hdd caddy will not fit back into bay!!!

[jimjamz]

hi, i have the weirdest problem and not too sure if anyone ever expereienced this.

I upgrade to a new seagate hdd from my old 40gb. However the hdd never detected. Weird thing was that i installed it with the original hdd and it wouldn't detect it either.

After 4 hrs of fiddling and frustration. I placed the hdd back into the bay WITHOUT the caddy. This worked however i could not fit back the cover for the bay.

Somehow i used the bay coverpiece and attached it to the device, got a pin and PUSHed the hdd into the socket a bit harder and this is the only thing that worked!

What i'm scared of at the moment is that if i shake the laptop, the pins may be loosen or the hdd may loosen and it'll be hell to put it back.

1. do i even need this caddy piece that comes with the hdd.
2. anyone had this issue and were able to do something about it?

I believe the caddy restricted the pins slightly to connect. i dnt know but this is the only way i found how to make the hdd detectable...

cheers...

[GomJabbar]

I just replaced the hard drive in my T42 for a test. There are 2 screws that the plastic cover slides over. I tried using different screws for the other hard drive, but the diameter of the heads of the screws was too large to allow the hard drive to go in all the way. I had to use the original screws. As far as the perforated metal cover on the hard drive, I believe that is only for protection when the hard drive is removed from the laptop. I do not believe it is necessary to install this piece.

One thing odd that I found is that the hard drive slides in upside down from my way of thinking. This is not so apparent with the perforated cover on the drive, but it is readily apparent with a new hard drive. I was trying to install my hard drive the wrong way at first, but the pins would not line up. The result was that it would not slide in all the way.

[bill bolton]

2. anyone had this issue and were able to do something about it?

The screw that holds external drive the cover in place is the same thread and almost the same size and appearance as the screws that hold the caddy to the HDD. The difference is that the screw head on the external cover plate cover screw is slightly thicker and larger.

If you accidently use the the external cover plate screw as one of the screws to attach the caddy to the HDD you can end up with the sort of problem you describe.

Its an easy error to make when faced with the 5 screws resulting from removing the primary HDD from a T4x and then removing the caddy from the HDD, because of the physical similarity in appearence in the screws and the fact that they do have the same threads so seem to fit OK.

Cheers,

Bill

[jimjamz]

hi guys, thanks for the reply,

however i am 110% sure 4 screws (for the caddy) are exactly the same.

The 5th screw for the coverpiece back to the laptop is indeed slightly bigger.

Putting the hdd in the wrong way will make the drive undetectable as i've also frustratingly found for a few hrs and didn't understand why.


Note:
method1: ive also inserted it the RIGHT way with the caddy but didn't work.
method2: now i've removed the caddy, inserted it again, with the coverpiece normally as you do - also didn't work
method3: insert no caddy, insert with coverpiece, get a pin to further JAMM the hdd into the socket bay.. this is the only time it worked..


my concern is if i move the laptop, run with my bag for instance, it may loosen the connection. Thus curious how i would go around this...

it's more precaution than anything..

[anthony]

Probably the dumbest question over posted here, but I have no pride. What is a caddy?

[rkawakami]

What is a caddy?

From dictionary.com:

1. a container, rack, or other device for holding, organizing, or storing items
2. variant of caddie: Golf. a person hired to carry a player's clubs, find the ball, etc.
3. Computer Science: a protective case used to load a CD-ROM into a disk drive.
4. a metal frame affixed to the outside of a hard disk drive, designed to hold it within a laptop or notebook computer; usually proprietary to a certain group or family of computers as each has different mounting systems

[tom_k]

sometimes (or better:very often;) i use this cadddies without screws :D
this works because of the 2 "wings" at the back hold the HD in place when you pull the blue tape (TP 600 caddy ;)

If these "wings" are bent to much inwards,
they can touch the HD connector inside the pad,
preventing correct insertion.
You can check this by pushing the caddy without HD

another possible cause: pins are not straight,
try it only with the 2 "front" srews .

sorry, bad english,
hope i managed to express i understandable

[anthony]

What is a caddy?

From dictionary.com:

Thank you.

[nutjobox]

i think my t40 harddrive went in upside down....