X220: mSATA not possible with i7 and USB3.0

Hello Community,

decided to start a new thread as all the X220 drive threads get a bit messy. Basically the issue is: my supplier just contacted me to tell me that they cannot get the X220 with i7 and mSATA to work.

He suspects that the i7 board wires the the mini Express card socket to USB, while the i5 is a proper PCI Express connection.

Does anyone has more information about this? There is absolute no information about this from Lenovo.

 

Thats extremely incorrect.

I have an I7 2620, with USB 3.0 and an MSATA drive installed, works perfectly.

 

Interesting. They tested different mSATAs, different laptops and different BIOS versions and none worked. Which mSATA and Bios are you using? Can you give me the model number of yours please?

 

Sure, heres my basic configuration.

Inte I7 2620m
8gb DDR3 Kingston HyperX 1866mghz
Intel X25-E 64gb SSD (OS)
Intel 310 Soda-Creek 80gb Mini-Sata Drive
Intel HD 3000 Graphics
Intel Wireless\WIMAX 6250 2x2 Configuration
720p Webcam
IPS HD Screen
9 Cell Battery
Windows 7 X64 Enterprise
---
Specific Model of the MSATA
"SSDMAEMC080G2C1"

Bios Revision 1.15
(Although it worked on 1.12 as well)

 

It should be mentioned that they should have the latest Intel RIST driver installed...

http://downloadcenter.intel.com/Det...rsion=Windows 7, 64-bit*&DownloadType=Drivers

Also that the drive comes unformatted and not partitioned so it wont appear in "My Computer"

They would have to access the "administrative tools" go to disk management and configure the drive for first time use.

 

Thanks a lot. Do you have the Laptop model number as well? Something like 4290-XXX?

 

They are selling the i5 with mSATAs without any problems, so I guess they know what they do. The problem is that it's not even recognized by the Bios.

 

4286CT Was on my Invoice.

 

Thats a strange and new issue, im sure others with the I7 will chime in.

 

Their base is 4290...I wonder if that's the problem. That would be really strange.

 

Why?

As far as I can tell the Intel RST drivers cause more problems than they solve. The only requirement I am aware of for their use is RAID. Other than that, the Microsoft AHCI driver that comes with Windows 7 is sufficient.

As for the reseller and the problem, sounds like they got a bad unit.

 

Just confirmed: the Intel 310 is not recognized in the BIOS. They tried several 310's and several i7 Laptops (all the same model). None working.

 

I could be very wrong in this, but I was always under the assumption that Native Command Queuing worked better with the Intel driver.

Intel® Rapid Storage Technology — What is Native Command Queuing?

I have no real world proof to backup this claim.

 

I am perplexed at this, I know others are using the 310 with success.

 

Sounds like a call to Lenovo support is in order to sort this out. If there is a software dependency it's news to me.

 

This is quite strange. I'm certainly using an Intel 310 in my i7/USB3.0 machine without issue.

 

If someone in the US would be willing to call Lenovo support and inquire about this I would be very grateful.

 

I cant at the moment (At work) but i'd be happy to when I get home today. 5oclock Eastern Standard.

In the mean time I will PM you my personal contact at Lenovo Support. She is extremely helpful.

 

I also have an i7 with mSATA. Only problems I've had I believe are unrelated to the mSATA.

edit: mine's a 4286

 

Does anyone have i7+USB3+mSATA working with 4290 base?

 

mSATA uses neither usb nor pci express buses, it runs the same electrical connection as a sata data cable over specific pins along with some of the predefined power/ground pins.

I wonder if your supplier is confused, what actual drive is he trying to install? Only a few are actually mSATA (intel 310 for example) but many older kinds are proprietary.

There are also some pci-e SSDs that actually include an full sata controller, which would likely not work in a combo wwan/msata slot. (those all seem to be usb + msata so far, but its hard to tell)

Also, a complete minicard slot is equivalent to expresscard. It has both usb and pci-e connected, they are not exclusive.

Its hard to keep track of since minicard is not as "standard" as desktop ports, it has a lot of leeway in OEM configuration. You never know what trick some new laptop model will pull.

 

Thanks for the clarification, but as I said before: They know what they are doing, they tried several Intel 310 devices, and they are selling the X220 with i5 + Intel 310 without any trouble at all. So no confusion from their side.

 

If they are a Lenovo partner and have a supportability question, it seems they should use the normal support process.

 

im having the same issue, i just pulled the msata drive that comes with the samsung 9 series, and tried on my i7 x220 and i cant see it.. Bios doesnt see it, nor disk management. any suggestions?

mine is a 4286

 

Another x220 with i7 using mSATA and USB3 here. Plugged it in and detected immediately in BIOS. If you're using the Intel 80gb, make sure the model number matches SSDMAEMC080G2C1.

