Has anyone tried an SSD in the X41? *PICS*

Message

kunfuchopsticks · #421 Post by **kunfuchopsticks** » Thu Jul 17, 2008 8:58 am

sebtomato wrote:
gongo2k1 wrote:the first one and the fourth ones might work, the others don't look right.
After reading a lot about compatible adapters, I came to the conclusion that only the Addonics one will work properly, as the IDE connector is placed differently from all the other adapters.

On all the adapters sold on eBay, and the ones above (except the SD one), the first IDE pin, identified by a white line in the corner, is at the top left. When using on a X40, you would need to have the CF card facing down to connect properly, and it may not fit properly.

The Addonics connectors have the first IDE pin on the top right, with the CF card up, so there is no issue fitting the card.

yeah, in the review of the 1st of the list i gave, a couple people said you need to cut off one of the pins to have the proper interface.

kunfuchopsticks · #422 Post by **kunfuchopsticks** » Thu Jul 17, 2008 12:15 pm

This is also promising: http://www.supertalent.com/products/fla ... p?type=IDE

weepy · #423 Post by **weepy** » Thu Jul 17, 2008 2:01 pm

Not that much, datasheet claims 30/30 MB/s r/w for slc version. Moreover, a cable is required for use that complicates things a bit. Most notably, no UDMA or DMA modes available.

dbregman · #424 Post by **dbregman** » Thu Jul 17, 2008 5:31 pm

sebtomato wrote: Thanks for providing some answers. Regarding NTFS vs. FAT32, did you use the default cluster size?
Seb

I used the default cluster size.

weepy · #425 Post by **weepy** » Sat Jul 19, 2008 2:02 am

Finally I managed to squeeze default factory install of Windows XP Tablet PC Edition to my 16GB Transcend 300x. It was partitioned as 8GB FAT32 + 8GB unpartitioned, because I plan to use the boot partition with EWF and the rest was for EWF config and almost 8GB writable space would be for persistent files, Documents and Settings etc. The IBM/Lenovo installer was getting on my nerves as it threw bunches of errors at me, but despite that, after numerous reboots, the system was up and running. It was completely repartitioned (10.7GB + 4.5GB ibm_service). In last step, my big partition was converted to NTFS without asking. After experiencing the 10s boot of clean XP install, I was quite disapointed and started removing bloat. Apps first of all, symantec client security starts and runs about 5 services!! From Run and Startup I removed unnecessary things, turned off APS. Now the system takes 17s to boot into logon screen and another 12s to desktop. There is much playing with left, i expect another boost especially with the EWF. What annoys me is that the cursor stuttering problem is still here. It is a property of the factory install. I had task manager open and tried to identify processes that could cause it and suspicious are rundll32.exe (thanks Bill, that helped, really

) and 1XConfig.exe. I'll investigate further.

To sum it up, I recommend CF upgrade wery much, especially non tablet owners, because they are much less dependent on the lenovo install. The system is very responsive, silent there are no clicking pauses in HDD operation. For me, this upgrade was very expensive:
Transcend 300x..... 3500CZK
USB DVDRW..... 2000CZK
Addonics 2xCF>IDE......1000CZK (big to thanks to my friend from hungary)
USB IDE converter .....250CZK
which totals to 6750CZK =~ 280 euro for 16B SSD. But there is lot of useful byproducts

+uncounted media spoiled by lenovo "create recovery media"

Careful with cf insertion, when badly inserted, thinkpad may not react to power on button and it may continue to do so fooling you into thinkin it is dead. When I unplugged the battery and connected the pwr cord only for power up trial, it behaved much better.

Proudly changing the signature now

EDIT: power measurements using mobile meter show 12-13w in use with wifi, maximum battery life profile and max brightness which is definitely less than with hdd. When the display turns off, the consumption drops to 8.8w, so the display eats 4W on max brightness, I found that interesting.

K0LO · #426 Post by **K0LO** » Sat Jul 19, 2008 8:16 am

weepy:

You are correct about the defects built into the default factory install of XP Tablet Edition on the X41T.

