Will Hard Drive Bay Adapter II (two) work in W520?

[cormandy]

Thanks for the info.  You are correct and I will get on with ordering the 3rd party adapter.   I tried being clever and used a strip of conductive foam in the 3mm gap with the Ultrabay III adapter, and although the tray is now fixed nicely, I continue to get disconnect error messages from Windows if my laptop has moved...

Pro tip: don't waste time trying to couple an Ultrabay III drive adapter with the W520.

[ZipZap]

Hi, guys,

    I have been using the Lenovo caddy since I got my W520 in April. Yes, I dislike the look and fit, but it works perfectly well i.e. no disconnects (500 GB Seagate). I move my machine around a lot. There is no height limitation because of the caddy - the Ultrabay takes drives up to 12.5mm regardless.

    I appreciate the tip about the NewMode. $56 shipped is about on par with Lenovo's own.

For the budget minded, here is a $15 low priced clone:

http://www.amazon.com/SATA-drive-Adapter-LENOVO-Thinkpad/dp/B005EOVPP6/ref=pd_sbs_misc4

[PanEuropean]

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cormandy wrote:

Pro tip: don't waste time trying to couple an Ultrabay III drive adapter with the W520.

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Hi Cormandy:

I'm not sure that comment is entirely accurate, or entirely 'pro' either.  I've got two of the Ultrabay III adapters that I use regularly in my W520 - and have been using for the past 4 weeks - and they work just fine.  This includes using the laptop in the dock, using it on a desk, and using it while riding as a passenger on an aircraft.

Although I am a bit disappointed that Lenovo has not provided some kind of little filler strip to close the gap that is present when the Ultrabay III adapter is used in the W520, I think the for the circumstances I have described above, problem is entirely cosmetic.  The only time I could imagine the drive caddy wiggling around and possibly not maintaining a solid connection would be if someone was using the computer literally 'on their lap', or if someone was carrying the computer around without shutting it off or hibernating it first.  Under those circumstances, I could see a risk of the caddy wiggling around in the drive bay.

Michael

[chetccox]

Yes, it will - but there is a small plastic tab on the right side back of the adapter that you need to break off. It then will fit and works just fine. There is however a small gap left on the top as the plastic front piece is not quite big enough to cover the hole

[PanEuropean]

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chetccox wrote:
...but there is a small plastic tab on the right side back of the adapter that you need to break off. It then will fit and works just fine...

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OK, now I am REALLY perplexed.  I noted in an earlier post on page 1 of this discussion that the small plastic tab existed, and that it prevented the device from fitting into an UltraBay III (or, for that matter, an UltraBay I, the original UltraBay).

Why, then, if the Adapter II 'works fine' in the UltraBay III, would Lenovo not simply provide a space in the UltraBay III to accept that tab?  I kind of think there is more to this than what meets the eye.  In other words, I don't think it was simply an omission or oversight on Lenovo's part to not permit the Adapter II to fit into the UltraBay III.

Here's a picture that shows both the Adapter II and the Adapter III, with the tab on the Adapter II clearly visible: click here.

Does anyone have any additional technical knowledge or insight about why that tab is not allowed for in the UltraBay III slot?

Michael

[dayaln]

Just purchased a W520. I have read this thread with interest. Here is a caddy that is claiming that "it will not leave a gap" and it is under $20 (s/h included).

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005QI6WG2/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&m=A3FO2JX85UEWVW

The picture looks about right (proportionality wise - the angled part of the face compared to the straight part). Well, I ordered one, I will post back if indeed it fits without a gap...

[ZipZap]

Hi, Day,

    Please do let us know how you make out with the 3rd party caddy. $20 shipped is about right. I have been reading the Amazon feedback on this seller, and not all of it has been positive.

                                  zz

[ColonelONeill]

Is it weird then that the optical drive out of my T400 works in my W520, or is that to be expected? I assume the optical drive and the UltraBay caddy use the same connector...

[techscotty]

it is weird that lenovo is getting pwned in so many threads on their own forum

too funny

or sad really

[PanEuropean]

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techscotty wrote:

it is weird that lenovo is getting pwned in so many threads on their own forum...

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Well - there are two ways to look at that, you can look at it as "the glass is half full", or you can look at it as "the glass is half empty".

The positive take on it is that Lenovo respects their customers sufficiently to provide us with a user forum where we can provide peer-to-peer support.  It's common in many industries for the customers (the end users) to often have greater specialized knowledge about specific problems than the manufacturer has.  For example, I work in the engineering department of an aircraft manufacturer, and I spend a lot of time out in the field with the airlines that use the planes we build.  I am constantly amazed by the creativity of the customers when it comes to solving problems, and we (as a manufacturer) are constantly learning new tips and tricks from our customers.  Frequently, customer findings result in us changing the design or operating/maintenance instructions for the aircraft we manufacture.

On the other hand... the negative take on it is that it appears to me that there are more 'annoying nitty-gritty problems' being found with Lenovo products today, in 2011, than at any time in the past (late 1990s, mid 2000s, even a year ago).  It's possible that this might be a result of the computers becoming more complex (my current machine has a screen colour calibrator, 2 flavours of USB, smart card readers, a GPS, all sorts of stuff that didn't even exist a few years ago), but then again, it's also possible that Lenovo is not "sweating the details" as much as they were in past years to ensure that when problems were discovered, they were fixed rapidly and the solutions to the problems were effectivly promulgated to the users via the Lenovo Website.

Michael