W520 help needed on hard drive upgrade and multi boot

[n2ri]

I have a W520 type 4284-XF2 12/04/06 max options etc but no phone modem (also looking into adding that and WILAN G4, incl color bal. 32gb ram total with 4 sticks. need to know max cap hard drive it can handle preferably 7200rpm 4tb plus. going to have multi boot os win xp 32 bit, win 7 64bot and linux dob. so it needs to work with all 3 os. also want seagate hybrid drive SS/HDD if possible budget about $100. whats options closest? I have a win xp 32bit T61 with 1tb hdd and 8gb ram running fine with middleon bios and a W500 win7 64bit 2tb SSD max ram but want to merge them to the W520 and add Linux Dob OS also. I have a archive HDD 2tb in 2503 dock for the T61/W500 just have to put it in a ultra bay for W520 as it wont work in same dock or PSU. I know there are several TP wizards in this group. Im sure I can learn my options. Im used to TP mods etc since my 1st the 701c butterfly keyboard I upgraded MB from 50mhz to 133mhz b4 moving to T61. love the W500 but it has over heat issues and graphics issues like 90% of them and wont even do ext monitor anymore. the W520 is my final upgrade for TP and never using any MS OS higher than win7. so Linux has come time for online then the other 2 OS for offline etc as needed. as I want to be able to use it where ever I go no matter how old coms are. its how I have always done.

Thanks for all help! Mitch

[dr_st]

I don't see why you would need an HDD or a hybrid HDD, when you can get SSD for all 3 slots (main, Ultrabay and mSATA). Install a different OS on each and then they are completely separate and "safe" from one another (with minor caveats). That's the direction I would go for, unless you really need an optical drive in the Ultrabay.

For archival purposes you can connect as many and as large drives to the dock via USB (or SATA, if you get the Mini Dock Plus variant with SATA).

[n2ri]

you dont even understand my post. I cant use xp online and already have 3 dif laptops. w500 is becoming useless. need to merge all into 1 and stop juggling laptops like I been doing over 5 years now. so hybrid drive is only solid state for system and boot in partition. the rest is hdd for data archive with unlimited read write where solid state has end of life closer with each rewrite. you are not who I am seeking for this answer obviously. as the W520 only has 1 hard drive slot. I was going to use the ultra bay for optical drives etc plus a backup hdd. be pure hell not backing up many TB data if main drive crashes.

[axur-delmeria]

To be fair, your post is just one big block of text without any formatting (paragraph spacing). It's a bit hard to read as a result.

I don't think there are 4TB hard drives that will fit inside the W520, as the ones I know are 15mm tall, whereas the W520 fits 9.5mm drives in the HDD bay, while its Serial Ultrabay Enhanced is only 12.7mm tall.

You can use the WWAN slot for SSDs, specifically mSATA SSDs like this one.

[RealBlackStuff]

@n2ri:
Before you start criticising other people, you should realise that most of us would not even bother to read your posts any further than maybe the first 1 or 2 lines.
As already mentioned, your writing style is atrocious, causing a lot of us to just skip posts like yours and go somewhere else.

[n2ri]

To be fair, your post is just one big block of text without any formatting (paragraph spacing). It's a bit hard to read as a result.

I don't think there are 4TB hard drives that will fit inside the W520, as the ones I know are 15mm tall, whereas the W520 fits 9.5mm drives in the HDD bay, while its Serial Ultrabay Enhanced is only 12.7mm tall.

You can use the WWAN slot for SSDs, specifically mSATA SSDs like this one.

since it cant handle 2tb card I will use the WWAN slot as its intended instead. thanks for the info on main slot, as I dont have spec manual for the W520. what type connector can it use? like PATA,SATA etc? seems 2tb is limit which seems odd as they fit in older thinner slots like the 7mm on my W500 and T61 so why make it thicker if nothing bigger works

[n2ri]

seems 7200rpm drives are all thicker than W520 can fit and use server connection not PC type. and most drives higher cap than 2tb are for 3.5" desktops not laptops. is W520 capable to handle SATA 3?

[axur-delmeria]

The Hardware Maintenance Manual (HMM) for the T520 and W520 has a parts listing at the end, referencing the 7mm and 9.5mm SATA HDD options. 2.5" 15mm height HDDs aren't supported because they're enterprise storage drives designed for servers, not laptops.

Looks like you're stuck at 2TB with laptop HDDs. The W520 supports SATA 3 (600 megabytes/sec max) on the HDD bay, unknown speed at the DVD bay, and SATA 2 at the WWAN/mSATA slot.

There's another storage option, though you can't boot from it directly: an Expresscard to NVMe adapter allows you to install a 2230 or 2242 M-key NVMe SSD. It's limited to PCIe 2.0 x1 speed though (250 megabytes/sec).

[n2ri]

thanks, that helps loads!

[n2ri]

I don't see why you would need an HDD or a hybrid HDD, when you can get SSD for all 3 slots (main, Ultrabay and mSATA). Install a different OS on each and then they are completely separate and "safe" from one another (with minor caveats). That's the direction I would go for, unless you really need an optical drive in the Ultrabay.

For archival purposes you can connect as many and as large drives to the dock via USB (or SATA, if you get the Mini Dock Plus variant with SATA).

