Here’s what I am attempting to achieve with my old laptop:
remove the WiFi card from the mini PCIe slot
↓
add a mini PCIe extension cable (30 cm of flexible flat cable)
↓
add a nimi PCIe-to-M.2 NVMe adapter (10 cm of flexible flat cable)
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add an M.2 NVMe SSD to use as data drive
PARTS:
mini PCIe extension:
newegg_com/p/1W7-0006-00008
(just add the https and www and replace the underscore with the dot)
mini PCIe to M2 NVMe adapter:
ebay_ca/itm/203220400568
(just add the https and www and replace the underscore with the dot)
and finally SSD:
amazon_ca/Blue-SN550-500GB-NVMe-Internal/dp/B07YFF3JCN/
(just add the https and www and replace the underscore with the dot)
QUESTIONS:
Do you foresee any noise or interference issues that could affect stability/reliability/data integrity/performance?
Do you think those ribbon cables are shielded or not?
That sounds a legit, but janky solution; Like Apple plugging a dongle into a dongle into a dongle… might limit the throughput though? I presume it would only expose one or two pcie lanes?
And does the socket work as a normal pcie socket, or only hard wired for wifi by the motherboard?
Those are pcie gen 2 slots and nvme is gen3 afaik. It should work but you will only get 0.5gb per lane so an x4 m.2 will run at maximum speed of 2GB/s, still way ahead of any sata disk.
I love the idea and can’t wait to see the results!
That is, instead of using both miniPCIe extender AND miniPCIe-to-M.2 NVMe converter, I’ll use only the latter. So, less cabling, less connections, less mess.
Only, since it would not be long enough to reach the only free spot inside of the laptop body, I will cut a fissure open through the bottom hull of the laptop, have the flat ribbon cable get out of it and, in some way, screw a plastic casing externally, under the laptop’s bottom, where I will rest the NVMe and the rest of the ribbon cable partially folded.
I will then replace the very short, sticky, gummy feets of the laptop, located in the 4 corners, with 4 thicker gummy gripper pads that will keep the laptop lifted enough to allow the placement of the SSD underneath it.
I have already checked, and the central area of the bottom of the laptop, corresponding to the mPCIe slot and where I would place the SSD, has neither vital parts internally, nor air vents. It’s just plain full plastic. I can cut it and also drill 4 holes for screws, even more than 4.
My problem is not the SSD size. The problem is reaching the empty spot in the laptop that is the only spot that can host an SSD, whether it is a 2230 or a 2280. So, even with a 2230, the ribbon cable of the mPCIe-to-NVMe adapter would not be long enough to reach that spot
miniPCIexpress slot (where was the WiFi card) → miniPCIe-to-M.2 NVMe adapter → M.2 NVMe SSD (Western Digital 500 GB):
It works!
if I add a miniPCIexpress extension ribbon between the slot and the adapter, it does NOT work. Symptoms:
• Disk Management “sees” the SSD and can create the GPT partition. But when trying to format it, format fails (NTFS)
• Removed the extension ribbon, plugged via adapter directly, formatted the drive, then shut down the PC again and added again the extension ribbon: Windows sees the formatted drive, the free space, the occupied space, but it has no use. Crystal Disk Mark gives 0 KB/sec speed in all tests, it does not work either.
Conclusion:
The miniPCIexpress extension cable sucks LOL
The extension would have allowed me to seat everything in an empty corner of the laptop. Without extension cable I have no way to keep the drive internally. Therefore, I cut a window through the bottom of the laptop’s case and I’ll let the ribbon and SSD slite outside, on the bottom, then cover them with some sort of added thin hollow shell… And will raise the feet of the laptop, so its central added shell won’t “touch” the desk.
I haven’t tried what you ask, but it would be hardly possible, as to get out of the motherboard the ribbon cable should still cross at least half of it…
Unless I bend it and drive it to go to the battery and then get out of it… what do you think? Thanks
I’m trying to source an FFP or FFC ribbon cable like the one of the miniPCI Express-to-NVMe adapter that works alone but is too short, so that I can replace it with a longer one without needing the miniPCI Express extension that jeopardizes its functioning, but I find it impossible. I checked TONS of websites and pages on AliExpress, eBay, Amazon, Newegg, etc… I only find those 20cm and 30cm FFP ribbon cables for A/E Key adapters (M.2 slot but for SATA or WiFi cards only, not for NVMe SSDs), but I can’t find a ‘full’ “Key M” one…
The connectivity issues could be signal integrity due to stuff like impedance mismatched cables (ribbon cable is probably generic cable not specifically made for pcie signals).