Author |
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EB1
Average Member
USA
773 Posts |
Posted - 12/02/2008 : 08:23:54
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Has anyone tried to remove the optical drive and replace it with a second hard drive? Is that possible? Thanks.
EB |
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EB1
Average Member
USA
773 Posts |
Posted - 12/27/2008 : 11:36:57
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Nobody? I believe the hard drive will physically fit, but what kind of connector would be needed?
The drive is a M_a_t_s_h_i_t_a UJ852S if that means anything.
Thanks, EB
(Forum does not like the four letters in the brand name.) |
Edited by - EB1 on 12/27/2008 11:43:04 |
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EB1
Average Member
USA
773 Posts |
Posted - 07/11/2009 : 16:07:27
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^^^ I really want to try this now, regardless of warranty or risk of complete destruction. What must I do to determine if it is even possible? Does anyone know what connectors are involved?
EB |
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nomo
Average Member
812 Posts |
Posted - 07/11/2009 : 19:52:49
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quote: Originally posted by EB1
What must I do to determine if it is even possible? Does anyone know what connectors are involved?
From an internet search it looks like your optical drive has an ATA interface. Try to find a Fujitsu computer with a modular bay (T-, S-, or E-series, for example) that uses an ATA interface and compare the connectors to your UJ-852S. If the connectors are the same, buy a Fujitsu modular hard drive kit and hack it to fit your P8010. |
Edited by - nomo on 07/11/2009 20:04:50 |
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EB1
Average Member
USA
773 Posts |
Posted - 07/29/2009 : 23:41:36
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Thanks so much. Unfortunately IDE drives appear to have reached obsolescence, being only 320GB in the best case.
EB |
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EB1
Average Member
USA
773 Posts |
Posted - 03/13/2010 : 10:17:13
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Will this work?
Thanks, EB |
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tmt
Advanced Member
2744 Posts |
Posted - 03/13/2010 : 10:50:01
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That's a 12.5mm unit, won't work to replace the UJ852S, which is 9.5mm. Also not sure if the UJ852S uses standard ATAPI/IDE connector.
Tom. |
Edited by - tmt on 03/13/2010 10:52:53 |
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EB1
Average Member
USA
773 Posts |
Posted - 03/13/2010 : 11:19:34
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How can I determine if the UJ852S has a standard ATA 50-pin connector? I don't want to rip it out yet. In the closeup photo of the connector end it looks like the height of the adapter is 9.5mm. 12.7 may be a typo or some other descriptor. The taller drives were always 12.5 mm IIRC. In any case, I'm not too concerned about the height of the adapter unit, since I could extract the bridge board and toss the casing.
EB |
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tmt
Advanced Member
2744 Posts |
Posted - 03/13/2010 : 12:58:50
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No, it's clearly a 12.5mm unit. There is much too much space around the rear connector. In a 9.5mm unit the connector shell is pretty much flush with the top and bottom of the device.
You might be able to use the board, but the connector will be rather tall and will possibly interfere a bit. You'll also have to figure out how to stabilize the drive so it won't flop and cause the IDE or SATA connector to wiggle.
Not sure about finding the connector of the UJ852S without physical inspection. My P7230 has a UJ852, which has the standard JAE connector pictured on your adapter. But that "S" likely means SATA and it's hard to say without looking. The optical bay device attachments are not always standard, and even less so when they're screwed into the chassis.
Tom. |
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tmt
Advanced Member
2744 Posts |
Posted - 03/13/2010 : 13:05:23
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Actually, thinking about it some more, if the optical drive in the P8010 is native SATA, then the bridge board won't work at all. This device in all likelihood has a PATA-SATA bridge chip on it, and those pins will be open on the motherboard if so. You really need to inspect it, and closely I think.
It's interesting, in my P7230, with the 945GME chipset, there are two SATA and one PATA. The PATA is used to connect to the hard drive, directly from the southbridge. But one of the SATA ports goes to a Marvell SATA converter, and the PATA signals from that go to the media bay connector. The other SATA port is unused. The machine ends up being a 2-PATA configuration.
Tom. |
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EB1
Average Member
USA
773 Posts |
Posted - 03/13/2010 : 13:50:48
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Thanks for your help. I opened up the P8010 again, disconnected all three ends of the ribbon cable, and confirmed that the socket in the the optical drive is in fact the standard 50-pin kind. It is flush, so I can see that there is no adapter. Although the OS reports UJ-852S, the drive is labeled UJ-852, mfg. February 2008. I did not completely remove it so I can't see anything more.
EB |
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tmt
Advanced Member
2744 Posts |
Posted - 03/13/2010 : 16:00:11
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Sounds like it's exactly the same as the one in my P7230, then, meaning it's standard ATAPI/IDE. You could consider using the bridge board in that adapter, if it fits.
