240GB mSata in iRiver H320

[DustyTill]

Hi, you said that the Toshiba THNSNH256GMCT is the most recomandable drive, but on this website it says it's a 2.5 inch drive : http://www.span.com/product/Toshiba-HG5d-mSATA-SSD-THNSNH256GMCT-MiniSATA-6Gb-256GB-SSD~39993. So if it is, how could it fit ? Thanks

[michaelbowe]

Hi DustyTill. To clarify, I said that I had good success with that mSATA drive, and that I had problems with the Mushkin 240GB drive. On that basis I recommend that if you want to upgrade to a large capacity solid state drive then you can purchase the Toshiba.

The site you have linked to starts with a description of the THNSNH256 family of drives. The problem is that it doesn't  make that clear and on first reading, you would naturally assume that this is a 2.5" drive. You are quite correct - if it is a 2.5" drive it would not fit.

It is not.

There are two drives in the same family that are available as 2.5" format BUT the one I recommend is an mSATA drive format ( THNSNH256GMCT)

The bottom of the linked page you cite has the physical dimensions of the drive:

Form factor   mSATA-Module
Height   3.95 mm
Width   30 mm
Depth   50.95 mm

If you have a look at the photo of the assembled connectors I put on my last post you will see that it will fit and with plenty of space to spare.

Tonight I will pull my iRiver back cover of and send a photo of the mSATA in place. *Done* As you can see, it is an understatement to say that it fits with ease.

I appreciate that you are concerned; these drives are far from cheap.

[juanpa74]

Thanks so much michaelbowe.
I live in the USA I checked the price of the Toshiba THNSNH256GMCT and could only found them on ebay for $299.
Also in amazon.de for 188 euros ($257).
I was looking for equivalents.
I saw these ones on amazon.com:
Crucial CT240M500SSD3 $119
Lite On Plextor M5M $159
Samsung MZ-MTE250BW $145
Also there is this Crucial M500 480GB mSATA Internal Solid State Drive CT480M500SSD3 $220

Do you think these are equivalents to your Toshiba and will work? Not sure what specs I need to look at but
I was reding this topic "iRiver iHP-1X0 mSATA SSD drive mod"
Here http://forums.rockbox.org/index.php/topic,42704.msg227802.html#msg227802
the OP says:
"This is an update. The mSATA drives described below work with the iHP-120 player using Rockbox and the mSATA to ZIF adapter described before:

1. Crucial M500 240GB mSATA drive (cat. no. CT240M500SSD3)*
2. Crucial M500 480GB mSATA drive (cat. no. CT480M500SSD3)*
3. MyDigitalSSD 240GB mSATA drive (cat. no. MDMS-BP4-240)

*Note: I do not have the low power issue that I had with the Crucial m4 256GB mSATA drive (cat. no. CT256M4SSD3). "

Thanks.

I will come back with results if I decide to take the risk.

[michaelbowe]

Yes, I just saw the same results for the iRiver iHP-1X0 mSata cards as well. Very interesting. I would be very surprised if the cards found to be successful for that model did not work on the H300 series. However, there is only one way to find out for sure.

Meanwhile I posted elsewhere that I had success with the Samsung SSD 840 EVO MZ-MTE120BW mSATA  120GB as well. On the basis of that, I went ahead and purchased its 1 TB big brother. Unfortunately I won't be able to report on success or failure until it is brought to me by hand carriage. I'm currently in a South East Asian country where the mail system/customs are such that I wouldn't risk it. The card should arrive later this month and I'll post my results.

Fingers crossed.

[juanpa74]

I can confirm Crucial M500 240GB mSATA drive (cat. no. CT240M500SSD3)
WORKS on my iRiver H340.
I was making the mistake of trying to format the mSATA drive using a ZIF to USB adaptor I had in the house similar to this http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00FHI3CTG/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_S_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=2FJ04XRTBDC3C&coliid=I26BO8ZH06O7K5

That was driving me crazy giving me errors recognizing the drive or freezing while formatting.

It is so much easier. Just use the iRiver (assuming you already had rockbox running on it on your previous drive or maybe that is not even necessary) .
1. Connect the mSATA drive with the mSATA to ZIF adapter.
2. Then use the ZIF to PATA adapter to plug it to the H340.
3. Plug the H340 to the computer USB and turn it on.
4. Format the drive with Windows in NTFS and assign a letter to it.
5. Format the drive to FAT32 [I used 32K cluster size (allocation unit size) not sure which size is recommended] (I used this software: http://www.ridgecrop.demon.co.uk/index.htm?fat32format.htm ).
6. Use the Rockbox Utility to download and install rockbox.
7. Copy some music files.
8. Disconnect and unplug.
9. Turn on your iRiver H3240 !! :-)
10. Enjoy!

I will return and comment if something doesn't work.

I USED:
Crucial M500 240GB mSATA drive (cat. no. CT240M500SSD3) $120 on Amazon at the moment:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00BQ8RKT4/ref=oh_details_o02_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
mSATA SSD to 40 Pin ZIF Adapter Card $20 on Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B009BA5JU6/ref=oh_details_o06_s00_i01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[geokite]

Is the 340 really big on the inside?  2" long drive, plus the 62mm long adaptor.  I only have H1X0 units, that would not come close to fitting inside my player.

