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    T420 and ultrabay HDD, they don't quite fit...

    Discussion in 'Lenovo' started by sprtnbsblplya, Apr 9, 2011.

  1. Volker

    Volker Notebook Consultant

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    Because some thinkpad models have only an ultrabay slim, which is about 10mm high. :p
     
    Volker, May 3, 2011
    #51
  2. commander

    commander Notebook Consultant

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    ah, so they calling it now "enhanced caddy" but it is used to be "slim caddy" before, if I remember this
     
    commander, May 3, 2011
    #52
  3. sklsy

    sklsy Notebook Guru

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    What if I just leave the gap as it is? Will it kill the sata stocket?
     
    sklsy, Jun 22, 2011
    #53
  4. thunkpad

    thunkpad Newbie

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    Havent tried either of these but I thought I'd post em up for reference.
    This one was posted earlier in the thread:
    Ultrabay SATA 2nd Hdd Lenovo ThinkPad W700 W510 12.7mm | eBay
    &clk_rvr_id=257283672017

    Second one I found that looks very promising:
    2nd HDD or SSD Caddy - Lenovo ThinkPad T420, W700, W710 [TP-W510-T510] - $46.75 : NewmodeUS, Hard Drive Caddys for Notebooks

    Lenovo eject button is quite stupid, flush with the case would have been better. I don't remember the last time I used a cd so i'll be swapping to a ssd in the ultrabay for my OS/Backup as soon as they drop in price.
     
    thunkpad, Aug 19, 2011
    #54
  5. lewy10

    lewy10 Notebook Enthusiast

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    I just ordered one. Wish me luck!!!? I will post pictures of the fit of the caddy in my Lenovo T420.

    Second one I found that looks very promising:
    2nd HDD or SSD Caddy - Lenovo ThinkPad T420, W700, W710 [TP-W510-T510] - $46.75 : NewmodeUS, Hard Drive Caddys for Notebooks
     
    lewy10, Mar 6, 2012
    #55
  6. Kaso

    Kaso Notebook Virtuoso

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    Starting this March, Lenovo began to sell the 12.7mm UltraBay SATA hard disk bay adapter that leaves no gap.

    I bought that NewmodeUS caddy a few months back and have been quite pleased with it. Less expensive than the Lenovo part, excellent quality.
     
    Kaso, Mar 6, 2012
    #56
  7. lewy10

    lewy10 Notebook Enthusiast

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    Good to know!!!
     
    lewy10, Mar 6, 2012
    #57
  8. ThinkRob

    ThinkRob Notebook Deity

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    IMHO there's really no reason to pay more for a "genuine" Lenovo caddy. The SATA caddies are all passive -- they're little more than dumb SATA->SATA port adapters -- so it's not like you need to worry about compatibility or quality of the bridge chip or anything.

    I went with the cheapest third party 12.7 mm caddy that I could find. I haven't been disappointed.
     
    ThinkRob, Mar 6, 2012
    #58
  9. Thors.Hammer

    Thors.Hammer Notebook Enthusiast

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    What did you buy? I have 2nd hard drive Caddy F Lenovo Thinkpad T420 W520 T520 | eBay
     
    Thors.Hammer, Mar 6, 2012
    #59
  10. ThinkRob

    ThinkRob Notebook Deity

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    I honestly don't remember at this point -- I got it months and months ago. It's pretty obviously not a legitimate part (Lenovo didn't have one at the time), but see above: unlike with the T4x/T6x generation that doesn't really matter.
     
    ThinkRob, Mar 7, 2012
    #60
  11. lewy10

    lewy10 Notebook Enthusiast

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    Second one I found that looks very promising:
    2nd HDD or SSD Caddy - Lenovo ThinkPad T420, W700, W710 [TP-W510-T510] - $46.75 : NewmodeUS, Hard Drive Caddys for Notebooks

    Great fit!!!
    Very Happy!!!
    [​IMG]
     
    lewy10, Mar 8, 2012
    #61
  12. Kaso

    Kaso Notebook Virtuoso

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    ^^^ That's the one I use. Perfect fit, with blinking activity light and all. :)
     
    Kaso, Mar 8, 2012
    #62
  13. lewy10

    lewy10 Notebook Enthusiast

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    You have to love the cool blue blinking led light. :)
     
    lewy10, Mar 8, 2012
    #63
  14. castel8

    castel8 Notebook Enthusiast

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    Has anyone tried this caddy? 2nd hard drive Caddy F Lenovo Thinkpad T420 W520 DV16 $11.99

    The auction states 12.7mm thick but the pictures make it look thinner. It looks too thin overall - especially the smaller part on the right side.

    Do caddies generally accommodate 7mm drives?

    I've sent the auctioneer a few questions. I'll post the answers here when he/she gets back to me.
     
    castel8, Apr 1, 2012
    #64
  15. John Ratsey

    John Ratsey Moderately inquisitive Super Moderator

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    There should be no problem with 7mm drives: The SATA connector is aligned with the base of the drive.

    John
     
    John Ratsey, Apr 1, 2012
    #65
  16. castel8

    castel8 Notebook Enthusiast

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    I purchased the one I linked to earlier. It fits quite well in a T420.
     
    castel8, Apr 22, 2012
    #66
  17. jedisolo

    jedisolo Notebook Deity

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    I bought the one made by Lenovo and it's a 12.7 mm model.
     
    jedisolo, Apr 24, 2012
    #67
  18. formerglory

    formerglory Notebook Evangelist

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    I picked up a cheap non-genuine Ultrabay caddy for my T420 a while back, and it actually fit pretty decently. Maybe you'd have more luck with the cheaper models on eBay?

    And for the SSD folk in the thread, I leave you with this: mSATA FTW.
     
    formerglory, Apr 24, 2012
    #68
  19. ha1o2surfer

    ha1o2surfer Notebook Evangelist

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    I bought that same one. It fits without any gap in my T420.
     
    ha1o2surfer, Apr 24, 2012
    #69
  20. burtal

    burtal Notebook Enthusiast

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    what is the connection speed on your no-name caddies? mine is only sataI -1,5gb although the hdd inside is a 7200rpm sataII segate that came with the laptop.
    Please post a link with tha caddy that works at sataII or sata III
     
    burtal, Sep 26, 2012
    #70
  21. Kaso

    Kaso Notebook Virtuoso

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    The caddy provides a passive mechanical/electrical connector. It is not responsible for the SATA speed.

    The speed is decided between the controller on the motherboard and the controller on the drive itself. The drive may be advertised as running at SATA 6Gb/s, say, but when it is inserted into an older notebook, its controller limits the speed to 3Gb/s -- backward compability. Vice versa, if you insert an older SSD into a new notebook, its controller will adjust itself to the lower speed.

    Repeat: the UltraBay caddy adapter has nothing to do with SATA speed.
     
    Kaso, Sep 26, 2012
    #71
  22. burtal

    burtal Notebook Enthusiast

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    ok, so the limitation must came from somewhere else......i have a sataIII Adata 510 drive as main drive and a the original sataII seagate but is reported as sataI 1,5Gb.

    And why some guys have 3gb speed on caddy in similar setup : sataIII ssd in main + sataII in ultrabay.....any ideas on that?
     
    burtal, Sep 26, 2012
    #72
  23. ThinkRob

    ThinkRob Notebook Deity

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    Is this with your T420 or the T61 that you had?
     
    ThinkRob, Sep 26, 2012
    #73
  24. burtal

    burtal Notebook Enthusiast

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    is it with T420, the drive looks ok when i put it on my main desktop rig.....is saw as sataII and has the according speeds when testing.
     
    burtal, Sep 26, 2012
    #74
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