Can larger SSDs be used in a T42p?

[YoniG]

Most of the SSD conversion discussions here have focused on 60 GB SSDs. Amazon's running sale on SSDs, and I was wondering if they could be used (and are they recommended) in a T42p (2373-P64).
For example:
OCZ Vertex 2 120 GB SATA II 2.5" Solid State Drive (OCZSSD2-2VTXE120G)
http://www.amazon.com/Vertex-Solid-Stat ... =pd_cp_e_3

TIA

[RealBlackStuff]

No, the T42/T42p can only take PATA drives in the main drive bay, the OCZ you refer to is SATA.

[YoniG]

What about using a SATA-PATA bridge?

[RealBlackStuff]

Not possible either, no room in the chassis.
Better spend your money on a more modern machine, like T60/R60 or T61/R61 series, which have native SATA.

[Johan]

@ Yoni: You are right - indeed! - in that the eBay 1.8"-SATA-to-2.5"-PATA bridge will allow T42/p's to use a 1.8" SATA SSD as the main drive; see e.g. the threads T42 SSD Conversion Success (1.8" SATA drive + bridge board) and 1.8" SATA to 2.5" IDE converter? and stay alert... those threads will be updated shortly with a lot of interesting news! I know positively that a 128 GB Kingston SSDNow V+180 works in the main HDD bay in a T40 and a T42 with no issues, with the eBay SATA-to-PATA adapter pointed to in the two threads just mentioned. I guess that also larger Kingston SSD's in the same family will work in e.g. T42/p's, but I know of no reports that have confirmed this assumption. Feel free to be the FIRST T42p'er who runs a 256 GB SATA SSD as the main drive, in the internal HDD bay!

Alternatively, the idea of getting a (relatively cheap) 2.5" SATA SSD to work in the UltraBay of a T4x/p (which is your initial question) has been discussed e.g. in the threads How to use 2.5" SATA SSD as main boot drive for T42 and SATA hard drive caddy in ultrabay and Slow boot when using only ultrabay SATA HD in T42 and Empty primary bay causes boot timeout from SATA ultrabay (and in a related thread [R51]How to avoid boot delay if no main HDD is installed?) but in my case I'd rather like to get the 1.8" SATA SSD to work in the main HDD-bay for two reasons: 1) I would like to retain the internal CV/DVD, and 2) There is a significant boot delay (about 30 secs?!) if you boot from a HDD or a SDD in the Ultrabay, and I am not sure about whether there's a way to circumvent/avoid this delay?

You can also simply get a fast PATA-SSD, like the one discussed in the thread 2.5" PATA OWC Mercury Legacy Pro SSD: Performance in T42? but as you will see, it is fairly expensive compared to (both 1.8" and 2.5") SATA SSD's. Actually, I am writing this on a T42p with a 60 GB OWC PATA SSD, running Windows 7 with TRIM supported and all!

Stay tuned!!

PS: If you have any questions to the eBay adapter, please post in the two first mentioned threads... rather than starting a new one. Thank you in advance for keeping related posts in the same thread.

Johan

[YoniG]

Johan, *thank you* for your reply. I can see you've put a lot of thought & effort into this issue.
And congratulations on your success with your T42p. It's a hell of a machine, and I want to keep using it for a long time, so I'm gonna take your advice & wait for the new developments.

[Johan]

@ Yoni: You're very welcome!

By the way, and in addition to the previous post, it IS actually possible to use a 2.5" SATA drive as the main drive in e.g. T42/p's; this is discussed in the thread T40p and SATA drive w/o swapping with cdrom, more specificly in this post. It however seems that this modification is "easiest" in 15" models, due to the very restricted space in 14.1" models. Decide for yourself whether the results are worth the effort... Personally, I'd absolutely recomment the 1.8" SATA SSD with the eBay SATA-to-PATA adapter and the --> tomatenfisch caddy... as this gives yoo a both stable and easy solution for anyone who wants a FAST SSD in their PATA ThinkPad!

By the way, if you haven't already dine it, I (warmly!) suggest that you install Notebook Hardware Control (skip the first pages if in a hurry, and follow the links in this post)... it is very easy to use, and allow you to undervolt the CPU, downclock the GPU, control the fan, and monitor both CPU, GPU, fan etc etc. The result? A cooler, quieter, less power-consuming ThinkPad - which is why i always highly recommend NHC Installing this free program will make you even happier for your T42p!

Johan

[irus]

excellent news johan ill be waiting for the new developments too!!

[YoniG]

Yeah, NHC is great. Here are the speeds/voltages I'm running:

1800 988
1600 940
1400 876
1200 812
1000 748
800 700
600 700