Replacing Optical with HD/SSD in SA/SB/SC/SD series

Did you use a caddy to get the SSD and the HDD in at the same time(i`m guessing that because your signature says so)? Where did you get one(caddy, not SSD, I know where to get those :-D)

 

I don't have a caddy yet (playing it safe) but that is what I am planning on doing. NewmodeUS is coming out with a caddy for SA and SB model in July, and there is another forum member who bought one off of ebay and waiting to see how that one fits.

Just played Braid (first game to finish installing) no heat or fan noise at all.

 

Today was a good day. Received my SA, installed extra 4GB RAM, Intel 510 SSD, installed fresh system and all drivers without any issues (took me 70 minutes) and received my ODD caddy. Well, seller goofed up a bit and sent me wrong item so I have to exchange it. Caddy he sent me doesn't have removable faceplate but other than that fit in ODD bay.

 

Yeah i'm pretty pumped! This laptop is so premium compared to everything else I've ever owned. I only have a few mods and tweaks left until it is all set-up.

Does this faceplate curve with the rest of the laptop or does it's edge stick out?

 

Actually I didn't have a chance to swap the faceplates since the caddy that was sent to me didn't have that option. I will email seller today and ask him to send me the correct one. I had to put my BD back into computer.

How did your W7 install went? Did you had any problem with the drivers?

 

My clean install went great except for one minor issue. I'm missing one driver for the computer to recognize the SSD when booting from burned media like CD's/thumb drives. It's no problem except when trying to upgrade my M4 firmware to 0002 to fix the stuttering issue from a CD with an image on it. I'll probably have it resolved by tonight.

I'm assuming your SSD install went well?

 

Just curious, but which caddy did you get?

 

I second that request! Please do tell, I'm anxious to get my SA finished up and running with a SSD/ HDD

 

Here is niebyl2002's post from the owners thread http://forum.notebookreview.com/son...-sd-series-owners-thread-270.html#post7606602

link to the caddy is on his post

 

any guide to install ssd + hdd in the laptop?

 

http://forum.notebookreview.com/har...-ssd-hdd-storage-using-optical-bay-caddy.html

Regarding a guide specifically for the SB or SA, there isn't one, but that thread I linked has all the information one could need

 

When i replace the ODD with a SSD in a caddy, can this drive be used as the primary hdd for getting the OS on?
Or am i forced to swap the built in HDD to the caddy and then placing the SSD in the HDD spot?

 

My upgrades and install went very smooth. I used Intel 510 SSD and booted from USB Flash drive. Windows 7 enterprise installed in less than 12 minutes. WOW. Installing drivers took a bit longer but like I said no issues. Anyway in less than 5 hours my laptop was ready to go with all soft installed and all data migrated.

 

As far as the caddy I would advise everyone to hold on for a while. I'll be a guinea pig. Once I received the proper caddy (seller sent wrong item) I will give you my feedback.

Can you use ODD as a boot up drive/main drive? I want to say yes, all you have to do is to make that drive active and install the OS. Then change your boot up order in bios and voila. It should work, I didn't tested though. If you have SATA3 drive I don't see benefit, if you don't I guess it doesn't matter.

 

The SSD I believe (99% sure) can be booted up from the ODD SATA port, but the ODD only uses SATA2, so if you have a SATA3 drive it's performance will be hindered. The main HDD spot is SATA3.

That's great! Turns out my problem with my M4 wasn't a driver issue, but rather a bios issue, as the bios doesn't allow you to switch from ACHI to IDE mode, which was required for my M4 firmware update..

Awesome, thank you. If this caddy of yours looks clean, I won't wait for NewModeUS to release their version in late July.

 

In all my haste I ordered the same caddy off ebay. It is a risk but I'm in a hurry to get it all sorted. it is on its way now...I'll post an update next day or two when i get it.

 

Awesome. I had to order a second caddy from a different seller. The first seller sent me the wrong model so I decided to order another one and return the first one. Mine will be mostlikely on Saturday.

 

I haven't done a caddy/ ODD swap before...I'm curious did it look like it will be an easy enough job to swap the faceplate?

 

Yes but you have to be very carefull detaching it from the drive. Then just swap the side and back rails and you're done. Stand by till weekend and someone will give you more info on it.

The biggest questions is, if the caddy that me and other member ordered will fit the SA bay.

 

it will fit, ODD sizes are standardized.

what you have to be careful is to detach the faceplate so that you wont broke the connectors

 

If we put a HDD in, or as in the DIY thread, 2 HDDs in the caddy, won't it increase the weight a lot? Possibly even up to 2kg? =(. I might rather go w/ portable hard disk + SSD

 

No it won't add that much. You will take out bd drive out, substitute it with caddy (half the bd drive weight) and then add hdd. I'm pretty sure net weight will be only +-250g or around half a pound. You won't even notice it.

 

..and if you add another SSD in the caddy you might even "gain" some weight loss..

 

OK guys, here some update. I received the correct caddy and I got some good news and some bad.

Positives:
1. Fenvi caddies are pretty well build. Mostly aluminium. Pretty sturdy.
2. Mounting brackets from BD drive fits perfectly.
3. caddies itself fits very well. No hard pushing or bending.
4. After boot drive is recognized right away. You don't have to go to BIOS.

Negatives:
1. Faceplate removal sucks. Sad part is I was very, very gentle (I got experiance removing other faceplates) and I broke it a bit. Still in one piece. Doesn't look too bad.
2. Two faceplate inner holder don't align with the holes in the caddy. Two main outside (far on both ends) fit nicely, however they didn't hold faceplate in place tight. I had to use a piece of paper which I substituted with small amount of 60 sec epoxy glue.

Everything is still looks stock and no one can tell a difference.

I'll post pics in couple minutes.