I have the mini dock plus series 3. no sata ports usb 3

[n2ri]

OK new question. if I put the hard drives from my T61 and W500 in ultrabay caddys and set bios on my W520 to boot from both USB and Ultrabay could I just insert one and boot up and create separate configs like when you have laptop docked, undocked, or mini docked?

and have a hard drive in W520 with Linux for when no other boot drives in ultrabay or USB.

would the OSs installed on hard drives find the new hardware after booted?

I have ghosted hard drives b4 on a new HDD and installed it in same model as originally installed on and it worked fine no glitches.
but never tried it on dif model Thinkpad than installed in.

[TPFanatic]

In a ThinkPad with multiple boot devices plugged in, I believe that you can configure in the BIOS the priority depending on what is plugged in. You have to try it. If it works for you, good.

if it were me with multiple bootable devices connected to any ThinkPad, i always press F12 at the splash screen to manually choose, because i am a pessimist.

[n2ri]

I was going to leave internal drive in with Linux and in BIOS put USB 1st, and Ultrabay 2nd then main 3rd. but only plug the others in when using them.

just didnt know if those drives would work in dif laptop than originally installed in and see the added hardware like MB Ram etc. or if registry would go nuts.

but also still be able to plug archive/backup HDD in ultrabay or USB as it dont have boot OS on it.

likely have to use USB for it as I need to access it no matter which of the 3 boot OS drives is in use for data transfers, then make USB 2nd option so no matter which OS drive used can still plug archive/BU drive in USB port, and still use USB for rescue thumb drive if needed too.

also want to be able to install the XP and win7 drives in their original laptops if needed later. thats why I was wondering if there is a config setting like for dock stations that can be setup with hard drives like XP32, W764, Lindob. I have stand alone, mini dock, adv dock modes in some of my Thinkpads.

Thanks for reply

[TPFanatic]

i read you need a portable Linux boot device. in theory this is possible. in practice, all I can say is without a company bankrolling your IT staff, you have to try it yourself.

i read you need to be able to physically swap drives between different laptops and keep them working fine. in theory this is possible. in practice i've done this and it actually works more often than not, but again, you have to it yourself.



then i read you want the machine to automatically select the device you want it to use. this is where things get more complicated than it needs to be because you can manually select your boot device by pressing F12 at startup. just reach your hand over and press the key.



i don't know whether there's a dock involved makes a difference.



laptops and drives are cheap enough. if you have some money, consider just buying more hardware.



and set up backups.



as for the W500 overheating, BestBuy sells thermal paste, any store sells a precision screwdriver, you can blow the dust out of the fan using your lungs, and the W500 HMM is freely available. https://thinkpads.com/support/hmm/hmm_p ... 630_04.pdf

[n2ri]

thanks for the reply. I done the paste on W500 it barely made a dif. its a flaw in design as Lenovo used same cooling system as T61 in same case but added much hotter running MB etc then to worsen things they also restricted inlet air flow with fine mesh screens over all holes in case. so display driver and GPU suffer causing issues like on my current W500 no more ext monitor use. so moving to W520. but the W520 cant share advance dock etc like the T61 and W500 do. also ultrabay is dif size/type as is PSU. and I do have a large carry case for my Thinkpads but not for 3 complete systems lol. it even has place for mobile printer Canon BJC-55

as for the linux rescue thumb drive I already found the solution for multi OS bootable rescue thumb drive with loads of needed aps to fit on 64gb thumb drive from a reputable web site that has such items for free download with the youtube tutorials how to install and implement.

mostly just was asking if anyone knew if what I want to do is possible with the hard drives and ultrabay as reinstalling everything on my hard drives from my other 2 Thinkpads to new drives is way more than I care to begin.

then install Linux Debien on new hard drive internal in the W520 for browsing and future use as it will be a long learning curve but Debien has all features so once learned will be well worth it and keep the old OS for aps that cant run in Linux.

[n2ri]

as to buying more hardware and going separate laptops, I have been juggling 2 dif laptops and OSs for several years and Im too poor and old to continue this aggravation so trying to condense all into 1 better laptop on a very low fixed budget and neither of my 2 IT sons have even spoken to me in 2-9 years. hav'nt even seen my 7 grand-kids. and myself and my wife are in poor health living on SSID, only get out for shopping and Doctor visits etc. no stair climbing or long walks. cusin next door mows my lawn lately. this is the best source I have for help with this. sorry.

I also now have new issue besides trying swapping hard drives in the W520 and finding it cant see the new hardware like WIFI, Fingerprint reader, LAN device etc. I also bought an Panasonic UJ260 CD/DVD/Blue ray burner, turns out biggest issue with these the sellers dont even tell in disc they have strict Region protection and it came locked in region 2 Japan where it was sold from to US which is region 1. and they simply said if it wont change its likely reached limit of 5 changes and is now just a paper weight as no way to reset or correct with any software and no longer supported by manufacturer.

so Im trying to get full refund and report them to ebay as they knew this but still selling them then taking 30 days ( same limit on returns or paypal report) sick of scammers. hoping somebody on this site or a FB group may have ideas how to reset firm ware region lock. as I do use optical drive for many programs as well as backups, sharing data and listening/watching CDs, DVDs, BR etc. and this drive is the only option for this that plugs into ultrabay they made 2 dif thickness versions this is for the 12.5mm like W520 the thin version with dif model number is for (9.5 size models. other laptop brands also used the same ultrabay.

TIA

[RealBlackStuff]

https://www.winxdvd.com/resource/conver ... e-dvds.htm