Must be something I'm missing.

Steve

[michaelbowe]

I think that the thing you may not be getting is that the mSata card fits on top of the adapter which is much larger than the SSD. The whole thing is much smaller than the Toshiba 1.8" HD it replaces. Fully assembled, the new set-up is only as large as the adapter plus the ZIF connector. Have another look  the photo above.
Cheers

[geokite]

Ahh, Got it!  Thanks so much!

Steve

[geokite]

Ahh, one more thing, one needs to also have a zif to 50 pin ide  adaptor like at
http://www.ebay.com/itm/40-Pin-ZIF-to-50-Pin-1-8-Inch-CF-Toshiba-HDD-Adapter-/261233119880?_trksid=p2054897.l4275

Steve

EDIT: On the minus side, I should have re-read the whole thread, as this was explained on page one.  On the plus side, I just ordered a 512gb SSD for my H140, the Samsung MZMTD512HAGL on ebay for under $200.  I'll report back how it works. 

The zif to msata adaptor is 6.1mm thick, so I don't think this type of mod should go in a H120 case.  The original hard drive was 4.8mm thick, and that was without the larger 2200mAh batteries.

[michaelbowe]

Are you sure about the hight of the adapter? I make it 3.8 mm only. With the mounted SSD it comes to about 5 mm.

[geokite]

It could just be the adapter I got off ebay.  I'll get another one, like the one on amazon, and see if there is a difference.

Steve

[bpfiguer]

Ahh, one more thing, one needs to also have a zif to 50 pin ide  adaptor like at
http://www.ebay.com/itm/40-Pin-ZIF-to-50-Pin-1-8-Inch-CF-Toshiba-HDD-Adapter-/261233119880?_trksid=p2054897.l4275

Steve

EDIT: On the minus side, I should have re-read the whole thread, as this was explained on page one.  On the plus side, I just ordered a 512gb SSD for my H140, the Samsung MZMTD512HAGL on ebay for under $200.  I'll report back how it works. 

The zif to msata adaptor is 6.1mm thick, so I don't think this type of mod should go in a H120 case. The original hard drive was 4.8mm thick, and that was without the larger 2200mAh batteries.

The ZIF to 50 pin IDE adaptor listed above (you need to bend the flexible part) + mSATA SSD + ZIF to mSATA adaptor + Cameron Sino 2200mA battery fit inside a iHP-120 player.

[geokite]

I originally bought the zif-mSATA adaptor at http://tinyurl.com/pyabolu ; I guess it is thicker than other zif-mSATA adaptors, because I remeasured it and it is 6.1mm thick, which I can't see fitting when the original HD was 4.8mm.  Haven't put the SSD into it to see if there is any additional thickness when installed.  Descriptions often mention the form factor of the SSD that fits these is 3.8mm thick, which only leaves about an additional 1mm for the circuit board and black connection piece at one end.

You previously stated that it all did not fit inside a H120, then stated it did.  What changed from your first attempt stated at http://forums.rockbox.org/index.php/topic,42704.msg217925.html#msg217925

Thanks
Steve

[michaelbowe]

I originally bought the zif-mSATA adaptor at http://tinyurl.com/pyabolu ; I guess it is thicker than other zif-mSATA adaptors, because I remeasured it and it is 6.1mm thick

I'm a little confused. I followed this link and it too says that the thickness of the adapter is 3.8mm. These adapters are probably all coming from the same place. As you measured it to be 6.1 mm I assume that you must have used a micrometer or vernier caliper? Anyway, I suggest that you screw the SSD onto the adapter and put it into your player to see if it is too tight. It won't be. The combination of adapter and piggy-backed SSD is the same thickness of the original Toshiba drive

[geokite]

The description of these adapters states that the form factor of the SSD is 3.8mm thick, not the adapter itself.  I measured the 512gb SSD I got, about 3.75mm thick (yes, with metric calipers).  Total thickness was 6.25mm with the SSD installed in the adapter.  This went into a H140 case with a new 2200 battery (that's always fun...).  Added some thin foam padding to protect the circuit board and cushion things.

With the CF mod (type 1 card), it was a tight fit in my H120 case, and this is about 1mm thicker than that.  Maybe it will fit in my H120, but I'd rather not risk puncturing the battery.

I ordered the adapter from Amazon that was referenced, I'll see if it is thinner.  That can hopefully go in my H120 case.

Also, what version of rockbox are you using, and what bootloader have you flashed the player with?  I've read that 7pre4 works, but a 'ver6' of the bootloader also works.  After formatting the 512gb SSD last night in a usb drive (NTFS, then FAT32, quick formats for both), rockbox was giving me ata-11 error, then ata-32 error.  Might it be the version of rockbox on the SSD and the bootloader?

Thanks so much for your help and input.  I think we can get another 10 years on these players

Steve

EDIT: Just got the msata-zif adaptor from the amazon link in the mail; same thickness as what I bought off ebay for half the price, 6.1mm. 

EDIT#2: My issue with the ATA-11 error turned out to be a faulty connection with the mSATA zif adaptor.  It worked fine in an external USB hard drive box, but the iriver could never see the drive.  The adaptor bought from amazon had a much tighter zif connection, and worked just fine. 

EDIT#3: Feeling stupid, forgot about the zif lock latch...