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    Do I need to use a caddy to put an HDD in the Ultrabay adapter

    Discussion in 'Lenovo' started by yrc, Jun 12, 2012.

  1. yrc

    yrc Notebook Consultant

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    Subject line says it all. Do I need to use a caddy like this one here HDD caddy Lenovo T400,T410,T420,T500,T510, R400, W500, W510,W700 [TP-60] - $25.95 : NewmodeUS, Hard Drive Caddys for Notebooks in order to properly install a spinner in the Ultrabay Adapter for the T420 shown here
    ThinkPad 12.7mm Serial ATA Hard Drive Bay Adapter III | 0A65623 | Lenovo (US)?

    Or can I just drop a bare HDD in and it will fit snugly? I plan on using the Ultrabay to hold a spinner for backups and it will sit inside a desk drawer on days when I am travelling.

    Cheers,

    Y
     
  2. Kaso

    Kaso Notebook Virtuoso

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    You cannot just shove a bare HDD into the UltraBay space. You need an UltraBay HDD caddy adapter (but not an extra caddy to go with such adapter). Lenovo sells one, as do various manufacturers, like NewmodeUS and Nimitz on eBay.

    Your NewmodeUS link is not for the right thing. You need this or this.

    [​IMG]
     
  3. yrc

    yrc Notebook Consultant

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    Kaso,

    Thanks for your reply. Indeed, I am fully aware that one "cannot just shove a bare HDD into the Ultrabay space." And, the question was whether a drive caddy was required for installing a disk in an Ultrabay adapter. Given that, the link to the newmode caddy was not incorrect. Please see my original post below.

    In any event, thank you for your time.

    Y



     
  4. Kaso

    Kaso Notebook Virtuoso

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    Okay, all those links confused me.

    Brief answer to your original question: no. :)

    (The photo shows that the caddy is already included in the adapter.)
     
  5. ThinkRob

    ThinkRob Notebook Deity

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    And just to further clarify:

    There is absolutely no reason to get a "genuine" Lenovo caddy for the T420/T520 (or the T400/T500, or T410/T510 for that matter.)

    The caddies are completely passive -- they serve as "dumb" adapters and contain electronics, so there is no possibility of reduced performance or incompatibility, etc. from a third-party part.

    (Note: the same is not true for the T61/R61 and earlier. Those caddies contain SATA->PATA bridges, so there's a case to be made that a Lenovo part is a good idea.)
     
  6. OCM

    OCM Notebook Geek

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    The HDD Enclosure/grips are not the same thing as an _Ultrabay_ Caddy. You need the latter, not both.
     
  7. Kaso

    Kaso Notebook Virtuoso

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    Yeah, usually called HDD caddy, which can be confusing. Like this one:

    [​IMG]
     
  8. yrc

    yrc Notebook Consultant

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    Thank you all. I got a Lenovo Ultrabay adapter from my campus store; they had it on sale for $28.99, a price too difficult to pass up. The drive is in it and working perfectly and backups from my SSD are running much faster than they did on my USB 2.0 drive.
     
  9. unreal25

    unreal25 Capt. Obvious

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    You can get these things for ~$10 on eBay.
     
  10. dnaxx

    dnaxx Notebook Guru

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    Can I use the same caddy from the w520 for the w530 or are there built differences?
     
  11. Xeroday

    Xeroday Notebook Enthusiast

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    In the T/W530 manual, it said that you could use either a 9.7mm thinkpad III adapter or a 12.7mm thinkpad adapter, which I'm pretty sure is the same as the W/T 520's.

    I just bought a 12.7 mm 2nd hdd caddy from ebay that I will receive next week.
     
  12. Kaso

    Kaso Notebook Virtuoso

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    This or this should work.

    Make sure the UltraBay HDD caddy adapter is 12.7mm high for a nice fit without gap.