Converting X201 to SSD - Need FRU 42W8019, 42W7888, or compatible alternative

[RVC]

I have seen this issue discussed here but not thoroughly. I have located small quantities of each of these FRUs on ebay, Amazon, NewEgg and aroi.net ($60!). My X201 service manual states only the 42W8019 is correct. However, newer documentation may state otherwise. I have located one or two posts indicating the 42W7888 is compatible with the X201. My current HDD is the 320 GB OEM Hitachi HTS725032A9A365 ATA drive. I am migrating to a 500 GB Samsung 860 EVO SATA.

Please also let me know if there are suitable third party drive caddy's. I hope to avoid the $60 42W8091 on aroi.net.

[axur-delmeria]

Those are for 1.8" MicroSATA SSDs, which is an obsolete form factor. Those were used in the X300/301 and T400s/410s.

Common SATA SSDs like the Samsung 860 EVO you mentioned are 2.5" and are the same size as laptop HDDs; the only difference is that they're 7mm tall as opposed to the 9.5mm tall HDDs supported by the X201.
This means the SSD may bounce up and down a bit, unless you secure it with something like a folded piece of paper; the proper solution is a pair of 7mm rails for the 9.5mm HDD bay like this one: https://www.ebay.com/p/1228773500. Notice that the rubber rails are thicker on one side to support the thinner drive.

[atagunov]

..so the idea would be to use a 7mm caddy from T420 family with these rubber rails in an X201?
can't we just screw down a modern 7mm SSD to the 9mm caddy from T60/X201 era?

[RVC]

@axur-delmeria: Exactly. I continued searching after posting and found this kit for my X230's. Same idea but comes with the insulated bracket for the SSD.

https://www.amazon.com/S-Union-Driver-T ... 39&sr=8-25

I will order the 7 mm rails you were kind enough to refer me to. So the 42W8019 was exclusively for the mSATA? I saw no information regarding this issue in the X201 Service Manual and the accompanying figure indicates this FRU is for SSD use. I cannot speak to the 42W7888 because I have been unable to locate any information regarding it or its usage.

[axur-delmeria]

@axur-delmeria: Exactly. I continued searching after posting and found this kit for my X230's. Same idea but comes with the insulated bracket for the SSD.

https://www.amazon.com/S-Union-Driver-T ... 39&sr=8-25

I will order the 7 mm rails you were kind enough to refer me to. So the 42W8019 was exclusively for the mSATA? I saw no information regarding this issue in the X201 Service Manual and the accompanying figure indicates this FRU is for SSD use. I cannot speak to the 42W7888 because I have been unable to locate any information regarding it or its usage.

That's the regular HDD mounting kit for the X220 and X230. Since those models only support 7mm tail drives, a 2.5" SATA SSD will fit without needing a different rubber rail.

mSATA is a different beast entirely-- it's a bare circuit board and looks like a full-length WiFi card: See comparison pic below of an mSATA SSD and a 2.5" HDD:



Thinkpad models that support mSATA SSDs are the xx20 and xx30 generations (T420/520, T420s, W520 X220, T430/530, T430s, W530, and X230). I'm not sure about transitional models like the T430u and T431s.

Sample 1.8" MicroSATA SSD image below, beside a 2.5" HDD:

[TPFanatic]

..so the idea would be to use a 7mm caddy from T420 family with these rubber rails in an X201?
can't we just screw down a modern 7mm SSD to the 9mm caddy from T60/X201 era?

That's what I've always done. I've put 7mm HDDs and SSDs alike into the 9mm caddies flanked with 9mm rubber rails. I never even knew there were 7mm to 9mm "adapter" rubber rails.

There also exist 7mm to 9mm plastic rails for SSDs.

You can always go ghetto with cardboard, paper, and tape too.

[atagunov]

I will order the 7 mm rails you were kind enough to refer me to

It appears the best thing to do is to purchase a regular 9mm Thinkpad "caddy" like this one. They normally come with 4 tiny screws; they're quite easy to loose in the packaging - pay attention . Screw your modern 7mm drive in and slide then into X201 - job done. Rubber rails comes with the caddy.

These should be the same rails and caddy your X201 had from birth. If yours doesn't have them it means they got lost/nicked/damaged.

BTW I ordered twice the cheapest caddies from China. 7mm in my case. Don't remember if I used ebay of Aliexpress. There's probably no difference. It's slow, up to a month but cheap. Both were dispatched without any protection just in gray plastic bags. One caddy arrived perfectly fine and is in use now. The other arrived bent and I'm puzzling over what to do about it now. I should probably throw it away.. That's what you get for £2.5-3, I think.

