WTB/LF: A "new" HDD for an old ThinkPad 755CE

[Johan]

As discussed in the thread Suggestions sought for "new" HDD for a 755CE I am looking for a "new" HDD for an old ThinkPad; a model 755CE (which looks very much like this). I'm interested in a minimum 810 MB drive, but a larger one (e.g. 2 GB?) would also be nice to have!

I'd prefer to buy from someone who has a fair sense that the HDD offered is indeed in good shape. Shipping to Copenhagen, Denmark. Kindly mail me directly (no PM's, please) at: johan_granholm [at] yahoo [dot] dk

Thanks in advance for any offers that I just can't refuse!

Johan

[jronald]

Johan, I think I have a 2 gig floating around here. It is slightly taller than normal and will not fit in any of the "later" than T22 that I run. Dont have a clue as to how I would get it over there, but if your interested its your for shipping. I did jerry-rig a USB housing and checked for errors, and so forth.... all came up fine.

Ron

[TuuS]

I have a complete working 755CE unit if you or anyone else is interested. It has the TFT screen and Pentium 75 options, making it a very expensive computer in it's day. I believe I also have some harddrives.

[Johan]

Johan, I think I have a 2 gig floating around here. It is slightly taller than normal and will not fit in any of the "later" than T22 that I run. Dont have a clue as to how I would get it over there, but if your interested its your for shipping. I did jerry-rig a USB housing and checked for errors, and so forth.... all came up fine.

Ron

Ron: Thank you very much for your exceptionally kind and fantastic forum-friendly offer (simply splendid!) - and, ooh yes, I am certainly interested in this huge 2 GB drive, provided you are sure that you can live without it? As to your drive mentioned being "slightly taller than normal" I am not certain if I understand the potential implications of this, if intending this drive for use in a 755CE? To be honest, I have never had my 755CE taken apart (there's been no need to), so I am unaware of the specific dimension of the HDD therein; all I know about 755CE HDD's is what I have linked to in the first post in this thread. Anyway, if you either a) Know for certain that the drive you have is directly usable in a 755CE or b) if you have a part- or model-number (or FRU?), than in the latter case I guess I can use Google to check the compatibility with a 755CE.

Bottom line is in any case that I am absolutely interested in upgrading my old, trusty 755CE to having such a huge 2 GB drive!

And, ooh, yes, about the shipping; well if the drive can be sufficiently "safe" packaged in e.g. a bubble-air envelope (perhaps with a couple of further protective card box-material pieces around?), then I guess that USPS will be able to help with the rest. I don't know the cost for shipping such a drive to Denmark, but I'm fortunately fairly confident that the shipping-cost is well within my ability to cover; fatal financial crises apparently almost all over the place here in EU, or not! Is PayPal OK with you?

Thanks, again!

@ TuuS: Thanks for offering a complete (vintage!) 755CE, but since I'm presently only after the HDD, a complete rig would, well, be kind of overkill... so, thanks, but at this time no thanks.

Johan

[TuuS]

I believe the drive he is referring to is 12mm thick, not the normal 9mm of current drives. I do have some of these older drives, but I'm not entirely sure what the 755cd bios will support. In that era a traditional bios only supported 528mb, and back then one popular size for drives was 540mb, in which case the easiest fix was to edit the number of sectors/cyl to make the bios think it was 528mb. To use larger drives it required a bios with the ability to translate the physical stats to logical stats. I don't recall if this unit can do that or not, but my guess is no. If I recall correctly, it was mostly only aftermarket boards that had this support.

Another option was software to translate the drive. I think one was called "disc manager". All large capacity drives of this era came with a version of this and it would install OS specific support for the drive to be accessed in a bios that didn't support it. If you're running win9x on this classic there shouldn't be a problem using something like this, but I have a feeling it may be required.

I also should warn you that this info is coming from my memory from close to two decades ago, so it may not be fully accurate, but I'd e glad to take a look at my unit and at very least I can get an idea of what physical size drive will fit in it.

Also if anyone reading is interested in one of these, I'd be inclined to accept any reasonable offer for mine. The TFT active matrix screen was a very costly option back then, as was the Pentium system board. I believe this unit cost close to $5000, compared to less then $2000 for a typical 755CE. Mine's not in mint condition but looks solid, no noticable damage. Last time I used it everything worked except for the battery. I purchased an new ac adapter for it and it booted up into the original win95 with no complaints, not even from the cmos clock settings which you'd expect.

So let me know if I can help in any way and I'll do whatever I can.

ps. Shipping a harddrive usa>europe in a priority mail flatrate box would cost about $17. You could save a few dollars shipping it as a regular mail parcel, but there would be no tracking and it would require submitting in person. When I consider gas (petrol) and my time, it's far cheaper to ship prority in which you can print the label online and usps will pick it up at your door the following day. Can't beat the service!

[hwattys]

I have a couple of spare 750/755 caddies and more importantly I have a 755CSE which is the dual scan sister model of the 755CE in which to test the drives. If you really want a bigger drive I can make a modern thinner drive work in the 750/755 caddy. I have access to a junkroom of older laptops and I am sure I can find something of at least 1 gig up to 2 gigs or even 3 and test to make sure it works in the 755CSE, format it to a C:\> prompt and send it. We are going to need to work out shipping and reimbursement for any parts I have to buy but I will not charge for any time I put in it. I suspect the shipping will be the most expensive thing but I also think I can use a USPS international flat rate box for maybe $15US or a little less.

