Installing Crucial M4 SDD (9mm) in TP x220

Hi,

I am planning to install a Crucial M4 in my new x220 and have a few questions.

1. Instead of using shorter screws, is it all right to just use electrical tape and tape it all around?

2. I read that some people got their x220's "burned" because of Crucial M4 hacks. That worries me a lot -- what should I be careful with to avoid this scenario?

I'm also interested in your experiences with installing it.

Thanks!

 

1. It might work (someone has done it) but personally I don't like it because that still allows small displacement when force is applied.

2. What is "burned"?

 

2. Well, someone actually said, "killed". Not sure what exactly is that, but makes me worry about it.


Should I also tape the insides of the SSD so that it's not in contact with casing?
And when I actually install it, will it slip nicely into it? Is there something I should be concerned about? And overall, do you recommend this method?

 

yeah I burned mine and had to wait for the motherboard replacement, now I taped mined with electrical tape all over. it has been running smoothly ever since. Oh mine doesnt slip nicely into the slot. Probably because I put a lot of electrical tape. Just to be on the safe side

 

Don't mean to derail your the OP. But sniper_sung how much did your SSD cost you?

 

What parts exactly did you tape?

I'm a bit worried about this right now. Please make me feel confident that this is good idea or that I should just give up.

 

Here's what I did with my Crucial M4.
Took off the top plate and spacer, put then away safe with the screws in case of RMA.
Cut some thin plastic sheet to place on each side, then wrapped with duct tape - just one turn. The plastic was to stop the sticky tape from damaging the label or the components.
Attached a small tab of tape to the end, just like the HD has.
Took off the two rubber side rails that were on the original HD, and pushed then onto the SSD.
The SSD is now a smooth fit just like the original HD.
The whole job takes just a few minutes.

 

And you didn't tape the chip inside? Isn't that a bit risky since it could be in contact with metal casing? I guess you didn't put any screws back - how's the stability then, is the casing wiggling around?

Also, what about static electricity and stuff? I'm not sure what materials to avoid.

 

The back plate stays in place - only the top plate comes off.
Why should the bottom plate need any protection under the circuit board? It doesn't have any when it's made, and the backplate isn't disturbed at all.
BTW the plastic sheet needs to be thin. I cut mine from the window on a food package.

There isn't any movement. With the rubber buffers fitted it's just the same thickness as the original HD and it fits just the same.

 

I had something like this in mind: forum.thinkpads.com • View topic - HOWTO: Making a 7mm SSD out of a 9.5mm Crucial M4

It would probably be the easiest way to just do as shown on the pictures and tape entire metal casing. Should also be safe, right?

 

I don't like that idea without putting some electrical tape. The space is there for a reason which to avoid contacts with the grounding on the 4 corners. This is my suspection why mine was burned (short circuit). So I will just remove the top cover and put electrical tape specially on the corners.

 

That's what I did, if you read my note again.
I put a sheet of thin plastic on each side, so the chips are completely covered. Then wrapped the whole thing in duct tape to hold it all together. So the top of the board is protected 1. by the plastic and 2. by the tape.

If you read that link someone else did the same thing, but I also added the rubber buffers to get the proper fit.

 

After removing the spacer I put about four short strips of electrical tape inside the drive, put the top back on and looped it once with a piece of normal tape. The rubber rails keep it stable, and so far I haven't had any problems

 

Here's what I did (X220 tablet, Crucial M4 128GB):

- Removed the spacer
- Put it back together with 2x3mm screws, no tape or plastic involved
- Put it in the X220, X220 did not recognize the drive..
- Removed the drive, unscrewed the 4 2x3mm screws just a bit
- Put it back, USB EFI installed Win7 64 bit, no problems since

So it seems that putting the top and bottom to tight together makes it short circuit somehow. Based on the experience others have had this is probably caused by the top touching the inner parts of the SSD.

 

Okay then. I will tape entire inner side of the metal cover - twice, just to be safe.
Did you have any problems with the drive? For how long are you using it?
I will install new firmware first and then windows 7. I'm also a bit concerned about durability. Would be great if it works fine for at least a year, without any problems.

 

I've had my X220 since Thursday, have had the M4 in it since Thursday night and have not had one single problem with it. Reboots are FAST, programs are SUPER FAST, cold boot is fast. If it was a 256gb+ it'd be even faster but alas..no funds

 

I have been using it for just over a month now, no problems whatsoever. Some SSD benchmark program predicted a lifespan of 5 years, which is fine by me. Did you get the drive already? If not, firmware 0002 will probably be installed out of the box.

This is what warranty is all about

 

Great! Still haven't received it and I'm so looking forward to it.

 

What I did was just leave the metal top completely off. I just put the x220 cage back on the drive (black plastic covers the entire back side) and then screwed the screws to the side (to keep it together). Then I put the rails back onto the drive and put it back in. No problems so far.

 

You don't need to disassemble the drive... mine slid in without any modding necessary on my X220, just use it without the drive caddy.

Mine was an OCZ Agility 3 btw, which is a 9.5mm drive.

 

I'm already using it for some time and it's working fine. I have disassembled it, completely covered the top metal casing that could get in contact with the chip with electric tape. The metal edges are also covered. After that, I taped the entire drive a few times so that it's secured (didn't use screws). It perfectly fit in drive bumpers.
Well, it's working perfectly fine.

Thermite Paste, is that safe? I thought about that and it just didn't feel like the right thing to do. I don't have an impression that this way the drive is safely connected. I'm much more comfortable with using elastic drive bumpers.

 

Mine fit very snugly, there literally isn't enough room for it to disconnect itself, lol. If you're not afraid to open yours mounting it to the caddy is probably the safest solution, however mine had a warranty sticker so I wasn't about to do that, especially with the failure rates of sandforce drives.

 

Just got my X220 today. The M4 was waiting for it.

Basically, I took off the keyboard, then the trackpad. Then I removed the single screw that holds the plastic sub-chassis.

The M4 slid in, albeit snugly. The casing looks to have been scratched on entry. Put everything back together and am just putting a Windows 7 image on a USB as we speak.

7 screws on the bottom (2 keyboard, 6 palmrest [1 being shared with keyboard]).

M4 installed without removing spacer; no caddy used.

 

What I did instead was the tab sanding mod and then I placed the HDD in. Unfortunately, even with this mod, the drive isn't exactly super easy to remove. You cannot have the caddy fit with the drive and slide the thing into the bay at the end of the day.