X220: mSATA not possible with i7 and USB3.0

[Pintu]

Hello Community,

decided to start a new thread as all the X220 drive threads get a bit messy. Basically the issue is: my supplier just contacted me to tell me that they cannot get the X220 with i7 and mSATA to work.

He suspects that the i7 board wires the the mini Express card socket to USB, while the i5 is a proper PCI Express connection.

Does anyone has more information about this? There is absolute no information about this from Lenovo.

[Engmus]

Thats extremely incorrect.

I have an I7 2620, with USB 3.0 and an MSATA drive installed, works perfectly.

[Pintu]

Interesting. They tested different mSATAs, different laptops and different BIOS versions and none worked. Which mSATA and Bios are you using? Can you give me the model number of yours please?

[Engmus]

Sure, heres my basic configuration.

Inte I7 2620m
8gb DDR3 Kingston HyperX 1866mghz
Intel X25-E 64gb SSD (OS)
Intel 310 Soda-Creek 80gb Mini-Sata Drive
Intel HD 3000 Graphics
Intel Wireless\WIMAX 6250 2x2 Configuration
720p Webcam
IPS HD Screen
9 Cell Battery
Windows 7 X64 Enterprise
---
Specific Model of the MSATA
"SSDMAEMC080G2C1"

Bios Revision 1.15
(Although it worked on 1.12 as well)

[Engmus]

It should be mentioned that they should have the latest Intel RIST driver installed...

http://downloadcenter.intel.com/Deta...adType=Drivers

Also that the drive comes unformatted and not partitioned so it wont appear in "My Computer"

They would have to access the "administrative tools" go to disk management and configure the drive for first time use.

[Pintu]

Thanks a lot. Do you have the Laptop model number as well? Something like 4290-XXX?

[Pintu]

They are selling the i5 with mSATAs without any problems, so I guess they know what they do. The problem is that it's not even recognized by the Bios.

[Engmus]

4286CT Was on my Invoice.

[Engmus]

Thats a strange and new issue, im sure others with the I7 will chime in.

[Pintu]

Their base is 4290...I wonder if that's the problem. That would be really strange.