retrofitting the mSATA interposer into an E7440?

Coming to this a bit late - wondering if I should wedge a 7mm SSD in my E7440 - or fit mSATA instead (I have a spare mSATA full height slot and I could buy an interposer/frame as well and have 2 mSATA modules...

My conclusions, looking at this pic I took:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BxGOCqCJ0x5FVC1zZ3ZDRVEtNEU/edit?usp=sharing

which shows how a 7mm disk would pinch the ribbon (those side rubbers are 7mm thick)

and this pic:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BxGOCqCJ0x5FVENHaWlxRHI1UnM/edit?usp=sharing

suggests to me that the cable is actually (in my case at least) the right length - BUT - should have a machine in fold downwards where the green arrow is. This would use up the length and keep the cable from being pinched.

As it happens I think the cable only serves the right ports (USB, audio and WIFI switch) so it fairly low risk...

Not sure... mSATA or 7mm SSD???

Dell, why oh why! A simple disk replacement has become an exercise in plumbing where nothing quite fits even though it should and much bodging is involved!

 

TimJWatts, the attachment links were invalid.

My cable bulged and stopped me fitting a hard drive in the bay. I stripped laptop down, and with some supersharp scissors chopped a mm off each end and maybe a little bit more, the cable then sat flat and I could fit the HDD.

 

Hi speculatrix,

Ow - don't know what the forum software did there... Try the links to Google Drive...

Yes - I saw the trimming cable bit. No way am I doing that

 

Samsung 840 EVO 1TB mSATA Solid State Drive: Amazon.co.uk: Computers & Accessories
Oooohh...

It's not Sandisk, but Samsung is probably OK for these things.1TB of SSD goodness in mSATA format. That could be the cleanest solution.

Is there anything I should know about mSATA modules in Dell Latitudes in the mSATA slot (not in an interposer frame)? eg capacity limits or speed issues (the module above is >500MB/s but is is the interface restricted in any way, viz a viz SATA2 vs SATA3).

Cheers!

Tim

 

Or maybe not the Samsung above - it's TLC NAND and that sucks - several reports of a FW bug making reads slow.

But there are lots of options, so question stands

Transcend MSA370 512GB mSATA SATA III Solid State Drive Storage Device: Amazon.co.uk: Computers & Accessories

 

It sounds really hard, but it was actually quite straight forward, just needed to be methodical with keeping the removed screws in a muffin tray.. I think there were only two screw size variants.

 

I.e. as you dismantle, put screws into the individual wells in a muffin tray, according to size, making a note of what screw goes where.

 

Hehe - last time I pulled one of those types of ribbons out it was from the keyboard on my ZX81 in 1983-ish (I kid you not!)

No, I'm sure you're right that it's straightforward.

It's just that with 5 years on-site warranty plus the fact I'm mentally busy with other stuff, I think it's best in my case to just not go there

I'll look at the various mSATA options and maybe buy a cradle/interposer to give me an option of 2 modules - they are only £25 or so from some bloke in Latvia:
Dell Latitude E7440 NEW Msata SSD caddy, chassis FCN4M+7NFCY + screws | eBay
It's probably not genuine but there's not a lot to go wrong with one of those - and I will of course keep the original disk for warranty calls

 

when I had my e7440 in bits, my 10 year old son came over and asked "Dad, are you fixing it or destroying it slowly?". I replied "I won't know until I've put it back together" :-D

Mine had already been dismantled to replace the palm rest because it had the stinky plastics, and I'd watched the Dell technician very carefully to learn how to dismantle it, and it meant he'd already broken the seals if you know what I mean.

the owners manual does actually cover dismantling:
ftp://ftp.dell.com/Manuals/all-prod...tude-e7440-ultrabook_Owner's Manual_en-us.pdf

there's nothing glued, so unlike a Macbook it's fully user serviceable.

 

Thanks for the service manual link - I'll download that for keeps...

I replaced the lower usb port board in my wife's Samsung Galaxy S2 with a £5 from ebay. That was OK until the volume+power switch elements that were double-sided taped on - fiddly sods those.

But the phone was shot anyway so I did not mine having a go. Still works I would not fancy doing a glass in one though!