crap-top to netbooktype install with SSD

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richms

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#50127 23-Nov-2009 14:40

HDD for my Old T43 is dead, cant get a replacement.

Am thinking of getting a SD to 2.5" conveter off DX and trying the netbook distributions of things on it since its useless otherwise.

Anyone had a play with runing things off a SD card (or CF will do I guess) in a laptop for this sort of thing?

The machine is a little large to be a netbook really but I cant afford a new machine at the moment and its useless without a HDD and it takes PATA so impossible to find new and I dont trust used.

Richard rich.ms

richms

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#275512 23-Nov-2009 15:46

Not at a sane price. Plus its not really usable as a laptop these days....

Richard rich.ms

soleil24

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#275527 23-Nov-2009 16:39

T43's are/were fussy about which "traditional" hdd's they would accept without throwing a BIOS error. Don't know if same would be true of SSDs? But if you wanted to risk the 2010 BIOS "issue" then any PATA 2.5" would do.

Alternative (if you can live without the optical drive) would be to pick up a cheap ultrabay adapter (hint, e-bay, Malaysia) and get a SATA hdd.

IG

<eidt: meant 2010 BIOS, not 1802 as originally written, that's a totally different BIOS error !!>

richms

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#275575 23-Nov-2009 18:30

they are also fussy in that they keep dropping to pio mode when the drive is too slow because of a flakey sata to pata bridge in there.

Will the sata ultrabay caddys work even tho the optical in it is a pata device? Do both lots of signals get passed thru the connector?

Richard rich.ms

soleil24

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#275657 23-Nov-2009 22:45

Yes you can use a SATA hdd in the ultrabay if you have a SATA hdd ultrabay adapter (caddy), regardless of what goes into your CD/DVD ultrabay adapter. That doesn't touch the PATA-SATA bridge you mentioned, that's just on the "primary" hdd interface.

I use a 500GB SATA 2.5" in a SATA hdd ultrabay adapter betwen my TPs (including a T43p); when that's not in use, the original supplied optical device (PATA, in its own ultrabay adapter) is in there. They do have working primary hdd's, the SATA drive is just for assorted storage/testing but could equally use the SATA as a sole hdd. Just obviously wouldn't have access to an optical drive.

IG

richms

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#275660 23-Nov-2009 22:49

Hmm, worth a shot, the optical drive is stuffed anyway, will barely read a dvd, wont touch a CD....

Richard rich.ms

soleil24

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#275665 23-Nov-2009 22:57

Doesn't sound like a well machine! I'll PM you the link where I got my u-bay adapter.

And you can always load a Linux OS from a USB stick - assume the USB ports are ok ? ;)

IG