Installed using GPT disk with Win7 Ultimate. 28s boot time vs 1 minute with 5400 rpm drive. It boots faster than the MacBook Pro i5 with 4gb ram sandy bridge which is at 33 seconds with mechanical drive.

 

Going by the tablet HMM (given the same CPU options) all the base models share the same motherboard. It would be pretty weird if they really did do a different physical port layout internally.

Code:

FRU 04W1538
System board assembly with Intel Core i7-2620M processor, AMT, TPM, AES
• 4294-22x
• 4296-2Dx, 2Ex, 2Nx, 2Px, 2Ux, 2Yx, 2Zx, 34x, 35x, 37x, 38x, 39x
• 4298-26x, 29x, 2Bx, 2Cx, 2Ex, 2Fx, 2Sx, 2Tx, 2Ux, 2Wx, 2Yx, 32x, 33x, 35x, 3Fx, 3Gx, 3Hx, 3Kx, 3Lx, 3Tx, 3Ux, 3Xx, 3Yx, 43x, 44x, 47x, 48x
• 4299-26x, 29x, 2Bx, 2Cx, 2Dx, 2Ex, 2Gx, 2Lx, 2Rx, 2Sx, 2Zx, 32x, 33x, 34x, 37x, 38x, 39x, 3Ax

If I was a betting man my money would be that this is something that can get fixed with a bios update.

edit: found x220 HMM

Code:

FRU 04W2109

System board with Intel Core i7-2620M processor, NV, AMT, TPM, AES
• 4286- 28x
• 4287-26x, 2Qx, 2Xx
• 4290-2Ax, 2Rx, 2Sx, 2Tx, 2Ux, 2Yx, 37x, 38x, 39x, 3Fx, 3Sx
• 4291-28x, 2Cx, 2Dx, 2Mx, 2Vx, 2Xx, 35x, 36x, 37x

 

bump

 

i just made a similar post about this....i also have 4286...bummer.

 

Those of you with a problem try finding out what motherboard FRU # you have.

I think my FRU sticker right underneath the ram is for the MB, if thats the usual spot its easy to check.

 

This thread has me curious. Have any of you called Lenovo support and confirmed with them that the X220 has a problem with the Intel Series 310 drive? If so, do you have a case number?

Thanks,

Thor

 

i havent call, but let me check my FRU #

 

I received my X220 (i7-2620, 4GB, 320GB 7200 rpm HD) on June 1 and finally got around to installing an extra 4GB of RAM and the Intel 310 MSATA SSD yesterday. The extra RAM worked fine, and WEI memory ops even increased from 5.9 to 7.1. The BIOS and Win 7 cannot see the MSATA drive, however. I called tech support last night and got a case number, but then they didn't call back in 1/2 hr as they had promised. Updated the BIOS to v. 1.16 today. I called tech support again today. I explained the problem and told them that the Intel 310 is what their website recommends for Rapidrive, which is certainly advertised on their website. They then declined to help at all because I hadn't bought the Intel 310 from them. Of course, there is no sign of how one could even order an MSATA drive from the Lenovo website- either with the machine or afterwards. I managed to buy one from Electronica through Amazon when they were briefly in stock. I did get the onsite and TPP warranty for 3 yr; maybe I should have spent the extra $50+ for the priority tech support?

I don't even see a place in the BIOS where there is a listing of drives, except when one looks for possible boot devices, where there is certainly no sign of this MSATA drive at all. So it looks like I'm having the same problem with the core i7 processor and the MSATA drive reported in this thread. Yet some of you say that you have this combination running just fine in your machines. What did you do differently? Is there another driver, BIOS version, Intel software, etc. which might help? Or should I just give up, buy a large SSD to put in place of my spinning HD, and use a separate external HD? (I have a WD 1TB USB 3.0 drive which I got at a good price at Costco several months ago.)

I've been waiting to load software onto the machine until I got the MSATA working, but now I'm going to start loading some things onto the HD just so that I can use the machine (which is blindingly fast compared with the netbook I've been using for much of the last year). Which software is recommended for easily moving applications and data between hard disks later, assuming that I finally get some sort of SSD into this machine?

 

You installed the drive in the slot under the keyboard as displayed on page 95 (section "1130 mSATA solid state drive") of the hardware maint manual at Lenovo Support - Hardware Maintenance Manual - ThinkPad X220 and X220i ?

 

Sorry if I am stating the obvious, but did you go in Disk Management in Control Panel and set up the drive to be seen in BIOS?

Perry

 

I've certainly checked Disk Management in Control Panel but see no sign of the Intel 310 there, and so I have no idea how one could set up the drive to be seen in BIOS. If there is a way to do this, I need more instructions. (I thought the BIOS was underneath the Windows system.) Disk Management shows only Drive 0, with 3 partitions: SYSTEM_DRV, 1.17GB NTFS; Windows7_OS (C: ), 285.20 GB NTFS; Lenovo_Recovery (Q: ), 11.72 GB NTFS. If I insert a 32 GB SDHC card or connect an external hard drive, I see those in Disk Management. I've also seen my DVD-writer, when the Ultrabase 3 is connected. I've never seen a device there which could be the MSATA, however.

