Thinkpad P53 Storage kit

[arodd2000]

I just purchased a Thinkpad P53 and was planning on adding a 2.5" SSD I already had. I opened up the laptop, but the drive bay doesn't have a SATA connector or drive cage. I saw other P models had storage kits. Is there a storage kit for the P53?

[average_user]

I did a bit of searching and couldn't find one on Amazon. it seems like the P53 is just too new (I'm in the same situation, I want to add a HDD). I'm planning on buying a P52 compatible model, since the cable seems like it may fit. Alternatively, there's a T480 cable that seems more similar, but it isn't bent like in the P53 manual near the end.

later edit: I found this on Lenovo's website. it has the cable for the P53 (short) as well as for the P52 (long). the P53 20QN (what I bought) is listed as compatible.

[arodd2000]

I think I'll order that kit since it seems to be the only thing on their website that lists compatibility for the p53. The only thing that is worrying is it seems the short sata adapter would be facing the wrong way once installed. (The sata would be facing left, the drive Bay is to the right)

[average_user]

The image provided is actually too small to tell which way the SATA+power connector is facing. The kits that I found on Amazon have more pictures at higher resolution, and it's a lot easier to tell which way the cable actually points.

I'll check the P72 and P53 manuals once more (if the installation instructions are the same it should be OK), but I'll probably buy the "official" P53 model as well.

This should not have been an issue, for the price of these laptops the kit should have been included, or at the very least available for purchase as an accessory at checkout.

[richk]

From looking at the service manual, it looks to me like the P52 cable is different from P53.

[arodd2000]

Richk, I think you're correct. Do you have any idea how to get the correct part?

[richk]

I spent a long time looking, but I was not successful.  I would try contacting these guys:

https://lenovo.encompass.com/

[average_user]

I took a chance and ordered the 4XH0S69185 kit from Provantage. The model and the image are identical to what is listed on Lenovo's site as being compatible with the P53 and P73 (and P72 also).

The same kit is for sale on Amazon Marketplace for 3 times the price. However, since Amazon allows you to zoom in on the image, I was able to tell that the short HDD connector has the cable on the opposite side than what would be required for the P53 (if you compare the P53 and P72 manuals, it becomes clear that the cable seems the same, but is mirrored).

It seems to me that the compatibility for P53 is actually possible because of the long cable included in the kit. If you were to mount the HDD backwards (connectors facing the opposite direction than what is shown in the manual) then the long cable would go around the HDD and connect to the motherboard properly. The power, data and actual cable seem to be aligned properly in this scenario.

Since the kit went out of stock yesterday, I'll have to wait for Provantage to receive more before I get it and test it. I'll return with conclusions if no one else beats me to it.

As a side note, between the hard time I've had finding this part (which I'm not 100% convinced would work properly*, so I basically pay to test it) and the BIOS release notes that I've seen for the P53 and the workstation dock (very poor grammar, hard to understand to the point of almost saying "something changed") I'm feeling dissapointed with Lenovo. I know the history of the company, I've started with an IBM Thinkpad 18 years ago and have had others since, but I was hoping that at least the professional models would see traditional attention to detail. I mean, Dell also has sharp edged laptops with trackpoints for professional use, if you know what I'm saying.

*- because laptop manufacturers are known to lie about compatibility in regards to RAM and storage. "only what we sell is compatible, nothing else is guaranteed to work", even though we're talking about parts that meet the required standards. See also the Workstation dock, which they sell in 3 SKUs and one is not listed as compatible with the P53 despite the only difference being the AC adapter that's in the box, as if you couldn't plug in your 170W or 230W adapter and achieve the same result.

[arodd2000]

I couldn't wait any longer with college starting so I ordered it through CDW with 2 day shipping. The short answer is that it works, the long answer is no... Both the long cable and the short cable have the correct connectors, but because of the way the drive bay is cut out do not fit. I was able to fit my SSD by using the short cable without the little drive cage, wedging it in, and because the short connector was still too long, bending the wire really weird. It seems extremely terrible. Hopefully a real solution will come out, but for now this works well enough. I will update if dropping my laptop (on accident) or anything disconnects the cable (I fear it might as the wire is jammed in at a poor angle.) When the Lenovo spec PDF said "3 harddrives, 2 m.2, 1 2.5" SATA" I thought that I would actually be able to put another dive in. I am dissapointed with Lenovo, and even worse was the general lack of documentation even for the support, sales, and parts departments (the employees I worked with tried their best to help me with the resources they had.)

[average_user]

did you try turning the drive around and using the long cable?

i'm seriously considering spending more and getting an M.2 SSD for now, while Lenovo gets their act together (hopefully some stock will find its way to other retailers). it's overkill for what i need (just storage, an HDD would have been the best option), but at least it'll work.

Edit: bought a 512 GB M.2 drive. still waiting to receive my HDD mounting kit, though. any year now...