How I Expanded My Lenovo M920s Storage Without Breaking the Bank

Make Room for More HDDs in Your Lenovo M920s with Simple Modifications

If you’ve got a Lenovo M920s like I do, you might have noticed the limited room for internal hard drives. When I found out that it’s possible to create more space by removing the CD drive and adding extra HDDs, I was all in. This little tweak made a big difference for my storage needs without turning into a full overhaul.

Why Consider a Lenovo M920s HDD Upgrade?

The Lenovo M920s is a solid little desktop with decent specs like an i5-8500 CPU consuming around 8 watts at idle. It’s compact, energy-efficient, and quite capable. But when it comes to storage, the options can feel tight, especially if you’re working with lots of files, media, or backups. That’s where upgrading the HDD setup becomes really handy.

Removing the CD Drive: First Step to More Storage

The easiest way I found to add more HDD space was to remove the CD drive. This step frees up room for not just one, but two additional hard drives. The challenge then becomes how to securely mount these new drives inside the case, which wasn’t designed with the extra HDD slots in mind.

Finding or Making a 3D Printed Mounting Solution

I looked around for 3D printed mounting brackets or designs others have shared for this exact purpose. Several community forums and DIY sites offer free designs you can download and print yourself. If you’re comfortable with 3D printing, this can be an affordable and precise way to get the mounts you need.

If 3D printing isn’t your thing, you can also sometimes find aftermarket metal or plastic mounting kits that fit similarly when the CD drive bay is vacant. Just make sure they’re compatible with the Lenovo M920s dimensions.

Other Ideas for Expanding Storage

Beyond mounting solutions, external storage options can also supplement your setup if internal space is maxed out. For example, a USB 3.0 external HDD enclosure or network-attached storage (NAS) might work well, although they won’t have quite the same speed or convenience as internal drives.

Final Thoughts on the Lenovo M920s HDD Upgrade

Upgrading the storage on the Lenovo M920s is a great way to extend the life and usefulness of this small but mighty machine. By carefully removing the CD drive and adding your own HDD mounts, you’ll have plenty more space to work with. Just take your time, double-check compatibility, and enjoy the extra storage without a heavy investment.

For official Lenovo specs and more on your M920s, check out Lenovo’s support page. If you’re interested in 3D printing your mounting brackets, explore Thingiverse for a community of makers sharing designs. And for HDD basics and best practices, Western Digital’s info site is a solid go-to.

Happy upgrading!