Notion

My version of XP boots in about 25 seconds or so. Picking a power supply with a time-adjustable shutdown controller is good for stop-n-start trips. The Opus power supplies let you specify times up to 20 mins or so after taking out the ignition before shutting down the PC.

pushing4wardbac

iTrader: (4)

Indeed I got tinyxp booting on my via board booting in 18 seconds and resuming from hibernation in just under 10. It is snappier than the stock navigation, I have thought about using Standby with a second battery located in the trunk for backup. I am getting a 6 Second resume time from standby.

UrbanTacticZ

iTrader: (7)

i guess i need a new powersupply that lets me do those adjustments with the timing

UrbanTacticZ

iTrader: (7)

oh do any of you guys have crank issues while the system is on? my system reboots itself during crank, i need to figure out a way to fix that, its annoying!

HyperSprite

iTrader: (6)

Yeah, You need a better power supply, the M2-ATX will run your PC on 6volts and auto shutdown if you leave it on and your battery gets below a safe level. Add to that it's smart shut down and start up controllers and it is pretty much set it and forget it.

Chris

UrbanTacticZ

iTrader: (7)

interesting, any suggestions on where to pick it up? looks like they are running about $90.00 (on mp3car), does that sound right?

also, i had a general question and i think chris is the man to answer it.

i have a usb hub (non bus powered) and it needs to be plugged in with AC power. obviously all the electronics to convert the usb hub from dc to ac are on the fat adapter. i was wondering, how do i convert a piece like this to DC so i can use it in my car. i chopped apart the cord and it looks like there is a wire running through the middle with insulation, and then some random shielding around it. i was originally assuming the wire in the middle that is insulated was positive, and the shielding around it was the negative ground (since it was not insulted or anything). does that sound right?

i remember i used that logic before but i fried my slotload dvd drive

thoughts?

HyperSprite

iTrader: (6)

MP3car is where I got my M1-ATX a few years ago.

Your USB hub is probably 5V input from the adapter, most recommend using the 5V lead from the M2-ATX power supply for this.

Another option is to plug the power hungry stuff directly into the mobo (sound, DVD drives) and your low power (mouse, touch, keyboard etc.) into hubs

Chris

Notion

I agree, keep your power hungry stuff coming from your mobo - in fact, don't use powr hungry stuff

Seriously though, the M2 will support up to 160watts and Opus makes very high quality supplies that go up to 250watts for about $190 on MP3 car.

I tried to stay very aware of power usage on my components when choosing them, the processor maxes out at 35 watts, 40 watts or so for the video card on full crank and the lilliput screen only sucks about 5 watts (which I am going to power from the M2 also for better startup/shutdown control). Not sure how much the WiFi G card or the hard drive sucks up.

As for USB components I'll be running the GPS receiver, wireless rumble pack gamepad receiver, bluetooth dongle, wireless headphones receiver and maybe 2 video cameras - I just hope the M2 can take it all - I may still have to go the extra $100 for the 250watt Opus.

DIGItonium

iTrader: (1)

I actually had no problems installing XP on a CF card via a SATA adapter. It is highly dependent on the CF card being used. Some CF cards don't support fixed disk mode for OS installations. With the right CF card, installation is a breeze. It's plugging in another storage device that's giving me some grief... XP just doesn't see it.

Sooo... I'm moving on to an AMD Turion system with nVidia chipset :-)

UrbanTacticZ

iTrader: (7)

i have done that already for my usb sound card. when i cut the plug there were two insulated wires, one black, one white. so that was an easy item to wire.

the hub just has one insulated wire through the middle and some strands surrounding it, i don't know how to tackle it.

the last thing i chopped up (slot load dvd) the AC power supply had 1 white wire running through it, and unshielded wire around it. i assumed the unshielded wire was ground so i wrapped heatshrink around it, and proceeded to ground it as normal--but i fried my drive regardless.

UrbanTacticZ

iTrader: (7)

i think i need to just cut the inverter brick off of my extnerally powered hub and see what the wires look like. id be happy if there are two shielded wires (a white/red and a black)

UrbanTacticZ

iTrader: (7)

i wonder why i couldnt power the dvd drive in the first place. maybe it is because i have a weak PSU? im not sure--i think im running a 90watt dc-dc psu.

i had the slot load plugged in directly to the mobo in my car but it didnt want to spin for some reason. but it seemed to work fine when i was testing and building the system inside the house with a regular computer psu (probably rated around 200watts).

i am currently powering the following via a 4port hub:

-touchscreen usb cable
-gps reciever
-external sound card

im running the epia m10000 board so i only have 2 built on usb slots.

since i wasn't able to power my slot load dvd drive with bus power, i picked up the busless power usb hub, you guys think im on the right track?

i think i should have picked up the new m2 atx psu first but oh well

Notion

Just finished tweaking the booting and services in XP.

Cold boot to Windows XP Desktop - 23 secs
Cold boot to Windows Media Center - 35 secs
Resume from hibernate - 15 secs
Resume from standby - unstable with test monitor

My damn mobo is chewing up 6 secs in all of these times as it's obsessed with doing memory checks. I've looked up and down through the bios and it still insists on checking the mem on every boot, can't find a quick boot or mem-test disable function - kind of annoying

pushing4wardbac

iTrader: (4)

Notion, I was wondering about your boot times, what Mobo you running ? I did a custom bios flash(comp. engineer here ) to my via board to get 800x480 and to get rid of nearly every boot check.

Notion

Ahh I'm running some generic manufacturers mATX board running the Ati MP200 chipset,I think it is a Phoenix bios

UrbanTacticZ

iTrader: (7)

custom flash huh? what can you do for me on my epia via m10000?

Notion

Just ordered my m2-atx so that should be here by the weekend if all goes well as should my Lilliput screen which means I'll be spending Saturday and Sunday pulling my car to pieces and swearing a lot.

UrbanTacticZ

iTrader: (7)

whered you pickup your m2 from? i really should order one as well and just get rid of my current dc-dc on mp3car or something.

Notion

Ordered mine from mp3car.com

pushing4wardbac

iTrader: (4)

Urban, I have the same mobo as you. Leme see if I have those flash files left over, I guess I could always just pull them off,


Deff get a m2 Urban

and I should add, please everybody wire your monitors through the PSU, people seldom listen to me about this but when you crank you can reach crazy voltage peaks and voltage lows. In my eclipse a few years back, I turned it over and got a peak of 27 volts, I have not test the Z's peaks and valleys yet.

using the wired PSU from the m2 or opus will greatly increase the life and quality of your touchscreen/monitor.