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    Ultrabay Quesiton

    Discussion in 'Lenovo' started by henryf, Dec 19, 2006.

  1. henryf

    henryf Notebook Enthusiast

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    I am still learning my way around the world of Thinkpads

    In configuring a z61m (which seem to be shipping in a timely fashion), I have the following option.."ThinkPad Serial ATA Hard Drive Bay Adapter [$34.30]"

    I guess that the Ultrabay is an empty drive location (in addition to the main HDD) and that the $34.50 is for a SATA wiring harness? This would enable me to have 2HDD's in the machine? Will the second HDD have shock protection? I am not that concerned about drive speed. Does the mobo have a provision for ATA or just SATA? Can I install ATA in the ultrabay space? What are the default contents of the Ultrabay enclosure (ie what happens if I dont buy the harness?) I assume that the adapter is the most efficient way of configuring the ultrabay if I want the option of installing a second HDD in the space?

    Thanks
     
    henryf, Dec 19, 2006
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  2. The Oatman

    The Oatman Notebook Consultant

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    The UltraBay is where your optical drive would normally sit. If you get the ultrabay SATA adapter you cannot use your internal optical drive when you have the HDD in there. The same goes for the extra ultrabay battery.

    You can purchase any of the ultrabay accessories afterwards for pretty reasonable prices. Just do a froogle search for them. The SATA adapter for a 2nd HDD goes for about $40.
     
    The Oatman, Dec 19, 2006
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  3. henryf

    henryf Notebook Enthusiast

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    So I can't have 2HDD's and an optical drive?
     
    henryf, Dec 19, 2006
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  4. vespoli

    vespoli 402 NBR Reviewer

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    Not at the same time.

    You will always have a hard disk. The second bay can accept a hard disk, optical drive OR battery--only one at a time though. You can certainly switch between the three, but at any given moment you'll have either 2 HDD or 1HDD and 1 optical.
     
    vespoli, Dec 19, 2006
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  5. henryf

    henryf Notebook Enthusiast

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    Now I understand.....I keep trying to send "Thank you" as a reply but the forum tells me that my mesasge is too short.

    This sort of relegates the SATA/ATA question to "nice to know" territory since I will probably only be running the original HDD.

    At any rate, thanks for the help
     
    henryf, Dec 19, 2006
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  6. The Oatman

    The Oatman Notebook Consultant

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    If you don't go with the ultrabay hdd, check out western digital passport usb 2.0 external HDDs, they sell em on newegg and theres a deal on one right now. They are great for frequent travelers. They are pretty rugged and you only need to carry the usb cable since they get their power from that. Their performance is pretty impressive too.
     
    The Oatman, Dec 19, 2006
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  7. marlinspike

    marlinspike Notebook Deity

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    If it helps, the ultrabay drive is hot swappable, so you can swap back and forth between CD and 2nd HDD without turning off the machine.
     
    marlinspike, Dec 19, 2006
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