installing mstata SSD drive in a new T420i

Hi everyone - sorry I'm a bit of a hardware/opening the computer noob (been with mac the last 6 years), but am interested in installing an mSata SSD drive in my new T420i that should be coming next week.

Ive done some google work,and think I kind of get it, but thought I would ask the good people on here for some advice/answers to questions that I had.

I'm interested in installing the SSD for OS and and programs (ie office) so they boot quickly. My computer is coming with Lenovo's standard HDD 500 gb. When I install the SSD, does it show up as a separate hard drive (ie, if I look at "my computer" will I see "c:" and another "e:" or whatever letter, with C being the HDD and e or f being the SSD?). If so, do I make sure to install all programs onto the e/f drive and any word documents/songs/etc onto the HDD?

For the above, what size mSata should I be looking for? Is 80 sufficient, or should I go a bit larger? Is there a particular brand I need to be compatible with Lenovo?

So from what I understand, you just open the laptop and there's a port to slide the msata into? Is that all it takes? Does it void warranty at all?

Finally - how do I get what's currently on the HDD (Win 7 Pro and whatever applications come straight from factory) onto the SSD? And will the computer recognize to boot windows from the SSD when it's transferred over automatically?

Sorry for all the questions. Google let me know the basics, but being new to all this, I still feel lost...

Thanks in advance.

 

Here is a guide that I wrote.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/lenovo-ibm/572616-t420-msata-uefi-only-20-sec-boot.html#post7408254

Just omit the parts pertaining to UEFI Only / GPT

 

Or, if you don't really want to go over the rather lengthy guide, here are the answers to your questions:

1) Your HDD and mSata will show as seperate drives with mStata being C: (system drive; after it is recognized as the OS drive).

2) 80 Gb should be more than enough for your OS and apps. I had 40 and after some tweaking (e.g. disabling hibernation I only had about 65% filled).

3) I personally would go with Intel given their known reliability.

4) You just open the wwan slot on the bottom (shared with the RAM slot) and stick the mSata in. You may want to remove the HDD prior to installing mSata so that the laptop doesn't accidentally boot from the HDD during installation. Installing mSata shouldn't void the warranty as it is a user-replaceable component.

5) The best way is to clean install. Otherwise, the process becomes more complicated as you will need to do the alignment.

6) You may also want to reformat the HDD before transferring your data onto it (again, to avoid accidentally booting from HDD). But I would wait and see how the mSata works before erasing the original image from the HDD. In any case, don't forget to change the boot priority.

 

Great. Thanks for the answers and the helpful post you wrote earlier. I'lll def follow your other thread steps.

Quick question - I cant find any photos or videos of inside a t420. Where is the WWAN or mSATA port located inside the computer? If I take off hte keyboard to install more ram, will it be visible and pretty obvious where to put it in? Or do i have to take off the casing or whatever.

Thanks again.

 

As was already pointed out in step 4, the mSATA card goes into a slot accessed from the bottom of the machine, not under the keyboard.

 

See page 73 of the manual:

http://download.lenovo.com/ibmdl/pub/pc/pccbbs/mobiles_pdf/0a60007.pdf

Again, you do not need to remove the keyboard. It only takes unscrewing one screw on the underside of the laptop. And you do not need to buy a screw that secures the mSata inside the slot. It's already there waiting for you.

 

Cool thanks!