA via Dual-link DVI
X61T 7767-96U: 12.1"SXGA+/1.6C2D/3G/Vista|Ultrabase
W510 4319-2PU: 15.6"FHD/i7-720QM/4G/Win7Pro64 (for dad)
T43 1875-DLU: 14.1"XGA/1.7PM-740/1G/XP (Old)
X61T 7767-96U: 12.1"SXGA+/1.6C2D/3G/Vista|Ultrabase
W510 4319-2PU: 15.6"FHD/i7-720QM/4G/Win7Pro64 (for dad)
T43 1875-DLU: 14.1"XGA/1.7PM-740/1G/XP (Old)
-
axur-delmeria
- Senior ThinkPadder

- Posts: 4413
- Joined: Mon May 28, 2012 5:49 am
- Location: Metro Manila, Philippines
Re: Any way to use an M.2 SSD in older Machine/ Server without M.2 port?
Most likely yes. The Sandisk SSD you linked to states a SATA III interface, while the adapter card has a SATA connnector. Basically, you plug one end of a SATA cable to that, and the other end to a SATA port on your motherboard.crashnburn wrote:Would the above SSD work with this adapter: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... -_-Product
And boot up?
Planned Purchase: T480s i5-8350 FHD Touch
Impulse Buy: Thinkpad not named for safety reasons
RIP: X220 4291-C91 X61 7676-A24 760XD-U9E
Impulse Buy: Thinkpad not named for safety reasons
RIP: X220 4291-C91 X61 7676-A24 760XD-U9E
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