Problem with non-ThinkPad hard disks

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Problem Description

When replacing the system disk with one that is not a ThinkPad option designed for the specific model, the BIOS will display an "Error 2010" warning during every boot. The system may still boot successfully, but may be unreliable or slow.

Affected Models

Affected Operating Systems

The reliability and performance issues depend on the operating system. They have been reported for Windows. It is not clear to what degree Linux is susceptible.

Status

The error is displayed when the system drive is not one of the few approved disks listed inside the BIOS. It cannot be disabled, and may indicate a real problem.

These systems have a SATA disk controller, and employ a SATA-to-PATA bridge in order to use PATA (IDE) drives. It is rumored that this bridge requires changes in the drive firmware, and the BIOS checks for this adapted firmware.

There are no such limitations for disks used in the UltraBay Slim 2nd Hard Drive Adapter.

Solutions

Use dedicated ThinkPad option parts

Use a ThinkPad-branded option drive listed as designed for your specific ThinkPad Model.

Upgrade the drive firmware

Upgrade the disk drive firmware to one that is compatible with your ThinkPad models. This seems to be applicable only to a few IBM/Hitachi drives -- most drives do not have such upgrades, and some manufacturers have refused to adapt their firmware to the limitations of ThinkPad systems.

Drives that work out of the box

  • Seagate ST9120821A (120GB 5400RPM)
  • Seagate Momentus 7200.1 ST980825A (80GB 7200RPM) on T43 with BIOS 1.23
  • Seagate Momentus 7200.1 ST910021A (100GB 7200RPM)
  • Fujitsu MHV2100AH (100GB 5400RPM) on T43 with BIOS 1.23
ATTENTION!
Even drives with identical part numbers may carry firmware with different compatibility status, so do not blindly rely on this list.

Drives that will work after a firmware update

Note that Windows is necessary for the firmware update, but may not boot before the firmware update is applied. Therefore a second machine or an Ultrabay HDD adapter may be required for the update.

Drives which produce an error and not known to have working firmware

  • Hitachi HTS541010M9AT00 (100GB 5400RPM)
  • Hitachi DJSA-220
  • Hitachi HTS726060M9AT00
  • Seagate ST9100823A (100GB 5400RPM)

The following drives have firmware updates, but the firmware update software has been reported to refuse updates for no obvious reason:

  • Hitachi HTS548080M9AT00 (80GB 5400RPM)
  • Hitachi HTS541080G9AT00
  • Toshiba MK4019GAX (40GB 5400RPM)

It has been reported that for Hitachi drives, firmware update is possible only with drives manufactured for IBM. Other Hitachi drives may use PROM instead of EPROM for the firmware and thus cannot be updated.

Use an Ultrabay adapter

Instead of using the drive as the system drive, use it through an UltraBay Slim HDD Adapter (or the equivalent for your system or docking station).

BIOS downgrade

"TellIT systems" is claiming that a BIOS downgrade will solve the problem. However, the instructions they provide (which, incidentally, copy portions of this page in violation of copyright) actually point to embedded controller firmware, which appears completely unrelated to the problem. No independent reports of success using this method are known. If you have further information, please post it in the discussion page.

Links

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