T61P Ultrabay HD issue

T60/T61 series specific matters only
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bthlonewolf
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T61P Ultrabay HD issue

#1 Post by bthlonewolf » Sun Feb 14, 2010 5:30 pm

Hi folks!

I tried searching for an answer and haven't seen any issues, but was hoping someone else has seen this.

I have a T61P (currently Win7 but also noticed this on Vista), and typically use a second HD in the Ultrabay adapter. The drive is a standard ~200GB, 7200RPM SATA drive. Most of the times, the drive works fine. Sometimes, though, the drive just stops responding. The HDD light under the monitor will stay on, but there doesn't appear to be any activity. The drive disappears from explorer. If I try to properly eject the drive, I get a message that the drive is in use and cannot be safely ejected. But if I do it anyway, I can put it back in and it starts working again.

Obviously I've stopped using it for anything critical.

Anyone else experience this? Any suggestions for a fix?

Thanks much!

sktn77a
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Re: T61P Ultrabay HD issue

#2 Post by sktn77a » Mon Feb 15, 2010 4:21 pm

Is the drive bootable or is it just a data drive? I have heard several reports of this with the ultrabayslim drives in the T4x and T6x with no rhyme or reason (the drives work fine in other computers and the computers work fine with other drives). I think it may be a drive connector/bay connector connection tolerance issue.
Keith
(Formerly 600E 2645, T30 2366, X31 2673, T40 2373, T41 2379, T42 2373, T42 2379, T60 1952, T61p 8889, T61p 8891
Currently T420 4177-CTO, T430 2347-A54, T430 2347-UN9, T430 2349-L64, T430 2342-CTO, H520S 2561-1LU, Ideapad K1)

bthlonewolf
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Re: T61P Ultrabay HD issue

#3 Post by bthlonewolf » Mon Feb 15, 2010 8:07 pm

Thanks for the reply -- drive is just data.

If connection tolerance issue, any potential workarounds such as small shims or something?

I guess this might mean needing to go back to external drives...

richk
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Re: T61P Ultrabay HD issue

#4 Post by richk » Mon Feb 15, 2010 10:47 pm

Is the adapter a "real" one or aftermarket?

bthlonewolf
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Re: T61P Ultrabay HD issue

#5 Post by bthlonewolf » Tue Feb 16, 2010 1:48 am

richk wrote:Is the adapter a "real" one or aftermarket?
100% genuine. :)

Unfortunately just not in warranty.

crazyfrog
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Re: T61P Ultrabay HD issue

#6 Post by crazyfrog » Tue Feb 16, 2010 3:38 am

I would recommend a 5400rpm drive for use in Ultrabay HDD adapter.
Core 2 Duo T7600, 3GB DDR2-667 RAM, Main 7K320 320GB 7200RPM + Ultrabay 320GB 5400RPM, ATI FireGL V5250, 15" IPS UXGA, DVDRW, Bluetooth, Atheros ABGN, NMB Keyboard, Fingerprint, Win7 Pro X86 + Vista 64-bit SP2, Advanced Dock.

bthlonewolf
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Re: T61P Ultrabay HD issue

#7 Post by bthlonewolf » Tue Feb 16, 2010 11:58 am

I'll give that a try. Actually, I need to find a 5400 drive first... hate to buy one just to test.

richk
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Re: T61P Ultrabay HD issue

#8 Post by richk » Tue Feb 16, 2010 5:55 pm

I have a T61p running Vista and often use 7200 RPM drives in the Ultrabay caddy, both PATA and SATA (both adapters aftermarket). I've never had the problem you describe.

EOMtp
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Re: T61P Ultrabay HD issue

#9 Post by EOMtp » Tue Feb 16, 2010 8:22 pm

+1.
The drive's RPM is irrelevant to the problem you are describing.

diaz1023
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Re: T61P Ultrabay HD issue

#10 Post by diaz1023 » Tue Feb 16, 2010 9:14 pm

+1
i too use a 7200rpm 500gb seagate in the ultrabay adapator and have had no issues. the caddy is from ibm/lenovo
t61p 14.1 sxga, 4gig ram, Win7 Pro 64-bit

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