Lenovo Thinkpad T420 Laptop Upgrade - RAM, SSD, and Dual Hardrives

2019 UPDATE: Recommended 2.5" SATA III SSD: https://amzn.to/2Vg0sfo

Here are the upgrades I made to my Lenovo Thinkpad T420.  I'm sure this voids the warranty so check with Lenovo if you are concerned about that.  

This is part of a larger article:
http://www.speakerfeature.com/learn/c...
Please check the link for specific hardware used

I installed a clean version of Windows 7 and the OEM serial number still worked.

Restart time went from 67 to 27 seconds and cold startup is now 18 seconds to ready!

The following article does a great job of explaining the hardware drivers included on your laptop if you want to pick and choose what to re-install after a clean windows 7 installation:
http://support.lenovo.com/en_US/detai...

NOTE: I'm not sure if these techniques work for the T420s or not, please research sizes if you have a T420s

9.5mm rubber rails:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Hard-Drive-Ru...

Windows 7 Download info (if you don't have DVD):
http://social.technet.microsoft.com/F...

Official Lenovo HDD Caddy (T420 and T520):
http://support.lenovo.com/en_US/produ...

NOTE: according to learc83 (thanks) the T430 can only fit 7.0mm SSDs (I'd assume T530 is the same) so please call Lenovo or look up the max size before you buy your SSD.  Obviously T420 can still support 9.5mm height

Zenthenium - Here is the link to the song if you'd like it:
http://www.speakerfeature.com/audio/S...

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