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    Can you add an mSATA to a T420i without removing something else?

    Discussion in 'Lenovo' started by Zumkopf, Oct 10, 2012.

  1. Zumkopf

    Zumkopf Newbie

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    I hope this isn't a dumb question, but I've not been able to figure it out from what I've read or found online. I have a Lenovo ThinkPad T420i with the standard hard disk drive. I'd like to have the primary drive be a solid state drive, for faster bootup and to minimize hardware failure/data loss probability. I've seen several posts about replacing a HDD with an SSD, but I don't want to lose the HHD, or the optical DVD for that matter; I just want to *add* the mSATA SSD and use it as the primary. Is there an empty slot in the T420i to add an mSATA drive like the Crucial m4? Can I simply add the mSATA and clone over the operating system from the HDD? Thanks, Z
     
    Zumkopf, Oct 10, 2012
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  2. PatchySan

    PatchySan Om Noms Kit Kat

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    With an mSATA drive assuming you don't have a WWAN card you can just slot it in the spare PCI-e slot which is located underneath the system where the second RAM is. You don't need to remove the optical or existing hard drives while you install the mSATA drive in.


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    PatchySan, Oct 10, 2012
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  3. Zumkopf

    Zumkopf Newbie

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    No, I don't have a WWAN card, but I did add in a second RAM. Does the mSATA fit in that RAM slot, or is the PCI-e slot completely different from the memory card slots? [Again, I'm sorry if this is a dumb question, but better to ask a dumb question of the experts instead of finding people so far down the food chain that they don't think it's a dumb question.] I really appreciate the information. Thanks, Z
     
    Zumkopf, Oct 10, 2012
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  4. PatchySan

    PatchySan Om Noms Kit Kat

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    The PCI-e slot is different to that of the DIMM slot, but it's in the same area though. You can have a read of this post to locate where it is.
     
    PatchySan, Oct 10, 2012
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