HDD UltraBay Questions:

have a T61 (non P)
Am getting the Hitachi HTS725050A9A364 aka 7K500 everyone is talking about and will put in the UltraBay HDD caddie also on order. Do I still need to buy the rubber pieces and cover used in the normal HDD assembly? Will just sticking it in the UltraBay caddy be firm enough? Have read various opinions on other drives wobbling (see below). Its my understanding Lenovo drives come with the cover. Could be drive specific as to good non wobbly fit? thanks!
http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?f=29&t=72531&start=0&hilit=rails+hdd

 

The disk should fit into the tray in as-is.

 

So there's no play side to side? I'm not interested in taking the cheap way out and damaging the connectors on the drive or the unit.

 

At least with the Ultrabay for the T/W 500, There is no play side to side. A plastic piece clicks down (from the opposite end of the connector) to lock the HDD in place.There's almost 0 room to the sides of the HDD

 

I just removed the hdd tray with the pull tab from the hdd. It is a Seagate 500GB 7200.4. I then put it back into the ultrabay adapter. With the lock flipped down, there is at least a 1/16th of an inch play side to side. I tried the hdd in a second ultrabay adapter, with the same results. The hdd may be able to move more than that, but I do not want to put any more stress on the connectors.
You do not need the rubber rails, just the tray.
This setup is being used in the setup in my sig.
Hope this helps.

 

where to buy just the tray with pull tab? i guess the rubber rails wouldnt fit the ultrabay contraption if placed on the drive given the 1/16th of inch measure.

sorry asking so many questions. i've never opened my notebook up and am just trying to visualize how things would work.

 

Check eBay. Example. But you don't need this if you'll be placing the drive into the optical bay.

 

http://download.lenovo.com/ibmdl/pub/pc/pccbbs/options/40y8746.pdf

http://download.lenovo.com/ibmdl/pub/pc/pccbbs/mobiles_pdf/42x3547_04.pdf

Seems like Lenovo says the Ultra is not designed to support non "Thinkpad" drives. But seems to be the only difference is there is no tray attached to a non Thinkpad drive. The Ultra manual has poor diagraming as see no tray on the HDD installed into the Ultrabay. So MKLYM if you have 2 HDD's (wow 1TB) you must have bought the additional tray from someowhere.

 

Confused...

 

Here is what you need:

http://cgi.ebay.com/IBM-Lenovo-Thinkpad-T60-T60p-T61-Hard-Drive-Caddy-IM_W0QQitemZ190354622977QQcmdZViewItemQQptZPCC_Drives_Storage_Internal?hash=item2c52050a01

I bought a lot of five off eBay. Check out the link and let me know if you have any more questions.

There may be cheaper deals, just do a search for 'T61 hard drive caddy'

 

Yeah well that's exactly what you do NOT need for the Ultrabay. What you do need in addition to disk and Ultrabay is.. nothing.

 

I'm reaching for Asprin or Jack Daniels. Its me not you folks who are kind enough to help. So MKLM says I need the part he showed me. Need to attach it and then put the drive in the UltraBay caddie to further reduce play for my additional new drive. But not.sure says I definitely do not need it as its completely unecessary.

OK excuse my ignorance again.

I dont know what to do. lol.

 

Well, you can get the Ultrabay adapter, put in your hdd and if there is no play, or the play is acceptable, then you are good to go. If there is play, and you can not live with it, then order the tray.

 

thanks you are saying for your T61p and I'm assuming the parts are universal so the p designaton is not a factor, there is play and the tray helped? I think that is what you are saying. At $5 I think even if not used its a good risk averse mesaure to avoid damaging a more costly HDD and UltraBay.

BTW are these products on ebay of decent quality? i mean wont melt etc? actually do fit as they are supposed to?

 

Yes, a tray for a T61p will work with a T61 (and other models). I have play with the hard drive in the ultrabay adapter and the tray pretty well eliminates it.

The ones I bought where no different than the one in the laptop originally. I have had no problems with them.

 

http://www.maniza.com/forsale/images/T61_2nd_HD/T61_2nd_HD-001_MAIN.jpg

Thanks I think this is what you are suggesting? Is the base of the tray slighly wider than the drive, therefore the 1/16th of play on each side is eliminated?

A new HDD costs say $100 and Ultraybay say $30 so its worth the precaution.

 

the ultrabay drive adapter was designed to be used with drives that have the tray installed.   every bay drive adapter ever made by IBM or lenovo has been designed this way.   while they will work with bare drives, the tray shims the drive both on the X and Z axis and the four drive screws prevent the drive from lifting out.

get the tray.

 

That is the setup I use. Yes, the tray is slightly larger than the hdd, but as I said, it does not eliminate the play totally. It reduces it greatly.
I believe the tray also helps with ESD shielding, ensuring the hdd is well grounded.

 

OK guys thanks for helping me understand all this. so i dont need the kits on ebay with the rubber ends. just the tray will suffice?

by the way mahalo (thanks).

 

Correct.