As for the 755CE I am most definitely interested. PM me so we can haggle it out.

[jronald]

Here is what I have:
IBM Model: DTNA-22160 E182115 s
PN 00K0396
July 1997
2160MB

I have not powered it up in more than a year, so I will need to double check.
Whats your Postal ZIP Code (Not sure what you call it over there) Ill check shipping with some sort of tracking.

Im sure it is the 12mm version
The below IS NOT my drive, but has several pictures so we know what we are looking at. My drive DOES have the circut board on the bottom.
http://satelliteheadlines.com/65881/i-f ... ats-on-it/

Looks like $17.00
http://ircalc.usps.com/MailServices.asp ... &o=1&mt=13


Ron

[Thinkpad Lover]

Looks like $17.00
http://ircalc.usps.com/MailServices.asp ... &o=1&mt=13

Don't bother with Priority Mail International. This is a small item. Don't you guys know how to ship cheap in a situation like this: Let's try $6.12 : http://ircalc.usps.com/MailServices.asp ... =6&p=0&o=5

Yes, First Class Mail International will require you to turn off the television, get up off the couch, and make a trip to your local post office. You cannot print a postage label online like you can with Priority Mail International.

First, put the hard drive in an anti-static bag. Next, take a 12" by 24" rectangular piece of fat bubble wrap (which most people have lying around)- or else use several pieces of thin bubble wrap. Wrap it around and around the hard drive. Scotch-tape it securely. Trim the ends a little bit- leave about 1 inch on each side. Find an 8" x 10" padded envelope (most of you older guys have one lying around from that hair tonic you ordered online). Get Johan's complete mailing address via PM. Use MS Word or send yourself an email and print out his address with DENMARK in CAPS along with your return address. Make sure the word "DENMARK" is the very last part of the address, following any postal codes, etc. Trim the excess off the paper. A rectangle about 4" x 6" is a good size. Affix the address to the package with glue (so it cannot be easily removed), and also waterproof by covering with clear tape. The package will look and feel like a miniature collectible pillow. It will be nice to the touch, and people will want to be gentle with it. It is also big and puffy enough so it is hard for them to lose The hard drive will be well protected from shocks, vibrations, drops, rolls, and tumbles during the long air mail trip to Denmark. The only thing that can damage this package is being sit on by a fat Danish customs officer (who got fat eating Danish pastry, wienerbrød (Danish pronunciation: [ˈʋiːˀnɔˌbʁœːˀð], lit. "Viennese bread", corresponding to the French Viennoiserie).... and that probably won't happen, or so we hope. As a precaution, write or stamp the word "Fragile" in large letters on the Front and Back of the package.

Next, take a black or blue pen (very important, as any pen on a chain at the Post Office usually doesn't work, and some post offices are generous with lending out pens while others will lend you one only after a mean postal clerk looks at you as if you are a student driver asking to borrow his brand new BMW ). Now, armed with your pen!, go to your local post office. Find customs short form "CN22" aka "PS Form 2976" in one of the little trays. Fill it out, pressing hard to make 3 copies. Top of form, check "Gift" as this really is a gift. Country of Origin, put "USA." Detailed description, put "Used laptop hard drive." Quantity put "1". Weight, leave blank, doesn't matter. Value, put "$5". "HS tariff" leave blank. "Total" put "$5". Sign and put date on bottom, copy your address and Johan's address in the "From" and "To" boxes just as you printed them on the label... BTW, you can also fill in and then print out the form Online by selecting First Class Mail, then clicking "Customs Forms and extra services" on the same Postage Price calculator link I gave you above: https://webapps.usps.com/customsforms/s ... ipient.jsp

Now get in line. Be friendly with the people in line. Get to know your neighbors! When you get to the window, smile at the clerk, even if he or she doesn't smile back. Request to ship the little pillow package "First Class Mail International." Say "no" to Express Mail or Priority Mail or extra services such as registered mail. The clerk will put your padded pillow package on the scale, see that it is 5 ounces, and request payment of $6.12 (This is a great chance to use out the spare change in your pocket). The clerk will then give you a receipt and and also return the stub on page 3 of the customs form. Keep these items safely.

Total cost: $6.12, and a nice trip to your local post office to say hi to your neighbors and cheer up your local postal clerks.

Total time: Probably 7-10 days, about the same as Priority Mail International Flat Rate, although they claim Priority Mail International Small Flat Rate Box or envelope should arrive faster. I have found that only Priority Mail large packages, medium or large flat rate boxes truly arrive faster than First Class Mail International, and of course also include more extensive Tracking. First Class Mail International has limited Tracking available, but so does Priority Mail Small Flat Rate Box or Flat Rate envelopes, unless you send any of these items registered, which costs about $12 extra. It doesn't make sense to register a small item like this, which you are shipping to someone you know and trust And I'm sure Johan will not forget to send Ron a quick "Thank you" message upon receiving his item.

Total Savings: $10.83, which, after receiving his hard drive safely, Johan can spend on a celebration with friends and family, full of Danish pastry and herbal tea. As we all know, "Real men drink tea "

Daniel.

P.S. Don't mind my overly detailed steps. They are meant to add more humor to an already humorous post. Shipping First Class mail International is really simple and can save a bit of money in a situation such as this (with a small, inexpensive item). Priority Mail, Express Mail or Registered Mail are best reserved for more expensive online purchases.