 

Link to the caddy please?
Thanks
(asking because I`m not sure which one you got. Because if I remember correctly, you firstly got the wrong one and then ordered another one or something like that)

 

It was exactly the same as the first one. I'm on the phone with Sony Parts to find out how much the faceplate cost.

 

Done, I just ordered two black faceplate directly from Sony for $8 each. I'm getting extra one just in case.

Let me make a couple pictures

 

Here they are. I know most user will drop dead hearing about using epoxy on faceplate but believe me you won't see it. Faceplate is very tight and doesn't move at all. It looks like BD drive.

Above I wrote that I ordered new faceplates already only because I broke the faceplate while removing it. There is a small crack but you can't tell it's there. I KNOW it's there!!!

Anyway here the final product:





What you think?

 

Looks good! Great that it works out without to much problems.

So you used this caddy, right? Link to Ebay

And where did you ordered the new faceplates? I might order one straight away so I'm not required to remove it from the ODD.

 

Looks alright, I not sure if those are cracks i'm seeing but it looks like it. Still worth it imo, and I might go ahead and buy that caddy as well.

 

Yes, this is the caddy I used. I called Sony Parts 800-282-2848 and ask for faceplate for optical drive for VPCSA model. That part is so new it might take 2-3 weeks to deliver but she accepted the order and took my cc information. Total with shipping and taxes for two black faceplates - $20. I can live with that.

Anyway the faceplate on the ODD is sitting very tight and it would be hard to take it without damaging it. It is recommended to order extra faceplate for $8 and mount it permanently on caddy.

 

One more picture with hole alignment.



Green squares are actual holes in the optical drive. Red squares are latching "things" on the faceplate from the caddy. Two inner ones on the Sony faceplate aren't aligning so you have to break them or gently cut them off.

 

Ah, great picture

Is there a Part Number on the Faceplate? I spend the last half hour searching for Sony spare parts distributor in Germany. Finally coming up with this shop being the offical one. Unfourtanetly they haven't sorted their products into categories, just spitting out 120000 spare part numbers in a list...

And, another one, anybody here from Germany or the EU? Can't find the caddy anywhere, E-Bay only has a seller located in Hong-Kong.

 

You have to give them a call and ask for that part. Sorry I epoxied it already

I ordered caddy from HK before for my F series. Those in US are from China, they're making them.

Nowadays everything is done in China - even Polish roads

 

That's what I'm doing. I have 256GB SSD in my VPCSA25, and carry a 1TB USB 3 WD SE drive. (I hate to buy WD and will not buy Seagate, but don't care for the colors of the Toshiba or Samsung)

I'd like to have an empty caddy so I can just take my DVD drive out.

 

The cracks are noticeable in the photos, hopefully not under normal light.

Thanks for experimenting and sharing!!

 

Thanks for giving it a go! I've got a caddy coming I tomorrow and figure
I will give it a go and hope not to crack the faceplate. Helps to know how it is connected so perhaps I can do it without cracking the faceplate.

 

I like experimenting and I'm ready for consequences, sometimes a bad ones. That crack looks more like a scratch. BTW duck tape will fix everything - hahaha!!! That was just a joke. Can you even imagine?

The right horizontal latch is the toughest one. Make sure to start with that one then move to the others. Lay optical drive on the desk, up side down. Open the drive and use a tiny small flat screwdriver to push it out. Make sure to push it down and NEVER PULL BY A FACEPLATE. Good Luck!

 

Sounds like a plan to make it lighter. I'll check that too.

Well, after mounting caddy with HDD into my SA I have to admit you're kind of right. Laptop is heavier, you can notice the difference. It feels like a solid kilo (2.2lbs).

 

so frustrating. I ordered the same caddy off eBay...ended up recieving an almost entirely plastic one that didn't look remotely like the pictures and had no removable faceplate.....trying to return it now.

 

Yeah, they sent me wrong one too but I already returned it and received a refund. Except the mistake, seller was very good to work with.

Here the LINK to the same caddy from different seller. I received correct one in 2 day (sent from CA to FL). WOW.

 

Haha...just after I had posted I went and bought that exact same one. I've got a return in the works for the mistake. Good to know the shipping is speedy!

 

Hi Guys,

I currently have an Asus U30jc with a caddy been working fine for the past year.

Recently purchased the SA, waiting for it to arrive.
I saw when configuring d premium sa version, u can have 2 ssd as an option.

How is this 2nd SSD achieved? because by d looks of it, the bluray drive is still part of d package even when selected dual ssd.

Can the laptop natively take a 2nd ssd on the inside?
If thats the case id prefer not use a caddy and open up the machien and install the 2nd hdd if it can be done.

Any thoughts on this anyone? can anyone confirm how 2nd hdd is accomplished?

Thanks.

 

dual-ssd the option by sony is when they stuff 2 ssds into 1 HDD slot. it doesn't work for other 2.5' SSD coz sony merges 2 IC boards w/ the flash memory tgt in 1 slot

 

Darn, guess its time to place my order for the caddy! lol.

 

I ended up ordering two caddies by mistake, I should have a spare that I would prefer not to keep. If someone wants it let me know. If you can cover shipping + some of the total that would be great.

I feel like a bit of an idiot getting two!

It is a Fenvi caddy that has a removable faceplate.

 

As you remember 5 days ago I broke my faceplate while replacing ODD with aftermarket caddy. I immediately called Sony Parts and ordered two additional ODD faceplates. I was told that they are backordered and it might take up to 4 weeks to received them.

Guess what was by the front doors when I came home from work. Yes, a package from Sony with my two faceplates. WOW!!! It took Sony less than 3 business days to get me my order.

I thought I share this with you. Faceplates for SA/SB/SC are in stock.

 

That's great news! Could you read a part number from the plates or the bill?