9300, 2 hard drives? - Page 14

WOW!!!!!
That area looks amazing!

Have fun for all of us!!!

Should I just go ahead and send the cash over to his paypal account and PM him my address...? I got the idea we had to wait until he got back from the 'hinterlands'...?

he gave me a quote and the email address of his friend whom recieves the money. I sent it straight away through paypal, got an email answer from his friend requesting name and address in a form format. Completed it and replied. Then got an email in chinese characters(!) with a link to chinese website; couldn't make head or tail of that, waited in good faith and 1 week later package arrived from China - that was quick

Thanks for the quick reply, bud...on your endorsement, I just went ahead and sent the cash to the email address he had provided in his latest PM...before he went 'wandering in the wilderness'! I figure the guy who has that account must be at least as trustworthy as qj.xu him/herself; otherwise, how would everybody be getting their products so quickly? Anyhow, here's hoping the guy/gal with the account can purchase and ship out the product him/herself, without help from qj.xu (who is apparently far, far, far away from a position to transact any business...lucky SOB!). I will keep the group updated on the progress of the whole affair, including any emails and PM's I receive...

Also, just out of curiousity ZX81, qj.xu was the one who gave me the quote via PM, too; however, it SOUNDS from your description like it MIGHT have been the guy who has the PayPal account who is actually buying, packing, and shipping the product....is this your perception, or did qj.xu continue to update you via PM on the status of your order as it was occuring? Sounds like you got ONE email following transfer of your PayPal funds (from the guy who has that account) and then the goods just showed up at your door with no more intervention from qj.xu...is this accurate? Not that it matters, really...it's only $50 for two of the things, which adds 240GB to my (two-XPS2-network)! If things get screwed up, I trust qj.xu to fix them, since you have all given good reports so far. Anyhow, I'm drinking Tequila and talking too much already, so goodnight, all!

i'm come back !
everybody can Private Messages to me

How do you guys fill that gaping hole after the installation?

I was a member of the first wave of customers. I just took about 3 days to get the adapter. I had a few problems getting the adapter line up properly, so I removed the bezel. That took care of the problem.

Got my adapter! It fits fine! Another satisfied customer with 220GB of hot-swappable storage in my XPS2!! You WILL LIKELY bust the little metal doohickeys that pop up-and-down toward the outside of the laptop, but they don't do anything as far as I can tell, so screw it!

Thanks qj.xu!

I get my hd-bay in, but its stuck on those metal things, so it will not come out.

You can just poke those things down until they don't stick up so high...just poke at 'em with a screwdriver or something...they don't really DO anything so far as I can tell, except maybe 'pop' the DVD out a little easier or something...

I just got my second hard drive bay from qj.xu, but mine doesnt seem to fit right.

The metal clips that hang down in the drive bay make taking it out a real pain in the arse. Is it ok to remove them?

When the drive bay is in it seems to want to fall out easily, like it wasnt making a connection. I have not tested it as far as booting up the computer yet. I was worried about a partial connection and didnt want to fry anything.

Is there something that is supposed to hold the bay in the laptop? The screw that holds the optical drive doesnt seem to do anything when I put the screw back in.

ANy help will be greatly appreciated!!!

Those things don't seem to do anything other than making it slightly easier to remove the DVD-RW...They do make it a bitch to remove the adapter bay, but I just 'smashed' them down with a screwdriver...everything still works fine...

The thing that 'holds' the drive bay in place so that it doesn't fall out easily is actually the connection made between the drive and the motherboard...you have to line it up right (if you get the adapter in the slot, it should fit automatically, though) and just 'push' gently until the hard drive clicks into place...once it's clicked into place, you'll actually have to take a pen or a screwdriver or something to stick under the right side of the adapter in order to remove it (unless you have really skinny and/or strong fingers or long finger-joints)...it DOES NOT 'fall' out...you can turn the computer over and shake it vigorously and it will NOT 'fall' out as a matter of fact, because the connection between the drive and motherboard is tight...also, the adapter and the 'faceplate' fit in the DVD slot perfectly, so it looks and feels quite natural...good luck!

