This Failing SSD had a Secret!

I was installing Windows XP on a Sony Vaio PCG-FR825P (a real chunky boi!) and I kept running into issues - turned out the OWC Mercury Legacy Pro SSD I was installing it onto was failing :(

I swapped it out with a 80GB 2.5-inch old-school mechanical IDE hard drive to get the machine running, and I next turned my attention to the SSD itself… Since I had nothing to lose, I thought I’d take a look inside, and after removing four small Phillips-head screws, it turned out to have a bit of a secret! Inside was a tiny bridge from IDE to a very low-profile version of SATA called Micro connector, and so the SSD itself is presumably replaceable…

I have ordered a couple of things and will try swapping out the SATA SSD portion, hopefully the replacement will mean I can still make use of this case/bridge, the IDE bridge it uses has been quite reliable and compatible with vintage machines.

Currently listening: Jellati - “underwater JUNGLE DNB 🌊🦑 a jungle drum and bass mix”

Jonathan Wrigley @workswellforme