While waiting you can surely

... go ghetto with cardboard, paper, and tape too

as a temporary measure

In fact sometimes to save space people take their SSD our of its casing and just stick the SSD PCB onto the SATA connector inside their Thinkpad. Not sure what the best way is to prevent SSD from falling off. It works better with those SSD-s that happen to be very small on the inside (BX500) but not as well with those that are large (MX500, Samsung EVO 860). I'm considering doing it inside my T60/T61 Frankenpad if I end up using a 15.4" wide T61 motherboard in "narrow" 15" T60 body. Another guy did it to add an extra fan to whatever more modern Thinkpad he was modding

[RealBlackStuff]

AFAIK I still have two of those 42W8019 adapters, brand new, original Lenovo.
If anyone is interested (and if I can find them), yours for Euro 5.- apiece + shipping.

[axur-delmeria]

While waiting you can surely

... go ghetto with cardboard, paper, and tape too

as a temporary measure

In fact sometimes to save space people take their SSD our of its casing and just stick the SSD PCB onto the SATA connector inside their Thinkpad. Not sure what the best way is to prevent SSD from falling off. It works better with those SSD-s that happen to be very small on the inside (BX500) but not as well with those that are large (MX500, Samsung EVO 860). I'm considering doing it inside my T60/T61 Frankenpad if I end up using a 15.4" wide T61 motherboard in "narrow" 15" T60 body. Another guy did it to add an extra fan to whatever more modern Thinkpad he was modding

Installing a 7mm HDD/SSD on a caddy with rails for 9.5mm drives would make it wobble up and down when the laptop is carried around, which may cause its contact with the SATA port to loosen. I've seen this with a 7mm SSD on the X61. The rails with the thicker rubber are the ideal solution. Next would be a 2.5mm spacer on the SSD itself-- IIRC some Crucial SSDs used to have one included, though I don't know if they still do. A plethora of DIY options are possible:

- low effort: folded paper/cardboard

- medium effort: adhesive rubber feet, cut to the right size and thickness; at the very least you need two, one at each corner farthest from the SATA connector.

- maximum effort: 3D-printed spacer, held by double-sided tape

Re: that modded extra fan was a T440p with a custom or modified heatsink, with a second fan and extended stack of cooling fins.

[atagunov]

Installing a 7mm HDD/SSD on a caddy with rails for 9.5mm drives would make it wobble up and down

Oh snap! So the metal part of 7mm and 9mm caddies is approximately the same? And the ideal solution is a metal part from any caddy at all + those 7-9mm step-up rails (so to say)?
Life is a journey in learning

medium effort: adhesive rubber feet, cut to the right size and thickness; at the very least you need two, one at each corner farthest from the SATA connector

I see.. if you use original 9mm caddy then anything of the right thickness to prevent wobble.. And that thick thingie can either make contact with the inside of 9mm rails or with the internal bay of the Thinkpad.. which in later case means it needs to be fatter than 2mm.. maybe more like 4?..

Re: that modded extra fan was a T440p with a custom or modified heatsink, with a second fan and extended stack of cooling fins.

I'm still puzzling over what the best way is to prevent "bare" case-less SSD from falling out in this design.. Use epoxy glue to stick on some kind of a holder to T60's structure frame? A nut+bolt where nut sits in a pool of epoxy and the bolt can be screwed in and out to fix and release the bare SSD?..

[axur-delmeria]

Oh snap! So the metal part of 7mm and 9mm caddies is approximately the same? And the ideal solution is a metal part from any caddy at all + those 7-9mm step-up rails (so to say)?

The metal part is mostly the same. Heck, I managed to use the metal HDD tray from a T42 in an X61T once.

I see.. if you use original 9mm caddy then anything of the right thickness to prevent wobble.. And that thick thingie can either make contact with the inside of 9mm rails or with the internal bay of the Thinkpad.. which in later case means it needs to be fatter than 2mm.. maybe more like 4?..

IMO it's best that it makes contact with the rails-- if it hits the internal bay, the additional contact area may cause friction and increase the force needed to pull out the drive. Also, if it's a 7mm HDD and not an SSD, it's best to put any force/pressure on the top cover.

I'm still puzzling over what the best way is to prevent "bare" case-less SSD from falling out in this design.. Use epoxy glue to stick on some kind of a holder to T60's structure frame? A nut+bolt where nut sits in a pool of epoxy and the bolt can be screwed in and out to fix and release the bare SSD?..

The epoxied nut sounds like a good idea, but I don't know if there's enough space to put in a screwdriver to tighten/loosen the bolt. What comes to mind is to cut the SSD's plastic enclosure so that it fits inside the internal bay just like an ordinary HDD would on a normal T60. Then cut up an HDD tray and rubber rails, so from the outside it still looks like a stock T60.

[atagunov]

What comes to mind is to cut the SSD's plastic enclosure so that it fits inside the internal bay just like an ordinary HDD would on a normal T60. Then cut up an HDD tray and rubber rails, so from the outside it still looks like a stock T60.

-: happy hearty laughter :-

That's a gorgeous idea
I'll see if I can use it, thank you!