Looking for an external (slim) optical drive enclosure

Hi.

Has anyone managed to use internal optical drive with some sort of enclosure?
like this one: http://www.centrix-intl.com/Item_specification/DVDcaddy/Slimcaddy3.html

I'm thinking to buy 2nd hdd, but in same time I would like to use
my optical drive, without taking off hdd.

So, I started to search but did not find yet anything related to thinkpad or lenovo, if it's possible at all.

Thank you in advance.

 

check out LaCie's external drives
http://www.lacie.com/products/range.htm?id=10037
they are pretty slim, and look very nice

hope this helps

 

I managed to get the optical dvd+rw unit from my X6 Ultrabase to work with the following kit

http://cgi.ebay.com/USB-2-0-EXTERNA...Z012QQcategoryZ158834QQtcZphotoQQcmdZViewItem

However, it requires power from two USB ports in order to function and burn discs.

 

And 1st what I found is a converter optical drive to usb.

http://cgi.ebay.com/IBM-THINKPAD-Sl...96914QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp1742.m153.l1262

Will look naked, but this should work.

PS: Question is still valid. Thanks.

 

yoseph90, thanks but i was looking only for enclosure and one that would be compatible with T61

jketzetera, interesting, will look into that. thanks.

 

FYI...this will not work with newer models (ex T400)...the DVD drive in the T400 has a new SATA type connector. This things says PATA.

I would love to be proved wrong on this.

I when with a different LG portable DVD drive; yes, it cost extra, but it works without issue. (and uses only 1 USB port)

 

well, i don't really care about t400 as i hope i'll stick with my t61 for couple of years at least
but thank you anyway, i didn't pay attention to this small but important detail.

by the way i already bought http://cgi.ebay.com/USB-2-0-EXTERNA...Z012QQcategoryZ158834QQtcZphotoQQcmdZViewItem

what jketzetera gave me.

thanks again to everyone.

 

You also might want to look into an internal second hard drive to use in place of your CD/DVD drive. It is much more convenient than using an external hard drive, in my opinion.

eBay has a Ultrabay Slim SATA 2nd Hdd Enclosure for the T61 or T61p at: http://cgi.ebay.com/Ultrabay-Slim-S...hash=item250303221594&_trksid=p3286.m63.l1177

I have used this hard drive adapter to utilize a second hard drive in my T60 for the past year. It works great. By doing so, I've doubled my storage capacity.

It is hot-swappable with your DVD drive, so when you want to make a change, just click the "Safely Remove Hardware" icon on the bottom right side, and then remove one drive and insert the other.

 

I have a used a similar enclosure ( black plastic $12) with a DVD±RW I pulled from a broken Acer laptop. The drive works very well and I can power it with two USB ports (both required for stable operation) from my x200. I had to take the bezel off the front of the drive however, because it was designed to cover up some gaps on the laptop and thus won't fit in the enclosure.

You need to verify two things before buying any enclosure. It must have the right connector (PATA or SATA) and it must work with the height drive you have. The Acer had a standard 13mm drive. Most T series Thinkpads since the T40 (my first Thinkpad) use 9.5 mm drives. The x300/x301 use 7mm drives. Using a slim drive in a thicker enclosure may not be a problem, but there will probably be some slack space and/or wiggle.

 

This looks interesting. I currently have an LG slim external USB DVD drive (see sig) but will this work with the X200 ultrabase DVD drive?

 

No. The X200 Ultrabase optical units (and other Montevina Thinkpad optical units) have SATA-interface, while the previous optical units (e.g my X6 Ultrabase optical) had PATA-interface.

 

Thank you for your purchase!

I am in sales @ http://www.ayagroup.com and we also carry this enclosure for SATA optical drives:


http://www.ayagroup.com/product.php?productid=17499&cat=0&page=1

Also in Apple White with white bezel if you want an Apple White looking USB external optical drive:

http://www.ayagroup.com/product.php?productid=17112&cat=328&page=1

Ships Same Day if ordered by 4PM PST! We also ship internationally! Click HERE for a list of countries we ship to.