Super Talent 1.8-Inch 256 GB DuraDrive ZT2 ZIF Solid State Drive (MLC) FZM56GW18P

Researched various replacement hard drives in the 1.8 inch format with the ZIF interface to install into a Dell Latitude D430 to run Windows 7 64-bit. The available "spindle platter" drives were too slow in RPMs and did not have enough capacity. Focused on the available and affordable Solid State Drives (SSD).Dell is very proud of their SSD drive - so proud - that it drove me to visit the Super Talent web site and review the detailed specifications of the 256GB FZM56GW18P SSD. Now convinced that this could be a very good choice, the purchase was made from Amazon.As with all static sensitive electronics, especially memory based products, always use a grounding wrist strap connected to a cold water pipe for a solid ground while handling these products! If you don't have a grounding wrist strap, keep a bare foot placed onto a convenient cold water side of the fawcet or copper pipe to ground yourself. Search for these things using [...]The new SSD installation was very easy. Recommend having a magnifying glass for the ZIF connector. Before removing the old hard disk, pay close attention to the orientation of the 40 pin pinout - note which is pin #1 and which is pin #40.The Dell BIOS version A09 recognized the new SSD drive as a 240GB drive (I figure 16GB is reserved by the manufacturer for the remapping of potential/future bad spots).Booted the Windows 7 64-bit SP1 installation DVD from an external CD/DVD drive connected through a USB port.The new SSD drive is very FAST! Very pleased with the performance of this SSD! Much faster than the original Toshiba MK8009GAH 80GB 4200RPM. Have been running several days without any problems with it fully loaded up with all of our licensed software and digital music files. Breathed whole new life into this older model, smaller footprint Dell D430.Highly recommend this Super Talent 256GB FZM56GW18P SSD for running Windows 7 on these older notebook computers.Review Update - May 8, 2014:This is a followup, 3 months later update, on the Super Talent 256GB FZM56GW18P SSD that I installed into a Dell Latitude D430 running Windows 7 64-bit Home Premium SP1. I love it!Purchased from Amazon - I had to replace the battery, which I also bought through Amazon.com, which shipped from and was sold by BrainyDeal - 9 Cell Laptop Battery for Dell Latitude D420 Latitude D430 SeriesPurchased from Amazon - D-Link 16 Port Gigabit Switch GDS-1016AAlso, I rebuilt my entire home network, both the wired and the wireless network, to bring the wired ethernet up to 1 Gigabit speed. Used CAT6 ethernet wire throughout. Made up all of my own terminations with CAT6 RJ-45 connectors with all drops being direct homeruns into a 16 Port D-Link Gigabit Switch (GDS-1016A). All WiFi connections have been configured as secure, and they all use the same WPS passcode phrase as my as my AT&T Uverse 2WIRE 3800HGV-B router gateway.Purchased from Amazon - D-Link DAP-1525 Access Point with 4 Gigabit portsI added one D-Link DAP-1525 Access Point Wireless/Dual Band WiFi/SmartBeam Technology with 4 Gigabit ports. This device works in either Bridge mode (not desired), or Access Point mode (desired) at 2.4GHz or 5.0 GHz, but not both 2.4 and 5.0 simultaneously. I selected the 2.4GHz Access Point mode since most of my devices (iPhones and computer WiFi) can connect to my SSID when it is setup at 2.4GHz. On the D-Link DAP-1525, I was able to configure the SSID using the exact same SSID name as my AT&T Uverse 2WIRE 3800HGV-B, so roaming is seamless. Setup of the D-Link DAP-1525 is not for the faint of heart. The Dell D430 came in very handy to be able to quickly change the computer to a static IP Address and subnet to be on the same subnet as the D-Link DAP-1525 factory settings. Once I changed the D-Link DAP-1525 to a static IP within the same subnet as my AT&T Uverse 2WIRE 3800HGV-B router gateway, life was good again.Purchased from Amazon - Amped APA20 Access Point 2.4GHz + 5.0GHz 700mW with 4 Gigabit portsI added two Amped APA20 Access Points that operate simultaneously at 2.4GHz and 5.0GHz. Do not confuse this APA20 Access Point with the Amped REA20 Wireless High Power 700mW Dual Band AC Wi-Fi Range Extender, which is actually a bridge. The APA20 must be configured with their own unique SSID for each frequency. The client devices might, or might not, connect to the closest SSID that has the strongest WiFi signal, which makes for not really true seamless roaming, but close enough. The setup of each of the Amped APA20 was extremely easy.I configured each SSID on both the DAP-1525 and the APA20's to be on separate non-overlapping channels.Everything has been flawless! Very pleased! Great and affordable prices.My hope is that these reviews will be beneficial to the readers in order to help them to make informed decisions while deciding their purchases.

Partly on the strength of an earlier positive review describing these as "Ipod friendly," I bought TWO of them and had them professionally installed in a pair of Generation 5.5 Ipods modified for audiophile use by Red Wine Audio.From the beginning, both "Imods" had serious issues. Gapless playback of Apple Lossless files frequently failed, with resulting multi-second silences between tracks. What's worse, such multi-second silences increasingly showed up at random in the middle of tracks. Eventually, I couldn't get through more than about five minutes of music without interruption.And then it started taking about twenty seconds for any track to start.Finally, after a month or two of light use, the first SSD flat-lined. Totally dead, totally non-responsive. The second lasted for another month or two - but now it, too, has died.As I write, I am listening to some of the very same Apple Lossless files on an old Generation 5 Ipod with its original 30 GB hard drive - and they play without a hitch. No gaps either within or between tracks.So if you're thinking of buying this SSD because you think that it will give you faster and/or more reliable performance than the average hard disc drive, I strongly advise you to think again.Either SSD technology isn't ready for prime time, or SuperTalent isn't ready for prime time, or both.Update: Not only does "Super Talent" sell a hopelessly crappy product - they also offer the worst "customer service" on Earth. When (not if) your SDD dies, they will go out of their way to ignore you, and then to insult you, and, finally, absolutely to refuse to help you.DO NOT - DO NOT - DO NOT EVEN THINK ABOUT BUYING ANYTHING FROM THESE GUYS, EVER.

I've been using the 256 GB version in an iPod Video 5G (60 GB original) for over a year now without any issues. I use it in my car so it's used two hours a day, five days a week in Michigan. It had no issues over the winter.It works better than the 500 GB mSATAs I've tried in iPod 5.5G (Samsung EVO 840, Crucial m550). I'm having power issues with the mSATAs. If the battery capacity goes down, the iPod won't start up, even plugged into a power source. (I disconnect the mSATA while recharging the battery to fix it.) I've replaced the battery, but that didn't fix the issue for me. I've never had that issue with the Super Talent. It's been pretty reliable for me.I think a 256 GB CF card would also work (I've only tried 128 GB), and are cheaper than this SSD. That wasn't the case when I bought the Super Talent. That's probably what I would today if I wanted around 256 GB.I run the standard iPod software on ALAC music files. The 256 GB formats to around 238 GB, and mine is almost full (hence the desire to try the bigger mSATAs).Also note that you'll probably need the back cover for a 60 or 80 GB iPod video to fit this drive in the iPod.

I upgraded my Dell Latitude D430 laptop from 64GB to 256GB using this drive. So far everything works perfectly.To change the drive, you have to detach the PATA ZIF ribbon cable from the old drive. There's a fingernail-sized black hinge that you have to lift up in order to unlock the cable from the old drive. Search for the Dell D430 service manual (available online) which has all the steps.

Put one of these in my audiophile modified IPod (red wine audio version) and now I have a 256gb iPod that sounds amazing. Love it!