T440s and mSATA as 3rd M.2 SSD

So, after almost a year from getting T440s I have finally solved the 3rd M.2 slot dilemma. Knowing how much issues I had to get here, I decided to create a mini review so everybody could easily find it.

As most T440s owners probably know, there is 3rd M.2 slot available in our little machines underneath internal battery. But first few notes regarding this:

- my T440s came with 256GB Samsung SSD and no SmartCard reader, so space under battery is completely empty. Because of that, I needed two additional parts:

• LENOVO Cable NGFF, PartNo: 04X3987

• Lenovo NGFF SSD adapter, PartNo: 04X3827

Thanks to local Lenovo office and official distributor, these arrived in a month or so after ordered, total price is about 50$.

- if you have purchased model with SmartCard reader, then this slot is already occupied and you would have to remove reader to install SSD module. I don't know if the cable to connect SmartCard reader is the same as this one for the SSD adapter.

- if you purchased standard HDD and opted for SSD cache, then you already have both cable and adapter and small SSD for cache already installed so you only need bigger SSD, something like

http://www.amazon.com/Transcend-MTS...qid=1441541955&sr=8-1&keywords=transcend+2242
or
http://www.amazon.com/ADATA-USA-Pre...TF8&qid=1441541988&sr=8-1&keywords=adata+2242

If 256GB is enough for you and you only need to replace cache drive with this one, then you can skip the rest of the text. If you need bigger drive or can't get to these M.2 drives, then read on.

 

My biggest problem was abundance of mSATA drives here in Serbia and extremely limited supply of M.2 2242 ones. Other than that, I already had at home 2 mSATA drives, Kingston mS200 120GB and Crucial M550 512GB which I couldn't use with new laptop.

First thing that was necessary, besides two Lenovo parts, was also mSATA to M.2 adapter, so I ordered this one:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/M-ware-Adap...D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

It's important to note that I received two cables for this adapter, shorter and longer one, which is necessary to place mSATA drive in correct position!

Finally, the pictures. First and important thing is - the drives. Note the unusual operating voltage on Crucial - 5V and 1.7A



Lenovo parts assembled:



mSATA to M.2 adapter assembled:



M.2 adapter in position (here is where you place SSD drive if you have 2242 one):



Ready to go:

 

First, remove the external battery, then unscrew all the screws and remove the bottom:



Disconnect and remove internal battery:



Remove speaker:



Then remove speaker holder:



Finally, the space for SSD adapter is free:



Place SSD adapter facing down, tighten with screw on the left, speaker holder will hold it on the right. If you have more small screws, you can tighten it also on the right down, but it wont go anywhere if you skip this one. You can see here why longer cable is necessary:



Connect the Lenovo cable:



Here is the intended layout:



I have disconnected white cable from mSATA part for easier manipulation, it should go along with Lenovo thin cable below the battery, but forgot to take the picture in that position. I hope it's clear how the white cable should be routed to the mSATA part of the adapter.

 

Finally, we have clearance issue:



This is how the bottom stacks where the mSATA drive is, docking connector clearly not available:



So, need to remove screws from the mSATA adapter:



And a little cloth tape should help keep the drive in it's place:



Now it looks much better:



Indeed it is:



Finished:

 

In the end, I had to do the same process again because the computer was stuck on POST screen for a minute or so and then gave M.2 drive initialization error. So I had to remove everything and check all cables only to find everything is connected fine. Then tried Kingston drive instead of Crucial and - it was working. Closer inspection showed the difference in operating voltages and this must have been the issue why Crucial was not recognized. Unfortunately, for now I will use smaller drive, but all other mSATA drives that I checked are working also with 3.3V so they should be fine. 500GB/1TB Evo for example, but I will have to check before buying.