• We’re currently investigating an issue related to the forum theme and styling that is impacting page layout and visual formatting. The problem has been identified, and we are actively working on a resolution. There is no impact to user data or functionality, this is strictly a front-end display issue. We’ll post an update once the fix has been deployed. Thanks for your patience while we get this sorted.

IBM Thinkpad Ultrabay Compatibility

Page 2 - Seeking answers? Join the AnandTech community: where nearly half-a-million members share solutions and discuss the latest tech.
Muadib,

I haven't been able to find anyone/place on the internet that sells these types of Thinkpad parts. If so that would be great provided that the side rails and the IDE connector didn't cost too much. Still trying to find out if the Thinkpad 600 internal bay and the Thinkpad T2x UltraBay 2000 are interchangeable. If so then as I posted earlier, there is an outfit in So. Cal that sells a Sanyo 24x CDROM drive for the Thinkpad 600 for $15.00; if this drive can be used in the T21, then that would be a source for side rails and IDE connector (I'm almost ready to order one just to see if it works!!). You can also use your existing DVD or CDROM drive for the rails and IDE connector.
 
Hey Heinekin,
Thanks for the updates on your progress.. it looks awesome! Got me excited about the prospect of getting this done. Wonder if I can buy a dremel tool, use it and then return it... heh. Anyway, if you do end up purchasing that cd-rom drive for the 600, let us know how it goes with using it for spare parts.
 
Laxer,

I plan to buy the Sanyo CDROM tomorrow. I've been doing a lot of researching and discovered a thread in a European newsgroup that talks about the compatibility between the Thinkpad 600 UltraSlimBay and the T2x series UltraBay 2000; it appears that the devices used in both are identical in both fit and form EXCEPT for the rear IDE connector. It appears that IBM must have modified the rear connector for a reason: SALES! The connectors are identically pinned except the spacing (side to side) is offset by about a millimeter or so. So a TP 600 device will not exactly plug into a T2x UltraBay without some form of modification; the rails are the same though so go figure.

I'll see what I, my buds, and the Dremel tool at work can come up with on this one (may even try and have one of our manufacturing guys engineer one for me)! As long as the side rails match, which they're supposed to, I'm willing to play with the IDE connector...and for $15.00, it's worth a shot. Can't seem to find a used T2x CDROM or DVD drive for under $50.00...

I'll keep you guys posted.
 
Good luck and keep us posted HeinekinMan. I spent the better part of the day looking for the rails, and the best I could do was to find a thread on a guy who claims to sell them.
 
Just got my Matsushita UJDA710 Combo Drive.

Had to cut the bezel. Doesn't look stock at all. Just tested the DVD. It's a pretty loud unit. I'm off to check the Write capability!
 
Got the UJDA710 combo drive mentioned above. DVD works great. The drive is a little loud. Also, the drive successfully burned 800MB worth of data in 8x mode without any errors.

Great drive! Too bad it's a little ghetto looking🙂

Paul
 
nice find heinikenman!!

I also had a TP600, the IDE connectors looked the same but as you eluded earlier, they are a bit off on the alignment. Why don't you just buy another floppy if you are just cannibalizing it for the interface connections.
 
Phew...I shouldn't be so quick to post.

Anyways, the CD-RW/DVD combo drive that I purchased, the Matsush*ta (matsh*ta) UJDA710 drive is quite the finicky drive. It does not work very well in Win2000, the OS my thinkpad came with.

After researching a few days, I thought best to succumb and install WinXP Professional. After a full reinstall (including format), I inserted the UJDA710 and the OS detected without a hitch and it is detailed as a DVD/CDRW drive in winXP, unlike WIN2K(detected merely as CD-ROM/DVD-ROM in Win2K).

Also, it has problems with reading some media. It does not like the Memorex 80min MUSIC CD-Rs that I purchased. With a bit of hesitation, it does read my 2x/4x Memorex CD-RWs. Pretty lame if you ask me. Tomorrow, after my root canal, I'll go out and test some media.

Not like any of you foos care! I should be commended😉 I spent $230 on a drive that has little to know info on it. Okay, so I'm stupid, but it works!😛

Should have pics within a few hours...days🙂

Paul
 
SuperGroove,

At least it's working and it saved you a few bucks In my case, I've spent $117.00 (99.00 for the drive, shipping, and tax) for a drive that required minimal mods to fit; the save drive that IBM sells for $379.00 so I'm indeed a happy camper!! When I get the Sanyo 24x CDROM reader that I ordered, my total will rise an additional $20.00 (plan to use it for parts in order to use the Hitachi DVD drive that my T21 originally came with!)

The Sony CRX700E CDRW drive is working for me but is also somewhat on the finicky side. I need to widen my testing to include some additional brands of CDR/CDRW media.

So far I've only tested using Fujifilm (Taiyo Yuden 16x rated) and no name (GQ, 8x rated) brand CD-Rs and an HP 4x rated CDRW disc.

No trouble at all burning audio discs (complete stamped CD copies and/or MP3 tracks), at 8x, using the Windows Media Player 7.1; the only thing that I hate about this method is that WMP 7.1 (using an AdapCRAP plug-in) is that the burns are done in TAO mode. Not a problem for individual tracks but if you are trying to copy a live album, then you end up with 2-sec gaps between each track. Unless there's a hidden switch to enable DAO or SAO...