It's kind of hinky though, because this means you'll go from SATA->PATA on the motherboard, then through the connector via IDE, then back to SATA with a second bridge chip before connecting to the drive. I would not expect this to be trouble-free, if you know what I mean.
Tom.
[edit] Just to check, I stuck my P7230's optical in the bay and sure enough, it's labelled UJ852 but shows as a UJ852S in device manager. Same drive! Mine mfg April 2007.
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Edited by - tmt on 03/13/2010 16:04:00 |
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EB1
Average Member
USA
773 Posts |
Posted - 03/17/2010 : 21:06:42
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Looks like I killed it. |
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tmt
Advanced Member
2744 Posts |
Posted - 03/18/2010 : 00:16:07
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Uh oh - killed what, the optical drive ... or the laptop? |
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EB1
Average Member
USA
773 Posts |
Posted - 03/18/2010 : 06:36:45
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I received an adapter, which is exactly the same size and shape as a standard 12.5 mm IDE optical drive. I tested the adapter in the removable bay of the P5010 with a 160GB drive and it was working, though I had to insert it in Windows or the computer would not boot. Then I tried the adapter with the P8010. The light was on a few times, but the drive not recognized. I tried a few different things, but it became clear at some point that the unit was not receiving power. When the optical drive was reconnected it did not work either. I can assume that either the port is blown or perhaps there is some damage to the ribbon cable, though I don’t see any.
EB |
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tmt
Advanced Member
2744 Posts |
Posted - 03/18/2010 : 22:31:49
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Ouch. It's possible that the drive in the P8K is a 3.3V unit, while anything in a 12.5mm form factor is 5V. But, feeding 3.3V into a 5V unit shouldn't really blow anything. Is there a small 3-terminal voltage regulator on the bridge board?
Also, when reconnecting the UJ852, does the P8K have any hiccup while powering on, and/or does the drive appear in the BIOS? |
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EB1
Average Member
USA
773 Posts |
Posted - 03/18/2010 : 23:20:10
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There are a couple of the SOT-223 type regulators on the bridge board. One is 1.8V and the other is 3.3V. |
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EB1
Average Member
USA
773 Posts |
Posted - 03/18/2010 : 23:51:54
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D'OH. Somehow the IDE port became disabled in the BIOS, perhaps from booting without anything connected. Anyway, it is working again.
EB |
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tmt
Advanced Member
2744 Posts |
Posted - 03/19/2010 : 00:49:31
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EB1
Average Member
USA
773 Posts |
Posted - 03/19/2010 : 01:00:42
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The 2nd hard drive functions, too! I will need to test it thoroughly this weekend however.
I removed the UJ-862 and the hard drive does fit with just the bridge board, after tossing the 12.5mm carrier. (It is odd that the drive is labeled 862 rather than 852.)
The next question is how to deal with the fit and finish. I can use a little thin foam to keep the drive snug, but the DVD-RAM is rather unique. Is the face plate easily removable? It is difficult to see how to pop it off if possible. I'd like to use it only to cover the hole. Or is there something else I can use that looks natural? Thanks for any ideas.
EB
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tmt
Advanced Member
2744 Posts |
Posted - 03/19/2010 : 22:28:48
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Fujitsu US doesn't sell it, but there does exist a weight-saver insert for the P8K, which would be ideal. Failing that, I'd try to sculpt something out of dense art foam, you could paint it black if it doesn't come that way.
Be really sure you bolster the drive tightly, you'd be surprised how much force it gets when not screwed down. Get the sides tight, as well as the top and bottom. Maybe use double-sided foam tape, even, instead of foam sheet.
Tom. |
Edited by - tmt on 03/19/2010 22:39:32 |
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tmt
Advanced Member
2744 Posts |
Posted - 03/19/2010 : 23:16:36
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Ah, what the heck. Here's what I did for my P7230 along these same lines. Might work for you too, if you can find a suitable drive-bay adapter. Mine was for a ThinkPad Ultrabay, and I spliced it to the carrier for the P7230 DVD.
http://users.rcn.com/tmtalpey/Fujitsu/MediaBay/
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EB1
Average Member
USA
773 Posts |
Posted - 03/20/2010 : 13:28:44
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Thanks. The DVD-RAM shape is really odd, so I am planning to simply remove the bezel and glue one half of it to the case.
I made one small brace to screw into the drive and there is sticky double foam on the case side I think it is OK.
On another note, the 2nd drive is limited to about 84 MB/sec.
EB |
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EB1
Average Member
USA
773 Posts |
Posted - 03/22/2010 : 21:02:13
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The 640GB 2nd hard drive died. I'm getting tired of this project. EB |
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nomo
Average Member
812 Posts |
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EB1
Average Member
USA
773 Posts |
Posted - 03/23/2010 : 19:49:34
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I may be a loser, but not a quitter - yet.
I found a cheap 640GB external drive locally and ripped the hard drive out of it. It is back to work again.
EB |
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