Take a look at our
ThinkPads.com HOME PAGE
For those who might want to contribute to the blog, start here: Editors Alley Topic
Then contact Bill with a Private Message
ThinkPads.com HOME PAGE
For those who might want to contribute to the blog, start here: Editors Alley Topic
Then contact Bill with a Private Message
W520 HD replacement. SSD?
-
- Posts: 34
- Joined: Mon Mar 16, 2015 2:04 pm
- Location: London, UK
W520 HD replacement. SSD?
It's now amazingly almost 4 years since I bought my W520 following advice on here (viewtopic.php?f=18&t=117189). Time flies! It has been a very good machine, plenty powerful enough for recording and mixing music projects and in the absence of much real "work" recently relegated to doubling up as the family's home entertainment machine. Not as well-built as my T61 was (plastic bits have broken on the W520) but it still cruises at most tasks I have thrown at it.
Unfortunately it has recently started reporting hard disk failure so I've been avoiding using it as I am yet to back everything up. I had this happen on another machine before - in the end I kept using it and had no issues but perhaps it's time to treat it to an upgrade.
Could you guys point me in the direction of a reasonably priced, suitable, compatible drive?
Unfortunately it has recently started reporting hard disk failure so I've been avoiding using it as I am yet to back everything up. I had this happen on another machine before - in the end I kept using it and had no issues but perhaps it's time to treat it to an upgrade.
Could you guys point me in the direction of a reasonably priced, suitable, compatible drive?
-
- Admin Emeritus
- Posts: 19729
- Joined: Mon Sep 18, 2006 5:17 am
- Location: Mt. Cobb, PA
- Contact:
Re: W520 HD replacement. SSD?
Samsung EVO 860 (probably cheaper) or Sandisk Extreme Pro (probably more expensive) come to mind.
Lovely day for a Guinness! (the Real Black Stuff). And pigs CAN fly!
Check out The Boardroom for Parts, Mods and Other Services.

Check out The Boardroom for Parts, Mods and Other Services.
-
- Posts: 4
- Joined: Thu Oct 04, 2018 4:18 am
- Location: Den Bosch, The Netherlands
Re: W520 HD replacement. SSD?
The Samsung is certainly a good choice. It is fast, and the W520 uses all that speed because it has SATA6. (I measured it, with fast SSDs transfer speeds (sequential) are in excess of 500 MB/s).
-
- Posts: 34
- Joined: Mon Mar 16, 2015 2:04 pm
- Location: London, UK
Re: W520 HD replacement. SSD?
Excellent, thanks guys. I think 500GB looks a good buy at the moment... e.g. :
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Samsung-500- ... 2974091459
Will get one ordered. May have to post again when I attempt installation...
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Samsung-500- ... 2974091459
Will get one ordered. May have to post again when I attempt installation...
-
- Posts: 34
- Joined: Mon Mar 16, 2015 2:04 pm
- Location: London, UK
Re: W520 HD replacement. SSD?
In the end I bought a 120GB Samsung 850 EVO because it was very cheap...it arrived today...any reason not to attack the Thinkpad with the screwdrivers and just shove it in? Any hints and tips gratefully received.
-
- Senior ThinkPadder
- Posts: 2245
- Joined: Sun Aug 09, 2015 9:25 am
- Location: N. Bellmore, ny
Re: W520 HD replacement. SSD?
Don't do that.bluetomgold wrote: ↑Wed Dec 19, 2018 11:15 amIn the end I bought a 120GB Samsung 850 EVO because it was very cheap...it arrived today...any reason not to attack the Thinkpad with the screwdrivers and just shove it in? Any hints and tips gratefully received.
Make sure to carefully unscrew the Thinkpad and only gently put the drive in.

Go ahead...there is really almost nothing that can go wrong if you work carefully.
Thinkpad4by3's Law of the Universe.
The efficiency of two screens equally sized with equal numbers if pixels are equal. The time spent by a 4:3 user complaining about 16:9 is proportional to the inefficiency working with a 16:9 display, therefore the amount of useful work extracted is equal.
The efficiency of two screens equally sized with equal numbers if pixels are equal. The time spent by a 4:3 user complaining about 16:9 is proportional to the inefficiency working with a 16:9 display, therefore the amount of useful work extracted is equal.
Re: W520 HD replacement. SSD?
I've had an 850 EVO in my T520 for nearly three years now without issue.
T500 T9600 2055-BE9
T510 i5 4384-DV7
T510 i7 4349-A64
T520 i7 4242-4UU(CTO)
T520: i7-2760QM(2.40GHz),16GB, 500GB SSD/500GB 7200 Drive, 1600x900, 1GB NVIDIA, DVDRW, Smartcard, media card, FPR, Win7 Pro64, whitelist BIOS, N 6300 AGN, German KB, BT 4.0.
T510 i5 4384-DV7
T510 i7 4349-A64
T520 i7 4242-4UU(CTO)
T520: i7-2760QM(2.40GHz),16GB, 500GB SSD/500GB 7200 Drive, 1600x900, 1GB NVIDIA, DVDRW, Smartcard, media card, FPR, Win7 Pro64, whitelist BIOS, N 6300 AGN, German KB, BT 4.0.
-
- Posts: 34
- Joined: Mon Mar 16, 2015 2:04 pm
- Location: London, UK
Re: W520 HD replacement. SSD?
Thinkpad4by3 wrote: ↑Wed Dec 19, 2018 1:04 pmDon't do that.bluetomgold wrote: ↑Wed Dec 19, 2018 11:15 amIn the end I bought a 120GB Samsung 850 EVO because it was very cheap...it arrived today...any reason not to attack the Thinkpad with the screwdrivers and just shove it in? Any hints and tips gratefully received.
Make sure to carefully unscrew the Thinkpad and only gently put the drive in.![]()
Go ahead...there is really almost nothing that can go wrong if you work carefully.
LOL...thanks.

