yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Eee Pad Transformer General] RAMBO29:
I do not understand why any one wants to discourage modification. If an idiot don't like it, don't do it and be paranoid. Even a root is a modification.

There are many others who wants to do it. So if there is nothing constructive to add, don't thread crap.

Good work by the person who did this.
[Eee Pad Transformer General] scirio:
Did you paint the back plate of your Transformer? It looks black.

...I plasti-dip-sprayed mine. :D
[Eee Pad Transformer General] cheve:
I think power lipo cells can be un-safe and I would not want one set in a dock. The standard battery are the li-ion...no???.
[Eee Pad Transformer General] brando56894:
That's an awesome mod, but I'm with the other guys you should have gone with an SSD. Get one thats like 2 or 3 years old, theyre relatively cheap., but you take a hit in the capacity.
[Eee Pad Transformer General] goodintentions:
No. Once I put in on off switch power drain and heat will become a nonissue.
[Eee Pad Transformer General] goodintentions:
Yay, I just received the switch today. Was right on my door step when I came home just now. Will put it in first thing in the morning. I already know how to put it in. Woohoo!

Added by edit.

Damn it, just tested this out. The switch is defective.
[Eee Pad Transformer General] RAMBO29:
Dont worry, you can do it^^
[Eee Pad Transformer General] goodintentions:
Screw it, I'm going out to radio shack tomorrow to get a tiny switch.

Added by edit.

Hm... already got several emails from people asking to do the mod for them. Didn't really expect anyone to ask me to mutilate their dock.

How much should I charge for this task? Since I'm not really in this business, I have no idea how much the usual fee for something like this is. Please help?
[Eee Pad Transformer General] knoxploration:
Ask whatever makes it feel worthwhile to you. You're not a charity, and if people aren't willing to pay what you feel is worth your time, then they can always have a go at it themselves. ;-)
[Eee Pad Transformer General] goodintentions:
Thanks. I'll charge $5,000,000 for each mod.
[Eee Pad Transformer General] spartanzz:
yeah i would like to see how much you would charge to do this. Im trading my laptop for a transformer soon so i will be getting the dock soon as well. But, would like to have a full write-up on this preferably because iv had a good bit of experience with soldering tiny points. So, on that aspect would like to do it myself but i like to have a set of pictures cuz i tend to forget things very easily >.<
[Eee Pad Transformer General] knoxploration:
I'll take two. ;-)
[Eee Pad Transformer General] Bob Smith42:
This has low power draw, 64GB, and can be easily converted to USB.

Samsung Thin 64GB 1.8" SSD MLC

These SSD are about half the power use of a moving 1.8 inch drive, which I assume is less than 2.5 inch drive. These SSD might work great.

Thoughts?
[Eee Pad Transformer General] SwiftLegend:
If I were you,

Labor charges:

$15-25 for adding a hard drive of your choice.

$15-25 for adding a battery (not sure how hard this is)

+ additional costs for equipment

Keyboard docks could either be purchased by you, or sent to you with everything they want install (battery, HDD)

Or to prevent all of the headaches, maybe write up a nice descriptive guide and sell it for a few bucks.
[Eee Pad Transformer General] goodintentions:
SUCCESS!

So, I just added in a tiny switch to turn on and off the hard drive. Here are some pictures. Those of you who want to do this mod, glean what you can from the pictures :)
[Eee Pad Transformer General] goodintentions:
Here are the full size photos for those interested to learn about this and try out the mod.

Again, if you're going to attempt this you do it at your own risk. I take no responsibility for your screw ups. All I know is everything works like a charm with my device. When the hdd is turned off, the usb port works 100%.

https://www.dropbox.com/gallery/38673648/1/mods?h=0122c8
[Eee Pad Transformer General] SwiftLegend:
You think it'd be possible to add speakers to the dock? I know it would require cutting holes for the speakers but I think it might be worth it :)
[Eee Pad Transformer General] goodintentions:
Nope, no room for speakers. Not with the stuff I have in there.

I don't care about speakers. I have my batteries, hard drive, and on/off switch. I don't care about anything else.

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to fit in another pack of batteries.
[Eee Pad Transformer General] SwiftLegend:
Scratch that, you don't think some of the ones here could fit? Maybe not in your dock, but in general.
[Eee Pad Transformer General] goodintentions:
Sure, you can fit them in, but not with the battery and hard drive. There's simply no more room for all of them.