In answer to Thors.Hammer's query, yes, I did follow the instructions in the Hardware Maintenance Manual for the X220 and installed the MSATA in the WWAN slot. I actually followed the instructions for "1080 PCI Express Mini Card for wireless WAN," because I hadn't found the directions for "1130 mSATA solid state drive" previously. I just took the keyboard and palm rest apart again and checked the connections for the Intel 310 card, but it certainly looks seated properly, and the pin and screw both line up with the holes in the board and the motherboard.

Thank you both for your help.

 

sc3, you did what I would have done but apparently that is incorrect. you have the drive installed in the wrong location.

If you look carefully at section 1130 of the instructions, you'll see what I mean.

 

Until you can see the drive in your bios first, don't waste any time trying to "fix it" in windows or bothering with different drivers.

There are really only 3 outcomes for what has been reported so far:

1) some motherboards need a new BIOS written for them - easy fix, keep complaining and don't let up until you get it
2) some people have boards that are defective - annoying fix, return or repair
3) certain motherboards are not wired for mSATA - you're screwed, might be able to manage a return

 

BIOS is the base level of command interface before any OS is loaded, so when you first turn on the computer, you can usually get to BIOS on most computers by press "DEL" and check to see if your SSD shows up under the boot menu in any capacity. If not, it's not being detected by the computer at all.

 

I took another look at section 1130 of the instructions, and it looks to me as though I did install the drive in the right place, which is in place of the WWAN card, which I didn't buy. There are couple of extra disconnected antenna wires which I moved and placed over the MSATA card. Also, I don't see any other empty space in the machine where it could go. I do have a Wifi card, which is installed to the right of the MSATA and is about half its size. Unfortunately, I don't see what you mean at all.

 

My bad. When I looked at the schematics a little while ago it appeared there were two different locations described. Sorry for the wild goose chase.

Lenovo really needs to come clean with this. I really hope they don't have some models and motherboards that don't support mSATA. That would be a royal screw up.

 

I hope I won't have a problem with drive detection with the Renice 120GB SSD I've ordered. mSATA is a good opportunity for me to be able to have a good fast boot drive AND a storage hard drive in a 12.5" ultraportable.

 

Apologies if I've missed this info in the thread but I don't think I saw any of this mentioned.

There are three things I would look at in the BIOS.

1. What mode is the BIOS set to - is it UEFI only or is it the Legacy/UEFI combo?

2. What is "Serial ATA" set to under "Config"?

3. Under "Security", go into "I/O Port Access". What's enabled/disabled?

I could've easily been in this situation myself had I decided to go the mSATA plus original drive route rather then re-use an Intel X25-M from another lappie.

Hope it helps,
Tony.

 

1. UEFI
2. AHCI
3. Everything is Enabled

note: the drive im trying is the one that comes stock with the samsung 9 series. I been moving it back and forth.. I want to buy the intel but if it doesnt work ill be pissed... so i want to test with this one first.

 

I gave up on waiting for an intel 310 and grabbed a renice x3 120 instead.

Arrived, installed, but no sign of it in the bios. I messed with every relevant setting and couldn't find it. Flashed back to 1.11 and 1.15, reflashed 1.16, all to no avail. Returned the drive as a DOA and got another one.

The second one corrupted the bios and killed off the default install, had to remove the motherboard battery to reset. Wouldn't restore from the Lenovo recovery partition, or from the usb stick (it would get to the first boot and bluescreen out).

Happily it will reinstall from a clean windows 7 usb stick (but not everyone has one of those lying about).

I'm gonna send the renice x3 back for good. Not sure about the x220

Oh, and mine's a bloody i5 2520 ...

 

ummmm whats going on.. not only the i7s now the i5s as well

 

just installed an 80gb intel 310 into an i7 x220 and not recognized. currently on the phone with support, the rep i have doesnt even know what an msata ssd is and refuses to assist me. anyone find out a solution?

 

I hope this isn't a problem for me when I get my x220 and mSATA SSD (Renice 120GB K3VLAR, which is apparently the same thing as the X3) because Lenovo decided to put some kind of firmware that has a whitelist for mSATA SSDs.

 

I've spoken with 3 reps at Lenovo and nobody has a clue, this is crazy.

 

jaw - I believe I read on these forums that Lenovo is actually offering the intel 310s as an option on some other laptops - maybe check the lenovo website, see which models have that option, and you can use that to explain to tech support what you're talking about?

 

I have an Intel 310 40GB and it works perfectly with my i7, 9-cell. My friend got his laptop a week after and it works also.

I asume you guys took out the stock HDD and installed windows on the SSD first before putting it back in?