T510 Ultrabay Hard Drive HDD adapter

So I got my built T400 stolen after my car window got smashed so I got a SICK deal on a high end T510. $900 for the i7-620m version

Only problem is that my plan to boot with an SSD and have a storage drive in the ultrabay was halted when I found out that there was no real ultrabay HDD adapter for the T510.

The deal is that ultrabay SLIM devices fit in the T510 but there is a small gap. So I'm asking to confirm that there isn't an actual HDD adapter that fits flush with the T510?

 

yeah, only the slin adapter is availble (part no. 43N3412: ThinkPad Serial ATA Hard Drive Bay Adapter III) which leaves a little bit of space.

 

any ideas one when a possible fitting adapter will come out?

sigh

maybe I'll make up some crazy mod

 

nope...
(other users found no prob with the gap tho)

Edit: I don't think you would need a crazy mod- just a slice to cover up the whole bay (it will be housing a HD, anyway)- maybe use the front of an old DVD tray drive???

 

that's what I was thinking. To take off the bezel of the old drive and somehow stick it on. Hmm I might try this and get back to everyone here. I would hate to try all this and have Lenovo just release their own version of it though...

 

well, why don't you drop them a call first- maybe you get lucky and they tell you if there is something coming up...

 

Why fret? I've been using the hard driver adaptor in a W510 and the gap is larger. No issues here.

 

just for the fun of it, halobox!
and because junkimchi does not like the gap aesthetically, I guess (neither would I).

 

The gap is pretty big on my W510. I consider it to be a design feature for cooling.

 

Damn if this thing was designed already I would do a SSD + 1tb HD configuration.

Now I have to settle with a Momentus XT =[

 

Fantastic!!!

Now, read a little bit around about the XT before taking that road. Many ThinkPad users (and others) have reported various problems. I mean, some are happy, while others cannot get it to work at all. I was also thinking about it, but decided against it after some research. Just saying...

 

I've seen some non-EOM HDD adapters for the T510/W510 on ebay, that claim to accept a 12.5mm drive (the OEM 43N3412 accepts only 9mm drives) . So perhaps these fit better, but they we have the issue of aftermarket products with perhaps low quality electronics.

Perhaps it's possible to merge the 43N3412 and the aftermarket part into a mechanically & electronically acceptable unit. Does anyone know if the aftermarket part have decent mechanicals and exterior look ?

Here is an example, ?which is stamped "ThinkPad"?, but I AM NOT endorsing this vendor. I don't know them or their product.

SATA 2nd HDD hard drive Caddy Bay LENOVO Thinkpad T510 - eBay (item 400126312651 end time Oct-31-10 04:34:57 PDT)

 

Very nice find stevea! It looks promising, to say the least. I have no experience with aftermarket products. However it comes with 60-day exchange (and 45-day money back per new eBay policy, regardless of what the seller says! ), so it's ok to try, I guess.

 

Since I've never been the first to test anything, I'm gonna go out and buy one of these.

2nd HDD hard drive Caddy For LENOVO Thinkpad T510 W510 - eBay (item 280551506791 end time Nov-18-10 07:42:23 PST)

The link above seems to be a third party hard drive caddy that claims to fit the 12.7mm drive "well" and even has a picture that designates what area is 12.7mm. I think (and hope) that this is the real deal!

 

Not to revive a dead thread; but did you ever get the piece and try it out? I am curious as I am in the same dilemma.

 

I just want to add that I did get that same part from the seller nimitz on ebay and it worked fine on my T510 thinkpad. I used it with a 12.7mm Samsung 1TB 2.5" drive and it is still able to slide through.

Hope that helps.