T410s, Dock, hot swapping... *PIC*

[PandorasThinkpad]

Hi there!

I have a nice T410s with I5-560m and Nvidia Optimus...Display is the LT141DEQ8B00....and i mentioned about plug out my ultrabay drive and change it easily....this has worked since i installed Intel Rapid Storage Technology Driver Windows 7 (64-bit), Vista (64-bit), XP (64-bit) - ThinkPad....

but the main thing is, i have had already fixed the little thing that prevents from accidently pushing out and i only have to pull the pull out....when the T410s is docked in (Mini Dock 3) i am not able to get to this pull out...it is blocked through the dock....

Does any one already have an solution for this,......or will i have to live with,....not beeing able to swap my drives when my T410s is docked in this dock?

And just a little by the way,......has someone already have had an T410s with i5-580M or I7-640M....and Nvidia Optimus or switchable graphics? Seems to be these models are extremely seldom...

Thanx!

Nice greets,

PanDoRA

[PandorasThinkpad]

Here is my solution.....

[Temetka]

What do you mean "fixed"?

I see the tab you added. My question is, what was wrong with how it was designed, or was the unit you have somehow damaged?

[PandorasThinkpad]

better would be "bypassed" it, just try it out, but you need an T410s.....this one put in the dock and you won't be able to get to this trigger to pull out what is sitting in the ultrabay...so i had to "always open"....and...and....

[rkawakami]

<--- click for 800x600 152KB image

I think I see the problem. I have both T410 and T420 systems. I'll assume that the Ultrabay latching system is the same on the T410s. In order to remove the Ultrabay device you have to move the locking slide aside (1) and then push the eject slide towards the side of the laptop to remove the device (2). All of this is done on the bottom of the laptop. This differs from the traditional slide switch mounted on the side of the laptop, which then ejects a lever that you pull out in order to get the device out of the Ultrabay.

If you are dealing with just an optical drive, then an easier way to defeat the locking slide on the bottom is to remove the small piece of plastic on the side of the Ultrabay drive (see photo). This normally will not work for HDD adapters as they have molded plastic frames which have the required indent to capture the internal latch that prevents the device from being removed. Although some work with a Dremel® could take care of that problem.

[PandorasThinkpad]

Hey Ray,

you got it, yes, this is why i had to find this solution...and i think it is not bad...just wanted to be able to change between ultrabay adapter with SSD / HDD and the optical drive...this wasn't possible without breaking hand, a finger or whatever...because this 2 in the foto your shared with us is not to reach when the machine is plugged in the dock.....in my case the mini dock 3....

Now it is always open and i have only to secure remove it in windows and after that i only have to plug the drive on the lash or however the name in english is....and then put the other drive in....on the fly....just how i wanted to get it...


Kindly,

PAnDorA

[Temetka]

Ray beat me to it. During work today I was thinking about your post and looked at my T410 and it hit me. This one area where my Precision M4400 has an advantage over my Thinkpad. The process of removing the optical / ultrabay drive can be accomplished while docked because it has a button I can push in which releases a tab, which then allows me to pull the drive in question out. I never really thought about it before because I have never docked my Thinkpad's. Well other than my X61T which has an ultrabase.

[PandorasThinkpad]

Yeah, on T400s,....T410s....this mechanism is very stupid positioned....not like the one at ultrabases...or the one the T61 have had....again something new without any sense....therefore me too...looking forward that this will really be...."T92----or best new thinkpad"! I will be one to buy it without any doubt.

[dr_st]

Yep, the new ejection mechanism is stupid indeed. I think the idea was to make it harder to be triggered accidentally (not a big problem by any stretch of imagination), but it looks like the scenario of hot-swapping while docked was completely overlooked. Totally bad design.

[rkawakami]

The flip side of that is that the Ultrabay device is protected from being stolen if the laptop is locked into the dock.

[brchan]

The flip side of that is that the Ultrabay device is protected from being stolen if the laptop is locked into the dock.

This is a good point. If you had an HDD in the ultrabay, it would be very easy to take it out if the pre T410 and T400s mechanism is used. Additionally, there is not a need to keep a screw to lock the bay, as it will stay in place when docked, but also become removable when undocked.

[PandorasThinkpad]

BUT.....anyone may take the whole thing, Thinkpad and Dock,....if there is any energy to steal something....and who would let an SSD or HDD in an adapter stuck in that bay and leave it going to anywhere and having dinner...supper....me not!!

For those who are going to use the Thinkpad (for me T410s) in dock and want to change drive on the fly this method should be the best...