Problem with 2nd HDD Ultrabay Adapter

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GXCross · #1 Post by **GXCross** » Mon Jul 12, 2004 11:38 pm

I bought a 2nd HDD Ultrabay adapter to replace the CDR with a second 80GB hard drive. However, the 2.5" slim toshiba I purchased doesnt seem to fit properly. The HDD adapter seems too small, and doesnt grip the hard drive properly. (When closed, the locking mechanism barely touches the hard drive at all) Anyone else run into this problem?

XCoalMiner · #2 Post by **XCoalMiner** » Tue Jul 13, 2004 9:07 pm

I'll be interested to see any comments here, as I'm about to buy one of the 2nd HDD adapters, but I don't want to part with $400 for an 80Gb HD from IBM.

#3 Post by **jdhurst** » Tue Jul 13, 2004 10:21 pm

I have an IBM (Fujitsu) drive in the adapter. I put a very small piece of foam in before I push down the locking bar. The drive is snug (snug enough). Works well.

T23_Owner · #4 Post by **T23_Owner** » Tue Jul 13, 2004 10:39 pm

What the heck is up with IBM that people need to stuff foam in places to get them to work. Business cards under the arrow keys, foam in the hd adapter, yikes. I am getting my T42p on Friday and am getting nervous.

Next thing you know people are going to have to use a drill to keep the CD-Rom drive spinning.

Leon · #5 Post by **Leon** » Tue Jul 13, 2004 10:47 pm

2 weeks!

T23_Owner · #6 Post by **T23_Owner** » Tue Jul 13, 2004 10:49 pm

Till what?

GXCross · #7 Post by **GXCross** » Tue Jul 13, 2004 11:54 pm

XCoalMiner wrote:I'll be interested to see any comments here, as I'm about to buy one of the 2nd HDD adapters, but I don't want to part with $400 for an 80Gb HD from IBM.

You should be fine as long as you use a regular 2.5" drive. Unfortunately, it is not designed for the smaller, slimmer drives. I'm kinda surprised that the adapter was designed so poorly, but at least it was cheap.

T23_Owner · #8 Post by **T23_Owner** » Wed Jul 14, 2004 12:01 am

What drive is smaller than 2.5in? No other drive will fit the adapter anyways. I just got a 2.5in firwire enclosure and it works great. I can put it on any system. Makes file transfers alot easier.

matyst · #9 Post by **matyst** » Wed Jul 14, 2004 8:47 am

If you look at the longer "walls" of the space where the drive is held, you will see 4 protrusions opposite to the drive's screw holes. I put 4 screws in the drive and they fit below these protrusions when I slip the drive into the adapter. The drive does not move at all. I do not know why there is no word about it in the adapter's manual, since I am sure it was designed to work this way. BTW, the adapter is designed to hold 9.5 mm 2.5" drives only; AFAIK there are no thinner drives these days, but there are older 12.5 (or 12?) mm drives which are too thick.

Conmee · #10 Post by **Conmee** » Wed Jul 14, 2004 9:03 am

Folks,

I noticed that if I remove the internal ThinkPad drive from my work computer (with the aluminum shielding and 4 screws still in place), and I put that drive in my Ultrabay Slim HDD adapter, it fits much more snugly than a bare drive. I was thinking of looking up the part number for the HDD shielding from IBM and seeing if I could order a few. The shielding also protects the underside of the hard drive so it probably wouldn't hurt to have it on each of my 2 external 2.5" drives that I use with the Ultrabay Slim HDD adapters that I have. However, if this is the better/preferred method of installing a drive in the Ultrabay Slim adapters, then IBM should really include the shielding and screws as part of the package.

Daniel.

#11 Post by **jdhurst** » Wed Jul 14, 2004 9:15 am

My first experience with the HD Adapter was on a T30 (Ultrabay 2000). I put in a spare drive without the metal carrier. It was a bit loose in the adapter, and I used a small piece of foam to squish in between the locking bar and the drive. Not ideal, but I did not have a metal carrier and wasn't even sure if it would fit.