But yes, if you simply want to add speakers, there's plenty of room for those.
[Eee Pad Transformer General] RAMBO29:
Good job!

People like you make life better.
[Eee Pad Transformer General] asdfuogh:
if you were gonna mod for a price.. i'd say you ought to charge at least $50 a mod... this looks painfully hard and it would probably require a lot of concentration when you break someone else's dock..
[Eee Pad Transformer General] Bob Smith42:
I disagree. When I take my brand name car into the dealership, they charge me $48-$68 to change one fluid level, plus cost of oil, radiator fluid, transmission fluid, etc. Of course, I complain, but the bar has been set.

I lose all respect for the OP if he charges anything less than $500 for doing this mod for someone. :p
[Eee Pad Transformer General] goodintentions:
I'm beginning to settle down to about $55 or so. The desoldering and resoldering do take a lot of concentration. Hands have to steady or there goes your dock.

Anyway, here is a video review of it. I'm sure some of you who are handy with your hands can figure out how to do this yourself. Good luck if you want to try.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=UC-QbPa_zXY
[Eee Pad Transformer General] kubeb:
Can you give us a link on which HD did you buy? Is it special addition for some MP3 player, or something standard?

Thanks
[Eee Pad Transformer General] Backwardsblade:
His youtube video focuses on the s/n and specific model of his harddrive. You should be able to pursue the same device through that route.
[Eee Pad Transformer General] kubeb:
SSD VS. Flashdrive

Can someone explain me in plain english, what is the diff between 64gb SSD and 64gb SDXC?

If I can put USB/ card reader inside and put 2-3 64gb SDXC this will mean less space and less power/heat.

Am I missing anyhing (except price ofcourse)?
[Eee Pad Transformer General] goodintentions:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001UHWHO4

Edit.

I might as well say it here.

If you want me to do this for you, you need to buy the hard drive (hdd or ssd, doesn't matter, make sure it's usb), send your dock and drive to me + $50 to $100 (whatever you can afford... yes I'm a communist :p ) via paypal + a return stamp. I'm still having doubts about doing this for other people, but I guess I'll try. I promise I will be extra careful with your stuff. Hit me a pm if you're interested. Also, you have to tell me if you want me to put in an on/off switch for you. I live 2 minutes from radio shack. If you do want the switch, add $2. And please if you're going to send me the keyboard dock, make sure you send me a functional one. I will test out every aspect of the dock before I do anything. If anything is wrong with it, I will send it right back to you. So please, do not try to scam me into buying you a replacement dock.

For those who are handy dandy with your hands, I'm sure there are now enough info in this thread for you to perform this mod yourself. Big congrats if you succeed. Hit us with pictures if you do get this to work. And as always, I take no responsibility if you screw up your keyboard dock.
[Eee Pad Transformer General] Bob Smith42:
The main difference is controller and performance. I think this SSD has a RAID type controller and faster performance for read/write. The SDXC is rated slower and (I believe) lacks a robust controller, but I could be wrong on SDXC. The controller is responsible wear leveling algorithm and RAID, and both read and write performance. Since both will be connected via USB 2.0 the performance difference will not be as rated, and they will perform similar. The lifetime might be different, but I did not check details because info is typically proprietary.

I chose the 1.8 inch SSD example because the interface is same as the 1.8 inch hard drive (not SSD) available in sizes up to 160GB.

It is possible the devices appear different to the tablet, one being an SSD and the other being an SDXC, even over USB. I would want to test both a USB hub with SDXC adapter and the SSD in the dock's USB socket before stating they appear as identical types of storage. It is a low probability they appear different.
[Eee Pad Transformer General] goodintentions:
So, this morning at 10:30 I turned on the TF with full brightness. Went around to check email, this forum, etc. Left it on with full brightness and a couple apps running with the HDD turned off. It is now 1pm and I've lost 33% of the dock battery. My calculation indicates the dock battery with the HDD turned off should last about 7 hrs, exactly the result I was expecting.

So, when the HDD is turned off, there is no battery drain from it.

God, I love my hdd on/off switch.
[Eee Pad Transformer General] knoxploration:
Dang, that's *very* nicely done, only way it could look closer to stock was if you had a screen-printed or laser-etched on/off label (not something 99.99% of people can do at home, even if the tablet surface wasn't textured).

