T420 DVD eject button - terrible placement; driving me insane

[todm]

Every time I pick the laptop up or am laptopping in bed I am constantly hitting the DVD eject botton on the T420.  This is my 10th ThinkPad over the years and have never had this problem.

I'd even prefer a blank to fill the slot  or a battey option than have it the way it is now.

Is there a way to disable this button or be able to lock it with some kind of driver that can sis in the systray?

Can Lenovo give us a new optical drive?

[todm]

Also I have tried to disable the DVD driver but the button still is functional. The only solution I can find is to leave it out of the computer.

Any other ideas?

[ColonelONeill]

Maybe consider this:
http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?f=45&t=96548

[JDay]

Slot load drive as mentioned above or you can replace the HDD with an SSD and put the HDD into a Serial ATA Hard Drive Bay Adapter III. If you go this route remember to just take the rubber bumpers off the stock drive, put them onto the SSD and put the stock drive (still in the metal sled) into the Serial ATA Hard Drive Bay Adapter III. The adaptor is made so that the stock drives sled locks into place and prevents to drive from moving around.

http://shop.lenovo.com/SEUILibrary/controller/e/web/LenovoPortal/en_US/catalog.workflow:item.detail?...

[Jerret]

I just want to chime in that I also find this very annoying. It would be very nice if we could get a firmware update (even possible?) or something which changed the button function to require a double tap to open the drive.

I've been a loyal Thinkpad owner (T30, T42, T400 And now the T420), and this is one of the first design flaws that really has driven me nuts!

Regards,

Jerret

[ColonelONeill]

http://forums.lenovo.com/t5/W-Series-ThinkPad-Laptops/is-there-a-way-to-disable-DVD-Eject-button/m-p...

[JameZ]

@Jerret and todm,

Is it possible to take a picture of the DVD rom area so I can see the design difference compared to my T410?

I received a PM from a customer just now saying that he has issues with the W520 and always accidentally press on the eject button of the DVD.

Thanks
JameS

[ColonelONeill]

Yeah I played with a T420 at a Lenovo reseller, and accidentally popped the drive about five times. Never happens with my T400 drive either.

[JameZ]

Hmmm ... I think I gotta drop by a Think shop to test it for myself too

ColonelONeill, did the DVD rom eject when you hold the sides of the laptop? It does not "curve" in like the previous models?

//JameZ

[ColonelONeill]

Yeah, I was picking it up by the right side with one hand and it kept popping out. Can't remember what shape the side was...