-
- Posts: 34
- Joined: Mon Mar 16, 2015 2:04 pm
- Location: London, UK
Re: W520 HD replacement. SSD?
Ha! Well...
Physically installing it and a fresh install of Windows 7 was a piece of cake. Seems fast!
Unfortunately no USB or networking out of the box so I'm currently burning drivers on to a DVD... Oh well, these things are never quite as easy as you hope...
Physically installing it and a fresh install of Windows 7 was a piece of cake. Seems fast!
Unfortunately no USB or networking out of the box so I'm currently burning drivers on to a DVD... Oh well, these things are never quite as easy as you hope...
-
- Senior ThinkPadder
- Posts: 2245
- Joined: Sun Aug 09, 2015 9:25 am
- Location: N. Bellmore, ny
Re: W520 HD replacement. SSD?
I get networking first, install chrome or browser or choice, then dot net frame work, then ThinkVantage System Update....and it's all good.
Thinkpad4by3's Law of the Universe.
The efficiency of two screens equally sized with equal numbers if pixels are equal. The time spent by a 4:3 user complaining about 16:9 is proportional to the inefficiency working with a 16:9 display, therefore the amount of useful work extracted is equal.
The efficiency of two screens equally sized with equal numbers if pixels are equal. The time spent by a 4:3 user complaining about 16:9 is proportional to the inefficiency working with a 16:9 display, therefore the amount of useful work extracted is equal.
Re: W520 HD replacement. SSD?
I have networking drivers on my backup drive for all of my systems in case of a drive failure and a corrupt system image backup.
It has saved me a lot of time in the past. After the network driver is loaded everything else is a walk in the park.
It has saved me a lot of time in the past. After the network driver is loaded everything else is a walk in the park.
T500 T9600 2055-BE9
T510 i5 4384-DV7
T510 i7 4349-A64
T520 i7 4242-4UU(CTO)
T520: i7-2760QM(2.40GHz),16GB, 500GB SSD/500GB 7200 Drive, 1600x900, 1GB NVIDIA, DVDRW, Smartcard, media card, FPR, Win7 Pro64, whitelist BIOS, N 6300 AGN, German KB, BT 4.0.
T510 i5 4384-DV7
T510 i7 4349-A64
T520 i7 4242-4UU(CTO)
T520: i7-2760QM(2.40GHz),16GB, 500GB SSD/500GB 7200 Drive, 1600x900, 1GB NVIDIA, DVDRW, Smartcard, media card, FPR, Win7 Pro64, whitelist BIOS, N 6300 AGN, German KB, BT 4.0.
-
- Posts: 34
- Joined: Mon Mar 16, 2015 2:04 pm
- Location: London, UK
Re: W520 HD replacement. SSD?
Thanks guys! Nearly there now... everything seems to be working, just need to install software. Seems fast. Incredible upgrade for £20... I hope 120gb is enough!
Decided to try BitDefender antivirus as Avira was getting intrusive with constant pop-up advertising messages. Actually it's probably worse than a virus.... Not sure how much difference the SSD is making but BitDefender seems to be operating very transparently.
...
... still in this case without USB support or networking they wouldn't have been much use anyway - only way I can think of to install is via the optical drive. Now I have them on a DVD I'll be ready next time.
Decided to try BitDefender antivirus as Avira was getting intrusive with constant pop-up advertising messages. Actually it's probably worse than a virus.... Not sure how much difference the SSD is making but BitDefender seems to be operating very transparently.
Yes! I usually do this and looked on my network drive before downloading. I had drivers for all the old systems I no longer own but not the W520

... still in this case without USB support or networking they wouldn't have been much use anyway - only way I can think of to install is via the optical drive. Now I have them on a DVD I'll be ready next time.

Re: W520 HD replacement. SSD?
Thank you!bluetomgold wrote: ↑Wed Dec 19, 2018 4:30 pmHa! Well...
Physically installing it and a fresh install of Windows 7 was a piece of cake. Seems fast!
Unfortunately no USB or networking out of the box so I'm currently burning drivers on to a DVD... Oh well, these things are never quite as easy as you hope...
-
- Similar Topics
- Replies
- Views
- Last post
-
-
Possible CPU Upgrade & SSD replacement of HDD for Thinkpad R61
by wolfstrike29 » Sat Jan 05, 2019 7:45 pm » in ThinkPad R, A, G and Z Series - 20 Replies
- 1380 Views
-
Last post by wolfstrike29
Sun Feb 17, 2019 1:25 pm
-
-
-
Comparing T60 SSD to T61 Sata 2 SSD, not much improvement?
by zoltan87 » Wed Nov 07, 2018 4:50 pm » in ThinkPad T6x Series - 8 Replies
- 1392 Views
-
Last post by Thinkpad4by3
Thu Nov 08, 2018 11:56 pm
-
-
-
W520 Win10 + Optimusless Nvidia M2000
by thumperer » Mon Aug 27, 2018 5:15 pm » in ThinkPad W500/510/520 and W7x0 Series - 6 Replies
- 1815 Views
-
Last post by thumperer
Wed Aug 29, 2018 4:16 am
-
-
-
W520 - CMOS battery?
by PeterNC » Fri Sep 21, 2018 6:29 pm » in ThinkPad W500/510/520 and W7x0 Series - 3 Replies
- 1632 Views
-
Last post by jcvjcvjcvjcv
Mon Sep 24, 2018 9:54 am
-
Who is online
Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 10 guests