Why don't you dump it and create a clean install of XP Tablet Edition? My guide is getting a little dated but I promise you that you won't be disappointed with the result.

weepy · #427 Post by **weepy** » Sat Jul 19, 2008 8:37 am

I read your guide, nice job on this one.. but I encountered some dead links in it. I also n-lited my tablet I386, which made it broken and unusable. I noticed no warning that it will be overwritten, i thought new cd contents will be created... naively. Thirdly and probably most problematic.. my WinXP TPE is a czech mutation, which is done by lenovo factory install that replaces english files in the middle of process, I feared problems with compatibility.

Kappa7 · #428 Post by **Kappa7** » Mon Jul 21, 2008 6:15 pm

Hello,

I have read this very interesting thread but i still have some doubts:

Are the new Transcend 300X better than the sandisk extreme IV in write performance or the transcend still have the same "lag" issue like the 266 and the 133x series?

There are any differences in performance for different capacity? For example a transcend 300X 4GB is faster or slower than a 16GB one?

Thanks

kaotic504 · #429 Post by **kaotic504** » Mon Jul 21, 2008 10:08 pm

my results are below:

img]http://members.cox.net/kaotic504/IMG/SILICON_POWER.png[/img]

i'm using a Silicon Image 200x 8gb CF card and the Addonics Dual CF card in an IBM X41T. i must admit that Windows boots FAST!!! but even after using nLite, i only have 5 1/2gb left on the card.

good thing most of my data resides on my NAS boxes.

filmnmusic192 · #430 Post by **filmnmusic192** » Wed Jul 23, 2008 7:54 am

What is the best method for securing the Addonics dual adaptor to the x40? Does anyone have any pictures to show how they mounted and secured it?

Any help is appreciated!

dbregman · #431 Post by **dbregman** » Wed Jul 23, 2008 7:04 pm

filmnmusic192 wrote:What is the best method for securing the Addonics dual adaptor to the x40? Does anyone have any pictures to show how they mounted and secured it?
!

No securing was necessary for me in my X40, I stuck it in with the two cards and then put the door back on with the screw. The only issue is if I slide the computer away from me the non-screw side of the door flexes open a bit. Not a big deal to me.

gongo2k1 · #432 Post by **gongo2k1** » Wed Jul 23, 2008 11:23 pm

there's a slight wobble on my x41, even with the ably adapter, but honestly, it isn't much more than it was with the stock hdd. imo, it's totally livable.

jimmy.zou · #433 Post by **jimmy.zou** » Thu Jul 24, 2008 12:47 pm

gongo2k1 wrote:there's a slight wobble on my x41, even with the ably adapter, but honestly, it isn't much more than it was with the stock hdd. imo, it's totally livable.

I have managed to fix it, I bought a 2.5' CF-IDE enclosure, and use my knife cut it into 1.8'. Then it was screwed firmly

AvalonXIII · #434 Post by **AvalonXIII** » Thu Jul 24, 2008 1:32 pm

Heads up guys, there's a seller on ebay selling the SSD for X40 and X41. Here's the link:
http://cgi.ebay.com/SSD-Disc-DuraDrive- ... .m14.l1318
Before you guys ask, no it's not me, just thought that somebody would want to try it out

aceo07 · #435 Post by **aceo07** » Thu Jul 24, 2008 1:48 pm

AvalonXIII wrote:Heads up guys, there's a seller on ebay selling the SSD for X40 and X41. Here's the link:
http://cgi.ebay.com/SSD-Disc-DuraDrive- ... .m14.l1318
Before you guys ask, no it's not me, just thought that somebody would want to try it out

That is one confusing ebay post. The interface as in the pictures is 'IDE', but the text description states 'SATA' interface.

After looking on the supertalent website, it is IDE. Apparently the lazy guy just copied and pasted some other page from the website.

Really expensive, though it's almost the same everywhere else.

I hope the SSD companies don't forget about us IDE users. Though I assume the market for 1.8" ide might be small. At least I hope they come out with faster CF cards if not SSD 1.8 IDE.

urza_insane · #436 Post by **urza_insane** » Thu Jul 24, 2008 5:56 pm

Hey all, I have the Addonics Dual Adapter and two Silicon Power Compact Flash Cards. It took a little while, but I was able to install windows and can now use both cards - but I have a problem.

When I turn on my computer I get a "Fixed Disk Error 1" unless I do a diagnostic boot. This takes a long time compared to quick boot, defeating some of the reasons to have Compact Flash.

Has anybody found a way around the "Fixed Disk Error" message aside from using diagnostic boot?

