Upgrading 1.8" microSATA SSD HD on T410s?

[1percent]

So I was unlucky enough to buy the Thinkpad T410s when they were first released; just weeks before Optimus was included and before the microSATA SSD had Trim. Needless to say it's been a very slow 3 years. A machine worth upgrading to still not available (disappointed with new TP's while Dell M3800 has 3 mo+ lead time).

Current drive installed is a microSATA ssd of 120gb w/only 9gb free and drive errors on scans. Uninstalled as much as I can and moved secondary PF to second hybrid drive in bay (Seagate 750gb 2nd gen) which helped a little with speed but definitely does not help with battery life. 8gb of ram installed. Constantly at 80%+ physical memory used...

Since replacement no time soon I desperately need to upgrade the main hard drive and here are my options. Hoping one of you much wiser individuals can offer some advice on any of these options or one I may not have considered:

1) When under warranty and drive errors were showing Lenovo sent me a replacement drive. Unfortunately was refurbished and shows 81% health. Also not trim capable. Same slow speed ratings as current drive. Minor bonus is it is 256gb instead of 120gb.

Have done the R&R backup first drive to 2nd drive and then install and restore to new drive a couple of times. All files and programs work fine but:
a) Huge unallocated space - Can move around partitions and try to combine using 3rd party software but...
b) Fingerprint scanner no longer functioning and was unable to figure out why. Went back to original drive.


2) Considering a mSATA drive on a 1.8" microSATA adapter. Read mixed reviews of this option including possible issues with BIOS not recognizing various drives. Also concerned about the R&R recovery having same issues as option 1. Bonus is 20x faster and I will be able to use this drive in another laptop.
http://www.microsatacables.com/msata-to ... icro-sata/
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6820249031


3) By a new 1.8" microSATA. Not really an option because crazy expensive and limited choices. More than double the price of the equivalent mSATA while operating at a fraction of the speed.

Doing mostly web+graphic design (Photoshop/Illustrator) and web (Chrome w/ up to 100+ tabs open). For new computer looking for a good discreet graphics card so can finally do video editing while traveling instead of on a mac mini at home. I don't even dare to try it on the T410s.

Thanks in advance. Very frustrated and looking for relief

[Tasurinchi]

No clue about 1) but so far I got the following mSata SSDs working:

- OCZ 64GB in X301 "a"
- SSD Intel Flash 525 120GB X301 "b"

Both of them working without any issues. "a" has Debian installed and "b" Windows 7 Ultimate. I'm using this adapter, which fits almost perfectly in the hard drive bay: click me

I then have a 1.8" Kingston SSDNow V+ 180 Drive 128GB in my T400s. I got this for cheap and it's working nicely fast, I had low expectations with this one since the reviews I read in the net were so so. But it was cheap so I pulled the trigger on that one.

You mention that your 120GB SSD is running out of space. Remember that you could use a hard disc caddy to replace the current optical drive. So you could go for a let's say 250/256GB SSD (or even smaller) and get a 1TB spinning disk in the caddy. The 1TB HDD will cost you less then the SSD.

Hope this helps!

[jayton4]

This is the one that will be going in my T410s with micro SATA adapter:
http://amzn.com/B00BQ8RKT4

I used to have the SSD in the ultrabay, but cannot handle how quickly the battery drains. I have to be using the ulltrabay battery for the T410s to be usable for me.

[1percent]

Hello jayton4,
Which microSATA adapter did you choose? Any issues migrating data?

Hey Tasurinchi
thanks for the reply. Any issues with the microSATA adapter. Also how did you migrate data from 1 drive to another?

Already have the ultrabay filled with a 750gb hybrid seagate drive. Plenty of space for files but slow and consumes battery. Moving as much as I can over to it but I run alot of heavy design software that needs to be on boot drive in case I pop out the 2nd drive.

Thanks,
Alex

[Tasurinchi]

ey Tasurinchi
thanks for the reply. Any issues with the microSATA adapter. Also how did you migrate data from 1 drive to another?

Zero issues so far

I didn't had any data to migrate in my case. In my opinion a clean install is the best and I would recommend you to do the same (if possible)

[jayton4]

Hello jayton4,
Which microSATA adapter did you choose? Any issues migrating data?

I picked an adapter off ebay from a seller located in China. It arrived about a week and a half later and included the screws. It leaves a small gap of space in the hard drive bay, which I filled by cutting a rectangle out of a green scotchbrite type cleaning pad for cleaning dishes.

I did not attempt cloning my OS. To me, my OS is disposable and I always do clean installs. The only reason I see that someone would want to clone an old OS to a new SSD is if they had very specialized software that has ridiculous hoops to jump through to reactivate the license for.

As long as you keep all your software keys handy, and none of them are too strict about reinstalling, then you might want to think about a clean install of Windows 7. You should copy your important data from the bad SSD to a USB external drive first so that you do not need a microSATA>eSATA adapter.

[1percent]

Unfortunately re-installing everything after 3 years not an option so I have to migrate as is.

So I just ordered the mSata->microSata adapater:
http://www.microsatacables.com/msata-to ... icro-sata/

And the brand new Samsung Evo mSata 250gb:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6820147316

Wish me luck

[foghorn]

Unfortunately re-installing everything after 3 years not an option so I have to migrate as is.

So I just ordered the mSata->microSata adapater:
http://www.microsatacables.com/msata-to ... icro-sata/

And the brand new Samsung Evo mSata 250gb:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6820147316

Wish me luck

Keep us informed on the results. I too was going through the same thought process. Instead of buying the adapter though, I got the Intel X18-M which did support trim. Downside is that it is only 80gb (Ultrabay hard drive expansion could easily remedy that).
I generally stay away from Samsung SSDs as they seem to cut a few corners.
Initially, I was going to get the original but new 128GB Samsung SSD that came with most T410s but after searching I found out that it didn't support trim. Bummer.
Anyway, the current Samsung SSDs that are most popular are the Evo and the 840. The Pro SSDs are good, as they use MLC architecture, but the rest of Samsung's SSDs are TLC. Although TLC is slightly newer tech than MLC, it is slower and hold less life (what explains why they are relatively affordable than competitors). Many other--if not all SSD makers are using MLC. Other than that, trim is probably the more important feature when it comes to SSDs.

By the way, what Ultrabay caddy for hard drive expansion did you use? OEM or the $10 eBay quality? How has that worked out for you?
I plan on running virtual machines off the bay or even an external hard drive at least.

Good luck!

[jayton4]

By the way, what Ultrabay caddy for hard drive expansion did you use? OEM or the $10 eBay quality? How has that worked out for you?
I plan on running virtual machines off the bay or even an external hard drive at least.

Good luck!

I bought two of the ebay adapters and they are both great. I used a Corsair Force 3 120GB SSD as my main boot drive in my T410s Ultrabay for about 2 years.

[Nimustan]

I just ordered the below mentioned adapter and the Samsung EVO 120g msata.
Hope it works.

http://www.amazon.ca/gp/aw/d/B00D4CVLNG ... 037&sr=8-3