Using either WinOnCD PE 3.7 or Padus Diskjuggler 3.50.826, I can copy stamped audio CDs (8x, DAO) but sometimes I get an error message at the tail end of the burn, after all of the tracks have been burned. Looks to be during the burning of the lead-out track. But the burned CDs work just fine! My Kenwood 72x CDROM reader reads them fine. Same thing with data CDROMs. In WinOnCD, the error message indicates something to the effect, Error with Media at track xxxxxx. Now if I downshift to 4x, I don't see these errors as often (still see them, but only once in maybe 10 attempts). I'm thinking that this Sony does not like Taiyo Yuden's for some reason! May try TDK or Maxell...

I'd also like to try Nero to see how it handles Taiyo Yudens (I have 6 spindles of these and don't really want to go out and buy more media!). Overall, I'm very happy with this Sony CDRW drive. I'm able to burn copies of CDs in an emergency, I'm able to back up files to CDROM, etc. Haven't tried Norton Ghost to see if I can backup my HD, that will be next.

Should be getting that Sanyo CDROM reader in the next few days so I'll post the results of that experiment when I get it...
 
HeinekenMan,

Where can I get some Taio Yudens? I hear they are really good, but all I seem to find are the norm: fujitsu, memorex, pny, etc, etc. I'm really frustrated that my drive can't burn onto 1-16x Memorex Music discs.

Maybe I should just buy slower media🙂

Paul
 
SuperGroove,

I picked up my last batch of discs from OfficeMax; they come in spindles of 50 and are marketed by Fujifilm (these are 700 MB, 16x rated). I know that these are Taiyo Yuden (based on inputs from other ATers on this forum and by using a freeware utility called CDIdentifier). If you don't already have this utility, you should get it.

I paid $10.00 per spindle after MIR through OfficeMax which was a great buy (I seem to recall seeing a sale somewhere but I can't remember where, BestBuy maybe; you could also try Staples or Office Depot). These sales are the way to go when buying discs.
 
Update! So quickly too. Reinstalled Win2K this time with the UJDA710 drive installed, and not the Hitachi DVD drive that came with my computer. Something fantastic happened! Win2K recognized the drive! It also was courteous enough to install IBM's OWN burning software (well Veritas anyways).

One bad thing...only likes fujifilm CD-Rs. I guess that's a good thing. At least this $236 drive works now! No more tinkering for me! I'll get some pics up, but after that, i'm letting this computer be!
 
What can I say.. it looks pretty sharp and you used an x-acto knife heh...

Hey Heinekin man.. how is your drive performing?
 
Laxer,

So far it's working out fine. It's doing everything that I wanted in a laptop CDRW. I still can't figure out why WinOnCD is displaying an error message of some sort at the very end of a disc copy eventhough the burned disc checks out fine and is recognized, etc. If it's an audio CD, it plays perfectly (even in my Kenwood 72x CDROM drive). If it's a data CD, it is recognized and all of the data on it appears to be fine.

WMP 7.1 works fine for copying audio tracks from my HD to the Sony CDRW. WinOnCD works fine for copying audio and/or data tracks to the Sony CDRW. Diskjuggler works fine for copying audio and/or data tracks to the Sony CDRW. It's only when I try to copy stamped audio CDs or data CDROMs that I get these "media errors" (only with WinOnCD and at 8x). If I slow the burn to 4x, no error message. Now keep in mind the burned disc works fine. After trying several makes of CD-R media and 40 or 50 attempts, I give up!

The main thing, for me, was to be able to backup occasional files from the HD to a CD-R which this Sony does just fine so I'm satisfied. Haven't figured out how to go about testing Norton Ghost yet because it needs to boot off of a floppy and I don't think that it will work because of having to boot up with the floppy drive in the UltraBay 2000 and then having to swap in the Sony CDRW drive (not sure if the hot-swap function will still work in DOS mode). I'll probably have to get an external floppy cable and plug the floppy in externally in order to do this.

For any serious disc copying, I use my two desktop systems...
 
FlipSide,

Thanks for that suggestion; that will solve the floppy/CDRW swap problem. I still want to get the floppy cable.

I found a place in NY (IBM Thinkpad parts) that sells damaged (customer returns) CDROM drives for $10.00 each; you can get semi-new ones for $39.00 (send an email to csearles@microimpact.com). I ordered a couple of FRUs and they should be in next week. For those that need the side rails and the rear IDE connector, this would be the way to go...
 
Just a little update, but my Matsushita UJDA710 combo drive reads/writes all the media I have now.

Tested:
TDK: 1-24X CD-R 700MB
Memorex "Music" CD-R 700MB
Fujifilm CD-R 1-16x 700MB

Odd how things work out. Odd that the RAM that I received today is DOA.
 
SGroove - haha.. nice to see you found some more media your drive likes.. I guess it's not just powered by Fujifilm anymore. =p

That's a funny ass sig you have although I don't quite get it.. haha. At any rate, sorry to hear about the memory.. I know you were waiting on that one...
 


<< SGroove - haha.. nice to see you found some more media your drive likes.. I guess it's not just powered by Fujifilm anymore. =p

That's a funny ass sig you have although I don't quite get it.. haha. At any rate, sorry to hear about the memory.. I know you were waiting on that one... >>



I'm Korean, and the girl I was seeing was Chinese, born in Korea. I was born in Baltimore, MD, and because of how I turned out (not that Korean), she doesn't want to see me🙂

As for the media...I'm hoping everything is A OK now🙂
 
Damn born in Baltimore. Did I mention I went to college there.. plenty of good Korean food around where I lived heh.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Back
Top