Can anyone actully get the Q45 SPDIF to work?

Hi, is it just me, or can anyone else actually get the Q45 SPDIF out to work?

Just to be clear, the SPDIF out is the headphone socket right? I mean it's not very clear in the manual - and I can't find anything useful on line discussing it, but if I set SPDIF out as the default sound output device and hook a SPDIF cable connected to my external amplifier to it, I get nothing, nada. Not a peep.

Also with regard to the hard drive - I'm assuming that this is a SATA drive? However upon messing about a bit with it, I found that the actual connector was a very non standard SATA connection (well I don't have that much experience of laptops TBH) and that it was in fact nothing more than a strip of contacts. I disconnected this to examine the disk (the intention was to see if it could perhaps be replaced with a larger disk) and I admit I had a freakishly hard and worrying time trying to reconnected it. The cable was so thin and the strip of contacts that made up the connector so short and fiddly - I doubted at several stages that I would ever be able to reconnect it.

Is this connector proprietary - and does this mean that it is not possible to buy a larger capacity disk to upgrade this machine at some point in the future?

This is a nice machine. However I would warn anyone considering buying one to think about that black glossy lid. The plastic is really very soft and the finish scratches frighteningly easily.

If there had been anything else on a par with the Q45 with regard to price V's performance, I would certainly now with hindsight reconsider my purchasing decision for this reason alone. The Q45 is a lovely looking machine - but that isn't much good if you can't use it outside of a display case.

 

I haven't got a Q45 to hand, but the procedure is outlined on pages 60 / 61 of the User Guide. Are you getting a red light shining down the fibre optic cable when you have the cable plugged in to the Q45 and something playing? You may need to select 5.1 audio under the speaker properties.

I would expect the HDD connector to be the same as on the Q70 as shown in the attached photo. To change the HDD you lift the HDD out of the compartment using the supplied tab sufficient that you can then prise off the SATA connector (the black plug on the end of the ribbon cable which is largely hidden by the ribbon cable in the photo). Bending the ribbon cable is OK, but don't twist or pull it. There will be no problem in fitting a bigger SATA HDD into the Q45 as long as you avoid any 12.5mm (1/2" thick drives).

For the scratching you can either invest in some furniture polish or a sleeve. You might be interested in the becase sleeve I reviewed here. It adds very little weight or thickness but provides the protection you need since scratching should only occur during transport, not while in use. Neoprene sleeves are cheaper but more bulky.

John

 

I rather thought that the SPDIF out was just the headphone out? There is no optical out anywhere on the sytem that I can see. (And yes I did select 5.1 sound out).

Also of biger concern, are you saying that this is just a standard SATA connector for the hardrive? Because what I pulled out was just a strip of gold covered connectors (so no standard SATA connector on the end of it).

Could you possibly very kindly show me what this should look like - and offer any tips for correct removal? I can't see any way to disconnect the small black connector at all.

Thanks.

Edit:

This is what I had when I removed the hard drive (note the small copper strip of connectors on the end of the SATA cable). So no black conector.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v226/raid517/image_sb_1.jpg

I'm sure going by what you have said I must have physically pulled out the cable from the connector - and I was very lucky to get it back in and working at all.

 

Yes, the S/PDIF socket is the headphone socket. There's a red LED in the back of the socket which should light up under the right conditions (on my X60 plus I needed to insert an optical cable into the socket to get the LED to come on). Hence the test to see if red light comes out of the other end of the optical connector.

As for the HDD, you have released the connector from the board. This is one approach and is perfectly safe provided you have figured out how the lock on the socket works. The thick end of the ribbon cable is fixed (soldered?) to the SATA connector. You can get the SATA connector off the HDD by prising gently with a medium-sized screwdriver alternately from each side. You have to remove the black plastic block from the HDD.

John

 

And say I haven't figured out how this lock works? How does it work???

 

You must have figured that one out to get the cable out of the socket. It looks to me as if it is one of those where the cable is released by moving the purple-grey plastic slightly in the direction of the ribbon cable.

John

 

Mmm... not really, the cable just slid out of the socket with a very slight tug/pulling action.

I think had drive removal might be a bit much for me. I mean I have no problems and have done it thousands of times with full sized drives - but this just seems a bit more tricky. I know what you're saying probably makes a lot of sense and it seems very clear to you. But I'm having real problems visualising it. A YouTube type video of the correct hard drive removal procedure would be neat - but of course I am in no way asking you or anyone else here to go to all this trouble on my behalf to do this.

So I guess if I want to change the drive, I will have to go to an authorised service centre and ask them to do it for me.

Regarding the SPDIF. Thanks. You gave me a hint that finally enabled me to crack it. It's an optical out... The red light thing you said was the clue I needed. I thought it was just a mini-jack connected to my amp via a copper/digital cable. (I forget what this kind of cable is called) thankfully I had a bunch of optical cables too - so I tried one of these and it now works.

So as I said, thanks again for that.

 

Good news about the S/PDIF.

I can't offer to provide more guidance or photos on how to get the connector off the HDD since I don't have access to the Q45 or the Q70. The two Samsung notebooks currently in my house (X60 plus and R20) have slightly different connectors. However, this thread about the X60 plus HDD solves a similar problem.

John