T4X hard drive swapping?

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georgeb · #1 Post by **georgeb** » Sun Feb 04, 2007 4:42 pm

i know there are a number of ways of running two OSs but if one wanted to have two hard drives -- each on a T4X caddy -- running a different system, would one be able to swap them to run each OS (with the machine off, of course)?

if yes, then one would presumably be able to swap HDs with another T4X laptop, right?

georgeb

toad · #2 Post by **toad** » Mon Feb 05, 2007 3:58 am

Well, that is certainly one way of dual booting

Not sure about swapping hard drives between models, though, as specs differ. But try by all means and report back.

alfio · #3 Post by **alfio** » Tue Feb 06, 2007 12:26 am

does the motherboard 'mark' or register the hard drive in any way? if not, then i'm assuming that the following scenario would work:

scenario a: one HD for a T43 and a T40

scenario b: one HD running linux, another XP, going into one or another machine

will both of these scenarios work? i've been thinking about something similar as a way to dive into linux.

alfio

toad · #4 Post by **toad** » Tue Feb 06, 2007 6:14 am

As far as I know HDs are not "marked", so this would not constrain you in any way.

What I am not sure about, however, is the difference in hardware between your laptops. If they do not differ substantially you might be able to have one and the same HD incl OS working on two different systems without breaking anything...

Thinking about it again, I would advise against it. If you are bent on trying linux but do not dare touch your HD you can either do a full install on an external HD (or caddy) or give a live distribution a whirl.

Kubuntu for one comes on a live CD and works a treat with my T41. Other excellent live distros are Knoppix or Kanotix. Hell, the world is your oyster! If you like it there is nothing against putting it on the same hard drive as long as you defrag your windows at least a couple of times beforehand.

rmh · #5 Post by **rmh** » Wed Feb 07, 2007 7:44 pm

In my experience - I have a T42p with 3 7200 RPM HDDs in their own carriers:
1 - the OEM Windows XP Pro
2 - Fedora Core 4, fully functional (I have a how-to doc that I created for this)
3 - Fedora Core 6, 95% functional (started last weekend - Cingular HSDPA WWAN using Sierra Wireless AirCard 860 not working yet, though I have it working under FC4 and Windows)

Carriers can be had for $7-$20 each, depending on your source.

I also have two 80GB multi-bay HDD inserts that work great for when I run VMware images off of this HDD (one each for Windows (NTFS) and Linux (ext3)).

My only issue with this type of "multi-boot" has to do with how Windows XP Pro and Fedora Core handle the system clock. I can get GMT times and CST times as the real time after booting Windows after Linux, or Linux after Windows. A simple time re-set fixes this, but it's a very minor annoyance.

I have also found that the various Linux distros handle hardware changes more graciously than Windows so long as the hardware is supported under that distro. Windows is getting better at HDD swaps like this between different hardware systems, and XP is a vast improvement over previous Windows O/Ss, but I'm not sure I'd be willing to have those changes be made each time I swapped back or forth between the two systems.

With two similar hardware systems, you'll have to go through the motions yourself to see if the HDD swapping between them is acceptable to you.

I highly recommend using multiple HDDs in carriers for each of your laptops for each of your boot options. Swapping out HDDs, as long as they are in their own carriers, is a 3 second job, and 7200RPM laptop HDDs are pretty cheap these days.

HTH

rmh

Grim · #6 Post by **Grim** » Thu Feb 08, 2007 10:26 am

Partition magic shipped with BootMagic

you create several primary partitions, install windows , copy the install with drive image and then at boot up you choose which one to run

I have work, play and experiment

first two are obvious, the third is just for trying out software before i load it onto one of the other setups

it's virtually instant

toad · #7 Post by **toad** » Fri Feb 09, 2007 4:52 am

Grim wrote:Partition magic shipped with BootMagic

gparted is the same but open source http://gparted.sourceforge.net/livecd.php

It comes both both as a live cd and a usb version.

georgeb · #8 Post by **georgeb** » Fri Feb 16, 2007 6:28 pm

is there a list of T43-compatible HDs? i found this thinkwiki which would seem to provide a list of out of the box compatible HDs but it also lists this:

"Drives which produce an error and are not known to have working firmware

* Hitachi HTS726060M9AT00"

since that is exactly the HD that came with my T43, i'm not sure the rest of the information is very reliable.

georgeb

#9 Post by **GomJabbar** » Fri Feb 16, 2007 7:16 pm

georgeb wrote:is there a list of T43-compatible HDs?

Basically, unless it has an FRU number from IBM/Lenovo that is on the following page, you will get an error on boot up. There are some that have hacked Lenovo firmware updates to work with aftermarket drives, but it is a hack and carries some risk to damaging a new hard drive. Just because a drive carries the same manufacturer model number as a Lenovo drive does not mean that it will work error free in a T43. This is because of the firmware that is on the drive.

See Item 5 in the list below.
System service parts - ThinkPad T43, T43p

georgeb · #10 Post by **georgeb** » Sat Feb 17, 2007 2:04 am

ok, so this HD purchased from newegg would work without the error? i dont mean to be obtuse about this but all the stuff i've been reading seems to be pointing in different directions.

toad · #11 Post by **toad** » Sat Feb 17, 2007 2:13 am

I never knew that this would apply to hard disks... I recently tried a 30gb apple disk in my TP41 and it ran without a hitch?!

#12 Post by **GomJabbar** » Sat Feb 17, 2007 7:01 am

georgeb wrote:ok, so this HD purchased from newegg would work without the error? i dont mean to be obtuse about this but all the stuff i've been reading seems to be pointing in different directions.

The T43 is unique in requiring IBM/Lenovo hard drives. This is because of the SATA/PATA bridge. However, I believe the drive above can have the firmware updated to remove the error. See the following two threads. You do this at your own risk. I have a T42 and do not have any of these concerns. An off-the-shelf drive works just fine in a T42. Here is one more link with some information for you.

POST warning message 2010 after BIOS upgrade or hard drive installation - ThinkPad General

http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?t=13113

http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.ph ... 688#223688

georgeb · #13 Post by **georgeb** » Sat Feb 17, 2007 11:13 am

GomJabbar wrote: I believe the drive above can have the firmware updated to remove the error.

thanks for the links, that really helps. now i just have to find another T4x machine that uses the same type of drive as my T43 and i'm in business...

georgeb

#14 Post by **GomJabbar** » Sat Feb 17, 2007 1:06 pm

I said I believed the drive you linked to could work if it was flashed. I WAS WRONG. I had a temporary lapse of memory. That drive you referenced is a SATA drive. The T43 has SATA on the motherboard, but the interface to the drive is PATA [the SATA/PATA bridge I mentioned earlier]. Below is the latest from Lenovo. Try Googling the Lenovo part numbers to find out the manufacturer's number. But again, the drive would have to be flashed if it did not come from IBM/Lenovo.

Hard drive accessories - ThinkPad T43/p

georgeb · #15 Post by **georgeb** » Sat Feb 17, 2007 1:40 pm

ok, thanks. really, i appreciate the advice

T4X hard drive swapping?

T4X hard drive swapping?

Multiple HDDs in Carriers

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