I'm using an x40.

gongo2k1 · #437 Post by **gongo2k1** » Thu Jul 24, 2008 7:10 pm

AvalonXIII wrote:Heads up guys, there's a seller on ebay selling the SSD for X40 and X41. Here's the link:
http://cgi.ebay.com/SSD-Disc-DuraDrive- ... .m14.l1318
Before you guys ask, no it's not me, just thought that somebody would want to try it out

aren't those the first gen ssd that were notoriously slow (about 9MB/s r/w)?

it def. looks like the specs copied in that post are not for the unit pictured. buyer beware.

kunfuchopsticks · #438 Post by **kunfuchopsticks** » Thu Jul 24, 2008 11:10 pm

The picture is of a IDE Duradrive by Super Talent. Looks like those specs are right:
http://www.supertalent.com/products/ssd ... Drive%20ET#

bim · #439 Post by **bim** » Fri Jul 25, 2008 12:41 am

I have "Panasonic OEM" 16GB 266x compact flash card installed to X40 with "made in Taiwan" IDE2CF adapter. According to seller CF should support UDMA. For some reason this is not happening. Any hints what might be the problem?

Code: Select all

$ sudo hdparm -i /dev/sda
/dev/sda:

 Model=SMI MODEL                               , FwRev=20071116, SerialNo=            00008F7B
 Config={ HardSect NotMFM Fixed DTR>10Mbs }
 RawCHS=16383/15/63, TrkSize=0, SectSize=576, ECCbytes=4
 BuffType=DualPort, BuffSize=1kB, MaxMultSect=1, MultSect=?0?
 CurCHS=16383/15/63, CurSects=15481935, LBA=yes, LBAsects=31719424
 IORDY=no, tPIO={min:120,w/IORDY:120}, tDMA={min:120,rec:120}
 PIO modes:  pio0 pio1 pio2 pio3 pio4 
 DMA modes:  *mdma0 mdma1 mdma2 
 AdvancedPM=no

 * signifies the current active mode

$ dmesg|grep ata
[    0.000000]  BIOS-e820: 000000003f6e0000 - 000000003f6f7000 (ACPI data)
[    6.920929] Memory: 1018092k/1039232k available (2177k kernel code, 20392k reserved, 1006k data, 368k init, 121728k highmem)
[    6.920973]       .data : 0xc0320474 - 0xc041bdc4   (1006 kB)
[    8.389741] ACPI: EC: GPE = 0x1c, I/O: command/status = 0x66, data = 0x62
[   15.205183] libata version 3.00 loaded.
[   15.874929] ata_piix 0000:00:1f.1: version 2.12
[   15.875926] scsi0 : ata_piix
[   15.877309] scsi1 : ata_piix
[   15.879714] ata1: PATA max UDMA/100 cmd 0x1f0 ctl 0x3f6 bmdma 0x1810 irq 14
[   15.879724] ata2: PATA max UDMA/100 cmd 0x170 ctl 0x376 bmdma 0x1818 irq 15
[   16.052073] ata1.00: ATA-0: SMI MODEL, 20071116, max MWDMA2
[   16.052083] ata1.00: 31719424 sectors, multi 0: LBA 
[   16.068046] ata1.00: configured for MWDMA2
[   16.092027] ata1.00: configured for MWDMA2
[   16.092040] ata1: EH complete
[   48.028998] EXT3-fs: mounted filesystem with ordered data mode.

$ uname -a
Linux X40 2.6.24-19-generic #1 SMP Fri Jul 11 23:41:49 UTC 2008 i686 GNU/Linux

mikeh · #440 Post by **mikeh** » Fri Jul 25, 2008 4:44 am

sebtomato wrote: After reading a lot about compatible adapters, I came to the conclusion that only the Addonics one will work properly, as the IDE connector is placed differently from all the other adapters.

All these adapters are made to fit a standard laptop drive bay.
The X40 bay differs in two ways: it is shorter, and upside down.

I have ordered the DX one to try:
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.10310

The photo says it supports DMA, which is just a matter of having the pins connected.

kunfuchopsticks · #441 Post by **kunfuchopsticks** » Fri Jul 25, 2008 4:52 am

mikeh wrote:
sebtomato wrote: After reading a lot about compatible adapters, I came to the conclusion that only the Addonics one will work properly, as the IDE connector is placed differently from all the other adapters.
All these adapters are made to fit a standard laptop drive bay.
The X40 bay differs in two ways: it is shorter, and upside down.

