Thinkpad 755CX and microdrives via CF/IDE adapter

[stamasd]

I have 2 Thinkpad 755CX laptops, and I am trying to convert them to use microdrives for storage. I have a few Hitachi 6GB microdrives, and also a few Seagate 4GB microdrives. I have tried both types in both machines via CF/IDE adapters, but what happens is the laptops don't even POST with those attached. When I power them up, first there are a number of lights flashing on the indicator bar, and then all activity stops. Nothing shows on the screen.

Both Thinkpads are in very good working condition (well except for one having some keyboard problems but that isn't relevant for this issue). They both boot from the original drives (one 810MB drive, one 1.3GB drive, each with Win95). I have used a caddy that is known good to attach the microdrive+adapter. Still, I can't even get them to power up. I've tried 3 different power adapters with each Thinkpad; I've even tried with the Thinkpad docked into the Dock II (type 3546); same result. Has anyone managed to use microdrives in this manner on this generation of Thinkpads?

The reason I'm doing this is because I want to preserve the original drives in a working state; they're old and if I keep using them I'm afraid they will fail. Finding replacement drives that work with these laptops is a challenge these days.

I guess I could use a SCSI drive in the dock, but then the laptops would only boot while docked, and that's not what I'm looking for - especially since I only have 1 dock for 2 laptops.

[RealBlackStuff]

Welcome to the forum.
Check the voltage of those drives.
Some laptops have 3.3V, others 5V, ditto for microdrives.
If your machine is 5V and your drive is 3.3V, you need to make some mod.
Scroll down to post #9 by Allen1 here: http://eab.abime.net/showthread.php?t=54164

[stamasd]

Oooh, I never thought about voltages. Thanks! I will check, and make the mod if required.

(edit) I can't find the specifications for my particular microdrives (ST640211CF for the Seagate ones for instance) but a similar series from Seagate http://www.seagate.com/staticfiles/supp ... 09345d.pdf are 3.3V, and I believe the original HDDs from this Thinkpad series are 5V. So I will do the voltage mod and see if that fixes it. I don't have any 3.3V Zeners on hand, I'll go by RadioShack (yes I still have one nearby) see if they have any or else it's off to ebay for those.

(edit2) I found the spec sheet for the Hitachi microdrives https://www.hgst.com/sites/default/file ... asheet.pdf I have the "embedded" version HMS360606D5CF00 which is indeed 3.3V.
However I have inspected the Seagate ones and there is a mark on them "+5V" so they may not be 3.3V; I can't confirm since I haven't found the exact specs for them. However both microdrives act the same when plugged in, so I think I'll go ahead and mod a CF adapter anyway and see what happens.

[stamasd]

Update: I eventually settled on using 1GB 44-pin SSDs in those Thinkpads - found them for $6 on ebay and they work fine as long as you bend the master/slave pins before inserting them in the caddies (or else you'll get error 0174 at boot). They're called "SIMPLETECH STEC SLFLD25-1GBJ" on ebay if you're interested in using the same.

[RealBlackStuff]

FYI: these SIMPLETECH drives are all 5V DC.
More info if req'd: http://www.mouser.com/ds/2/388/SLFLD25-xxJ-204407.pdf

[goldeneagle]

Update: I eventually settled on using 1GB 44-pin SSDs in those Thinkpads - found them for $6 on ebay and they work fine as long as you bend the master/slave pins before inserting them in the caddies (or else you'll get error 0174 at boot). They're called "SIMPLETECH STEC SLFLD25-1GBJ" on ebay if you're interested in using the same.

Those are good drives. I picked up a bunch for my ThinkPads and they work great. I also ordered some 2GB SiliconDrives from China (took longer to get here, and they all had preloads of some industrial software from businesses here in the US). I tried the Microdrive route as well with no luck, unless I used Windows 98 SE or higher (I think it has something to do with the drive geometry translation, as OS/2, DOS, NT 4, etc won't work on anything larger than 512MB, from my experience). These SSDs work with the older operating systems as well.

[danikayser84]

I actually use one of those on my ThinkPad 755CX, but in a short-height 760 caddy instead; runs Windows for Workgroups 3.11 and MS-DOS 6.22 well enough with 40MB RAM and 2.88MB floppy drive (also use one on my PowerBook 190cs but keep in mind that the Master/Slave are actually reversed compared to normal IDE hard drives, hence the 174 error when you use the 755/750 caddy, also why my 190cs wasn't detecting it at first)

[goldeneagle]

I actually use one of those on my ThinkPad 755CX, but in a short-height 760 caddy instead; runs Windows for Workgroups 3.11 and MS-DOS 6.22 well enough with 40MB RAM and 2.88MB floppy drive (also use one on my PowerBook 190cs but keep in mind that the Master/Slave are actually reversed compared to normal IDE hard drives, hence the 174 error when you use the 755/750 caddy, also why my 190cs wasn't detecting it at first)

Yup, forgot about that tidbit. You gotta snip the master/slave pins off to get those SSDs to work. IIRC, the same went for newer/larger Travelstars as well.

Get those SSDs while they're still available - trying to use a CF card over 512MB is a waste of time. Ask me how I know!