Personally, I'd be charging more than that, unless the buyer provides their own dock and assumes all risk. Otherwise, you're potentially out the cost of the whole dock if you have a problem.
[Eee Pad Transformer General] goodintentions:
Physical size limit. No memory size limit.

I am now offering to do this mod for people. If you want me to do this for you, you need to buy the hard drive (hdd or ssd, doesn't matter, make sure it's usb), send your dock and drive to me + $50 to $100 (whatever you can afford... yes I'm a communist :p ) via paypal + a return stamp. I promise I will be extra careful with your stuff. Hit me a pm if you're interested. Also, you have to tell me if you want me to put in an on/off switch for you. I live 2 minutes from radio shack. If you do want the switch, add $2. And please if you're going to send me the keyboard dock, make sure you send me a functional one. I will test out every aspect of the dock before I do anything. If anything is wrong with it, I will send it right back to you. So please, do not try to scam me into buying you a replacement dock.

For those who are handy dandy with your hands, I have posted more than enough info for you to replicate what I've done. If you cannot do this mod with the current info, then it's best that you don't try.

I do ask people 5 things, though.

(1) Make sure you consult me first about the hard drive you want. Don't just send it to me. I need to make sure it will fit!

(2) I need you to be absolutely sure you want this mod done to your keyboard dock. This mod will void your warranty.

(3) I need you to not regret after it's been modded. I take no responsibility for any buyer's remorse from you.

(4) I promise you that I will be extra careful with your dock. After experimenting with my own dock, I have developed much safer ways to do this mod. I'm almost 100% sure I can do this without messing up your dock, since I now know the dock inside out. I know every little part that's involved. I know exactly what wire goes where. However, there's still a risk involved. I need you to understand that.

(5) Don't be a whiner. I hate whiners. This is a transformer. It will never become an ipad. Jesus christ, if I hear one person complain that this mod did not turn their transformer into an ipad...

Anyway, think it over and if you still want this mod done, hit me a pm.

And by the way, this is not a business I'm doing. This is more like a favor. You try getting best buy some other store to do something similar to this for you and see how much they charge. In other words, I have no money. Please don't try anything funny to scam me. Trust me, I've nothing for you to scam out of.
[Eee Pad Transformer General] isolated_epidemic:
i dont know if this was asked or answered but does the usb port you're piggy backing off of still work? Does it still work when the hard drive is on or can only 1 device function off it at a time?
[Eee Pad Transformer General] goodintentions:
It works 100% when the hard drive is off. I guess I could have put in a usb hub, but I'm too lazy for that now.

So, the answer is only 1 device can function off of it. Why?
[Eee Pad Transformer General] goodintentions:
Operation extra battery failed

So, today I spent about 3-4 hours trying to figure out a way to add in an extra battery pack with the hard drive inside. Unfortunately, I couldn't figure out a way to do it. If the battery was to be half as thick, that would have helped a lot.
[Eee Pad Transformer General] earlyberd:
I think it would be cool to have a third battery pack inside there instead of a hard drive. There's definitely enough room for it, the question is whether you could find spare battery packs for sale. As a last resort you could probably just buy an additional keyboard dock to rip the batteries from. :p
[Eee Pad Transformer General] goodintentions:
I already got an extra battery pack. bought it a couple weeks ago. Thought i could fit it in with the hard drive. That's a no go plan now.
[Eee Pad Transformer General] earlyberd:
The same specs as the other two batteries? Or is it a different battery? I would also be interested to know where you obtained it.
[Eee Pad Transformer General] goodintentions:
www.wirelessgalaxy.com/batteries/msn-extended-battery-motorola-droix-x-2-extended-back-door.html

Wasn't going to work anyway. I'd welcome any info on something more compatible, though.
[Eee Pad Transformer General] MightyMackinac:
If you could add a usb hub, that would allow for use of the hard drive, plus the usb port. I would totally pay for that. As soon as I get the money, I'm sending you the dock plus a 1 TB WD laptop drive. I'll give you 100 bucks if you add this plus the ability to still use the usb port.
[Eee Pad Transformer General] goodintentions:
If I'm not mistaken, the physical size of that drive is too big. Can you give me a link to info on that drive? Also, without the switch to turn off the drive, your battery will be drained constantly. I already said my tests show less than 9.5 hours.