I have ordered the DX one to try:
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.10310

The photo says it supports DMA, which is just a matter of having the pins connected.

Did this product work?

aceo07 · #442 Post by **aceo07** » Fri Jul 25, 2008 9:06 am

bim wrote:I have "Panasonic OEM" 16GB 266x compact flash card installed to X40 with "made in Taiwan" IDE2CF adapter. According to seller CF should support UDMA. For some reason this is not happening. Any hints what might be the problem?

Have you tried using the CF card in a usb cardreader? This way you can see how fast it's going. If it's slow, then it's the card reader or the cf card that's slow. If it's fast, then it could be the cf to ide adapter that's the problem.

daniboun · #443 Post by **daniboun** » Fri Jul 25, 2008 3:12 pm

Hello !

I just purchased my SSD CompactFlash for my IBM X40.
I compared my Silicon POWER UDMA 300X with my Transcend UDMA 300X. Both are running in UDMA Mode 4

Hardware :
IBM X40, 1.5 GB, CF Adapter 1.8 UDMA 3.3v
Windows XP Trust SP3 Lite version
Silicon Power 300X UDMA 16GB
Transcend 300X UDMA 16GB

Bench
HDTUNE

Let's compare :

SILICON POWER 300X

TRANSCEND 300X

Enjoy

gongo2k1 · #444 Post by **gongo2k1** » Fri Jul 25, 2008 3:34 pm

read speed is generally reported as being good on transcend cards, it's the write speed that suffers when compared to delkin/silicon power/lexar/sandisk/kingston/pny.

daniboun · #445 Post by **daniboun** » Fri Jul 25, 2008 4:03 pm

gongo2k1 wrote:read speed is generally reported as being good on transcend cards, it's the write speed that suffers when compared to delkin/silicon power/lexar/sandisk/kingston/pny.

Ain't sure mate ! Transcend 300X UDMA is better than my Silicon Power 300X even concerning Write speed.

If you see other forums you'll see that Transcend 300X is the better CompactFlash you can find.

Concerning the best adapter CF > IDE 1.8 especially designed for the IBM X40/41 With UDMA support, I got this one :

http://linitx.com/viewproduct.php?prodid=11521

daniboun · #446 Post by **daniboun** » Fri Jul 25, 2008 4:11 pm

UPDATE :

You will find all the test results you need for UDMA CompactFlash and other CF cards here :

http://www.hjreggel.net/cardspeed/

FOR INSTANCE :

Transcend is the best...

gongo2k1 · #447 Post by **gongo2k1** » Fri Jul 25, 2008 5:58 pm

daniboun wrote:Concerning the best adapter CF > IDE 1.8 especially designed for the IBM X40/41 With UDMA support, I got this one :

yeah, that's the one i'm using too, see my post on page 13 or 14 of this thread.

most people here seem to prefer the addonics adapter because it gives you two slots instead of one. it also happens to be $1 cheaper and is wired properly for udma, though it lacks the 3.3v/5v regulator.

mikeh · #448 Post by **mikeh** » Sat Jul 26, 2008 6:43 am

gongo2k1 wrote:read speed is generally reported as being good on transcend cards, it's the write speed that suffers when compared to delkin/silicon power/lexar/sandisk/kingston/pny.

Write speed may be important on some digital cameras.
But on a proper PC? Surely the OS will cache disk writes. Its not like you or any process has to wait for it. Please don't tell me that Windoze doesn't do write caching.

gongo2k1 · #449 Post by **gongo2k1** » Sat Jul 26, 2008 8:54 am

mikeh wrote:Surely the OS will cache disk writes. Its not like you or any process has to wait for it.

fair enough. and it's not like the cf going to be any slower than the current hdd (being that we're really only looking at >133x cards) so at the minimum the performance wouldn't be any worse.

iThinkPad · #450 Post by **iThinkPad** » Sat Jul 26, 2008 9:51 am

Thanks daniboun for all these nice posts and pics.

I just bought a Transcend 16GB Compact Flash x300 by accident - I wanted to buy a Kingston 8GB x266...!

Now that's nice...!

iThinkpad

Has anyone tried an SSD in the X41? PICS

Re: Clarifications

SSD CF

Thanks...

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