My second experience is with the Ultabay Slim in my T41. My spare drive now is the original 30Gb drive in its metal carrier. That assembly, screws and all, fits snugly in the HD Carrier. There is a tiny gap between the drive and the locking bar when closed. There is the potential for the drive to slide backward (but not disconnect). I like it snug, so that is why I squish a small piece of foam between the locking bar and the drive. So if you have the metal carrier for the drive, use it.

With respect to T23_Owner's post:

I do not put cardboard under the keyboard (the keyboard fits nicely); I do not have to bend any battery hooks or put filler in the battery (the battery fits nicely); and indeed the fit and finish of my T41 is excellent. Of my 365, 380, 600, 240, 240X, X22, A22e, T23, T30 and now T41, the T41 is the best of the lot. I think you will be pleased.

fongj · #12 Post by **fongj** » Wed May 04, 2005 5:13 pm

matyst wrote: BTW, the adapter is designed to hold 9.5 mm 2.5" drives only; AFAIK there are no thinner drives these days, but there are older 12.5 (or 12?) mm drives which are too thick.

I know for a fact that 12.5mm thick drives do fit in the 2nd HDD Ultrabay Adapter (#08K6068). I put my old 60gb IBM Travelstar in one for my A31p.

The Ultrabay Slim, however, is probably a whole different story.

pae77 · #13 Post by **pae77** » Wed May 04, 2005 6:11 pm

I have an IBM second hard drive adapter for the ultrabay 2000 for my T30. It works great and it even came with easy to use cloning software. I, for one, think this piece of equipment + included software was an incredible bargain for the $40 or so I paid for it direct from IBM.

redsb3 · #14 Post by **redsb3** » Wed May 04, 2005 8:10 pm

I just got one for my dock II and the travelstar fit in perfectly and is snug and tight. As soon as I snapped the back plastic piece down in place it was perfect.

GXCross · #15 Post by **GXCross** » Thu May 05, 2005 12:19 am

As a poster had mentioned earlier, the key seems to be to use screws on the hard drive itself. Once 2-4 screws are used on the hard drive, the hard drive slides in place perfectly and is very snug. Without them, my particular hard drive (ultra-slim) slides and flops around in the adapter. Prior to learning about the screws, I had use plastic and rubber cutouts to fill the extra space.

#16 Post by **BillMorrow** » Thu May 05, 2005 1:33 am

the 2nd HDD adapter is a very nicely designed well made accessory..
it is built for the IBM HDD that is used in the drive bay..

sounds like some of you are using it with a bare drive..
it WILL work but the drive will not be as snug as the correct drive..

kchung · #17 Post by **kchung** » Fri May 06, 2005 2:01 pm

Just in case anyone missed it - the 2nd HDD adapter comes in two sizes: The original sized ultrabay which fits T20, T30, A31 sized bay slots and the new "slim" ultrabay that come out the T40 series laptop.

The older (larger) ultrabay adapter is FRU 08K6067
The newer (slim) ultrabay adapter is FRU 62P4553

I support a corporate environment with a mix of T20-23, T30, T40-2, A30-31p, R50p, and X series laptops. I have to keep both adapters around because I'll run into the rare 48 or 60 gig drive that is thicker than will fit in the "slim" adapter and need the larger one to do data recovery, etc.

On a off-topic side note, the Dell D600 equivalent 2nd HDD adapter is LAME! Wimpy ribbon cable connector that you think you're going to break when you take take the drive off and you have to use screws to hold it on the tray (no nice slip-in and lock in place) and when I ordered some for the office, they didn't come with the mounting screws!

Oh yeah, an IBM drive with the metal shield still on it won't fit in the little boxy holder on the Dell tray - but you need the tray screws to hold the drive in the Dell tray, so it's not a big deal.

kano · #18 Post by **kano** » Fri May 06, 2005 9:08 pm

I have old Toshiba MK4018GAP (40 GB) drive in the adapter. I put a small piece of double stick tape between drive and adapter. Works well.
Regards, KaNo

Problem with 2nd HDD Ultrabay Adapter

Problem with 2nd HDD Ultrabay Adapter

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