Can anyone recommend a good SATA hard drive to laptop optical drive caddy?

[tnitsuj]

I want to install an SSD in my ACER/Emachines laptop, but still retain my large hard drive for media/backups etc.

Can anyone recommend a good source/brand of SATA Hard Drive caddies for the laptop optical bay?

 

[ch33zw1z]

2 Options:

1. Buy the caddy model that fits your laptop, they're not all the same.

2. Buy a USB to SATA external enclosure. Cheaper, but more cumbersome since the drive will be outside of the laptop.

 

[zuffy]

You can checkout www.newmodus.com if they have it. They are too pricey though imo for a piece of metal. I was browsing the forum in notebookreview. Someone pointed it out that this http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-IBM-43N3412...C_Drives_Storage_Internal&hash=item45f9754811 hdd caddy for IBM laptop also fit my XPS 15. I gave it a tried since it was only 12 bucks and it's working great now.

 

[corkyg]

2 Options:
1. Buy the caddy model that fits your laptop, they're not all the same.
2. Buy a USB to SATA external enclosure. Cheaper, but more cumbersome since the drive will be outside of the laptop.

This! Such devices are normally not generic. I have two Lenovos, a T60 and a T510. Each has an Ultrabay Adapter to place a HDD in the optical bay. They are different models - not interchangeable.

You may be better off with the external as suggested, or a docking station for your particular model Acer.

 

[kmmatney]

I bought a cheapo adapter on Ebay - it worked OK for a few weeks, and then started having trouble connecting, and I was constantly having to reseat it (requires a screwdriver to do so). When it did connect, it worked great, and gave me a ton of extra storage. Because of the flakiness of the caddy, I ended up just getting a 32gb SD card and using that for extra storage (my laptop has a built-in SD reader, and it only sticks out about 2 mm when occupied).

 

[killster1]

how cool never thought about optical caddy.. guess can always switch back to dvd drive when need to burn read dvd or use a usb one.. (i have usb dvd burner for damn tiny laptops)

 

[corkyg]

This illustrates the Lenovo solution - the Ultrabay (developed by IBM.) I have never hear of Acer having one.

A release button allows the optical to slide out - then just slide the adapter (with HDD) in.

 

[Zap]

This illustrates the Lenovo solution - the Ultrabay (developed by IBM.) I have never hear of Acer having one.

3rd party makes them for various notebooks.

 

[Anonemous]

I got a generic 9.5mm caddy for my drive off ebay for 16$. I just installed it but it's not perfectly flush against the system (sticks out 1mm) and I may need to drill some holes... 🙂

 

[corkyg]

3rd party makes them for various notebooks.

Didn't know that. Thanks. But - the Lenovos always work and fit! 🙂

 

[Muse]

I got a generic 9.5mm caddy for my drive off ebay for 16$. I just installed it but it's not perfectly flush against the system (sticks out 1mm) and I may need to drill some holes... 🙂

The one I bought from Hong Kong for my Thinkpad T60 worked at first, then wouldn't close. Shaving about 1/64th inch of plastic off two nubs seems to have fixed the problem. The tolerances aren't huge. I think I paid around $12.