At this point, I'm not even sure if there's room for battery+drive+usb hub. Everything is already very tightly packed in there as is without a usb hub. But I guess I'll figure out a way to fit it in.
[Eee Pad Transformer General] salbalboa:
did you have to take off the metal hdd casing to get it to fit? in one of the pictures it looks that way.

im going to try this with 7mm hdd has the 9.5mm wont fit.
[Eee Pad Transformer General] Underwater Mike:
OP mentioned that he had to remove the metal casing and a plastic one as well. ;)
[Eee Pad Transformer General] goodintentions:
Yes. Why? You doing this?
[Eee Pad Transformer General] salbalboa:
yea going to have a bash at it .if the 7mm hdd doesnt fit i might look into using a ssd and strip it to the bare minimum.

when i get around to it that is. got the hdd on order so might be this weekend if i get the time.

already gutted the dock but then had to put it back together because i missed using it lol
[Eee Pad Transformer General] chatch15117:
They are LiPo. In the TF, in the dock. Apple has had LiPo batteries in their iPods(and iPhone, iPad etc.) since 2006-2007. I took apart my sister's old pink iPod Nano and it had a 1S LiPo in it.

They are safe... so long as the charging circuit is good
[Eee Pad Transformer General] knoxploration:
Yup, I've even seen kids toys (IR / R/C helicopters and planes) that are LiPo-based. It's fine so long as it's charged properly. It's *extremely* dangerous if overcharged, or overheated during charging.
[Eee Pad Transformer General] salbalboa:
here is the battery

http://i1179.photobucket.com/albums/x393/salbalboa/IMAG0310.jpg
[Eee Pad Transformer General] crockashat:
impressive job goodintentions

I had already bought a spare dock to do some modding too, just got jammed up with other shat. I opened up the dock to take a peek as I wanted to do a similar mod. 500 GB is WAY more than I need for my uses but thanks for letting me know I can go that big (probably 120-200GB is the size I will use and not sure if it will be a platter drive or SSD). It is finally starting to cool off here so I am also looking into setting up a car dock as well ( I hope we can start getting piece parts for the TF101 soon) it will make my life a lot easier for my mobile docking needs :)

Thanks again goodintentions, don't let the nay sayers discourage you from trying to get your ideas turned into reality :D I will be refering to your post as a reference (I am an instrument engineer so stuff like this is in my realm of knowledge) to get my mods rolling, and I will post them as I get them finalized.
[Eee Pad Transformer General] lemmyslender:
Excellent Mod!

I'm wondering how the batteries are wired. From the charger DIY thread, it seems that 11V is needed to kick off the fast charge mode (and maybe indicate by showing the charging icon). But I notice that the charging icon shows and tablet charges quickly from the dock.

So, I'm wondering if the batteries in the dock are wired in series to incease the voltage or parallel to increase capacity, or I guess more likely wired to a charging ciruit to up the voltage for the tablet.

Any info might help with some ideas for DIY chargers.
[Eee Pad Transformer General] chatch15117:
How much cocaine do you think you could hide in the compartment? half a kilo?

lol jk
[Eee Pad Transformer General] goodintentions:
They are 3.6 batteries connected in series to yield 7.2.
[Eee Pad Transformer General] goodintentions:
Quite a bit, actually.

Added by edit.

Now that I think about it, why didn't the terrorists think of this? They could very easily hide pieces of weapon in a piece of electronic like the keyboard dock of the TF.
[Eee Pad Transformer General] Frosty666:
Shhh... don't give them ideas...

Sent from my x10, rocking Wolf's 2.3.3 + DooMKernel, overclocked to 1.2 GHz...
[Eee Pad Transformer General] knoxploration:
What do you think the X-ray scanners at the airport are for? This has been done before -- well, not with the TF, but whole or partial weapons have been hidden in other consumer electronics devices.

Probably the most famous case was the bomb that took down Pan Am 103 over Lockerbie in the late 80s, hidden inside a Toshiba Bombeat radio cassette player. (Yes, there's a certain twisted irony in the name of the player.) It's far from the first example. The earliest I've personally heard of was an El Al flight in 1972, where a bomb was hidden in a Philips cassette player. I'm pretty sure there are earlier examples, though.