If the "smashing them down" method doesn't suit you, you can remove the palmrest of the laptop and remove the clips properly. You can even tape them indide the computer so you don't lose them.

Man, 7 pages! I'm glad I revived this month-long dead thread back in the begining!

-Doc

I need one. PMed to qj.xi, no answer so far
Anyone have spare box to sell ?

He will get back to you, I think...he's a real nice guy from what I can tell...it is indeed a pain in the ass there's no where to order these stupid things outside China, though...

Hey guy,
Today i found one box in local store for $30. It is this thing:



I removed the front + left + right + back bezels, i swear it looks exactly like this:



Put my 2nd hitachi in, slided it in my dvd bay, it perfectly fitted.
Restarted and ... 9300 didn't recognize

There are 3 possibilities:

1) That box is broken, they gave me a bent pin box first, i asked another one. They said they haven't tested yet . Because it's lunch time, i don't have a chance to test a 2nd box.
2) That box is not the same as those we are using.
3) Newest bios ver A04 is designed to recognize only dvd drive.

Just for sure to try 2nd times, could you please tell me what bios version you are using ?

(qj.xi still haven't read my PM)

It can't be #3, because I use the A04 BIOS as well...Just make sure the connector at the back of the adapter is the SAME as the connector at the back of the DVD drive...they should look exactly alike and line up perfectly when you stack one on top of the other...then, when you slide it in, make sure you're making good contact...that is, if the BIOS just doesn't SEE the drive, it's likely either because the drive is not connected OR not connected PROPERLY (you reversed the pin direction on one device or the other)...

If it's the first case, you just have to wiggle and push until you feel the connection being made...it should be very very close just sliding it in there if it's the same adapter I have, because everything was lined up perfectly anyhow...you SHOULD NOT be able to slide the adapter in and out with your finger once it's in place...it should be TIGHT...

If it's the second case, just make certain you have the Hard Drive placed into the adapter correctly...I'm sure the LABEL side of the HD should be facing UP when you slide the adapter into the machine, so make sure that is the case...make sure the connection between the DRIVE and the ADAPTER is good...all pins are sliding in all the way, etc. Also, be sure the drive DOES NOT have a jumper on any of the pins...you don't want to specifiy that this drive is MASTER or SLAVE...just let the BIOS take care of that on its own automatically...good luck, and keep reporting back!

BTW, where the hell do you live that you just walked into a store and bought one of these things whereas I had to send away to China? What store was it, like BestBuy or something, or a little Mom & Pop computer store on the corner?

There is NO REASON the 9300 should not act just like the XPS2 in this respect...you should theoretically be successful if you keep trying stuff...you're doing the right thing to test it, anyway...keep jumping into the BIOS setup screen (F2, I think) and checking the drives there, because if the BIOS don't see it, WindowsXP don't have a chance...

Today i give it a second try. A box is pushed in, don't recognize
Ask for another one, still silent
3rd box, silent, pull it out, smash it, yay, 2nd hdd appear
Those cheapo boxes are some of the worst i ever seen, i can't push my hdd for a tight fit. But at least one of them can work.
After find out that 2 metal clips make removal annoying, i have an idea
With a saw, a glue gun and some plastic rails, my box can be easily remove like a true IBM ultraslim bay

A box in position:


Left rail with pull out handle


Right rail


Conclusion: you can use a ibm ultraslim style box as an 2nd hdd adapter for your i9300 IF the backside connector can be removed.
PS: i'm living in Saigon, VN.

The pictures you posted aren't coming through on my end, for some reason...can you repost them somewhere else? Some public picture-display site or something? Your idea sounds really interesting and worthwhile, and I'd like to give it a try, but the pictures are necessary!!

Thanks and congrats on making it work!

hammermd

My image host is photobucket.com. Look like the blackout problem affects your ISP