This is a known and expected tactic, and airport X-ray techs are trained to look not only for whole weapons, but for pieces of weapons dismantled and camouflaged by hiding them inside other devices.
[Eee Pad Transformer General] salbalboa:
ssd comes in tomorrow so going to strip it and see how that fits then i need to find a suitble switch

although the active power on the ssd is 6.4w and idle is 1w so might not be needed

hoping it fits without having to mod the battery.
[Eee Pad Transformer General] goodintentions:
Remember folks. I am not responsible if you decide to follow my footsteps and screw up your dock or tablet or both.
[Eee Pad Transformer General] salbalboa:
no worries broke more expensive things than this lol
[Eee Pad Transformer General] salbalboa:
ssd arrived today and will easily fit inside the dock.just need to look in to formatting it and alligning it lol got some reading to do

http://i1179.photobucket.com/albums/x393/salbalboa/316.jpg

http://i1179.photobucket.com/albums/x393/salbalboa/IMAG0314.jpg

here it is in the dock. fits without having to mod the battery :)

http://i1179.photobucket.com/albums/x393/salbalboa/IMAG0319.jpg

*to the op im not trying to hijack your thread or anything i wouldnt even be attempting this if you hadnt have shown it was possible so all props to you and thank you.
[Eee Pad Transformer General] goodintentions:
No worries. I'm excited other people are taking up the task. What I can't stand are the naysayers who would cry bloody murder everytime I tell people about my mod (any mod).

How big is your ssd again?

You'll see what I mean about having the extra drive. It's great. I've been putting movies and stuff in mine. My 500 GB will take in as many as I want hehe.

But yeah, I originally thought about putting in an ssd card. But I'm too cheap for that.
[Eee Pad Transformer General] salbalboa:
96gb didnt want to spend too much and it not work for some reason so went the cheap option the 128gb ssd was double the price of this so didnt think it was worth it.

still need to order some type of small switch for this shame we dont have a radioshack in the uk.

the sdd is plugged into the usb and is working fine so just need to do the sodering which i might leave until tomorrow
[Eee Pad Transformer General] v8code:
In the UK try Maplin for the switch
[Eee Pad Transformer General] salbalboa:
Thanks I tried them but they was all too big and daft lol I'm in no rush for the switch I will just keep a look out and do it anouther time
[Eee Pad Transformer General] v8code:
Then I guess it will be mail order and Farnell should do something. Maybe if goodintentions can post the part number he used you can cross reference it to something in the UK.
[Eee Pad Transformer General] ZerkerEOD:
Dude I am one of those poor college students and am very interested in getting this done to my transformer. Couple questions though will the hdd work in I am running linux and android dual booting? also where are you located so I can figure out how much in shipping it will cost me. and is 500gb the largest hdd you found to be able to go into the transformer?
[Eee Pad Transformer General] goodintentions:
Again, I am not running a business. I will take what you can afford. If even 50 is too much then talk to me. I am depending on people's good will and honesty. This is more like a favor I am doing.

If ur linux supports usb ntfs then no problem.

I live in chicago area.

No 500 is not the max. Just link to the drive u want and I'll tell you if it will work or not.

And please give credit to me when people ask you about it.
[Eee Pad Transformer General] salbalboa:
just finished installing the ssd and all is perfect :) got to install a switch once it arrives

than check on battery usage.

but im very pleased with the end result
[Eee Pad Transformer General] Orkeren:
what switch did you buy? part number would be nice :)
[Eee Pad Transformer General] salbalboa:
its on order and should arrive monday

ordered fromm rs component

7122567 Slide switch,PCB,on-on,SMD,12Vdc,0.5A

7122558 1 Slide switch,PCB,r/a,on-on,12Vdc,0.5A

ordered both since they cost buggerall and will use the one that fits best
[Eee Pad Transformer General] finalhit:
Can you transfer data into the drive when you plug in the te into your comp?..or do you have to put it to the real internal drive or microsd then transfer then over?

And if you can do it direct..hows the transfer rate
[Eee Pad Transformer General] goodintentions:
with mine the pc picks up internal, microsd, and hard drive. I can transfer things in out directly from and to hard drive. just make sure before you put it in you format with pc first.
[Eee Pad Transformer General] salbalboa:
if this question was aimed at me then yes the ssd shows up when i plug it in and i just drag and drop into it

havent really looked at speeds but its over usb so doubt they will be anything like direct from ssd to sata. 800mb film too around a minute at a guess as i wasnt taking much notice
[Eee Pad Transformer General] goodintentions:
I should patent this.
[Eee Pad Transformer General] salbalboa:
best mod u can do imho transformer just keeps on getting better each day.

you should charge rights lol