I have tried this and also tried the hybernate mode. Neither seems to work. My Microsoft Cert. friend who installed the win2Kpro operation system said that to make it work it would have been better to install the system as a "lap top" install instead of a desk top install which he did.

It is obviuosly not that much of a problem so I am not going to reformat and reinstall the os and everything else so I will just learn to live with it.


ALSO - Have any of the people with a pc experienced any problems with engine whine? I did install an inline noise suppressor and it seemed to help a little but I still have a bit of whine when playing "select songs"! Some it sounds perfect some are "whiny". I have already added an additional ground to the pc and plan on adding another to the fm modulator when I pull the dash apart to fix the slight drop south of my xenarc screen. What else can I do?

ALSO - is there a way to splice the audio out on the pc directly into the factory bose amps? How would this be done?

I think eliminating the fm modulator completey would take care of the problem completely!

Any expect words of advise/how to's?

thanks

 

Yep, that would help alot. I have my audio feed directly connected to my Alpine HU and have no whine.

 

well I dont have the Alpine HU! I have the stock premium blose stereo.

Is there any way to connect it into the head unit or one/both of the amps directly?

This would be a great help!

 

Can't you just go to the Power options in Control Panel and configure your computer as a laptop?

Alphared: Yes, I set my computer to go to 'standby' when the power button is pressed. I realize this keeps the processor powered up, but unsure if this is really a concern. I had my computer set-up like this for almost 2 weeks - probably not enough time to see if it was draining my battery. I have since disconnected the powersupply from the computer, as I need to troubleshoot the loss of video signal I am experiencing.

I am assuming that with our new car batteries, the drain shouldn't be that harmful. If it shortens the overall life of the battery by 10% or so, that would be an acceptable cost to me. If it is more harmful then that, I would reconsider. I do like the fact that it boots up so quickly. If it took an extended period of time to boot it would adversely affect the benefit of the car PC for me. Plus, I want to experiment with the 'wake-on-LAN' feature to transfer music files to the computer.

 

so what you did was go into control panel, power options, choose laptop, the in advanced you set it to "go into standby" when power is shut off. Is that correct? If that is, do you then hit the "exit" button on the interface as you leave the car or do you let the power supply turn it off based on the jumper settings?

I have tried it by letting the power supply turn it off and it does not got into standby.

Also - You loss of video signal is most probablt attributed to a lousy ground. Two things to check, one being the easy one (it happened to me). Check the negative terminal on your car battery. After taking mine off and on so many times that even after I tightened it down till I could not move the bolt anymore the part that "grabbed" the negative terminal was still loose! I only figured this out after I lost video signal and started doing a system check. If that is not it then it is the ground that is hooked in behind the stereo (where the other grounds are). When I put that screw back in it never seemed to "snug" all the way down so I still do not have the best ground at that point. That is why I am going to add another ground to my FM mod and go to another ground away from that one.

Good luck.

PS - What about the removal of the FM Mod question? Any suggestions? (do not say go get an Alpine HU!)

 

Regarding Standby: That is correct. On the advanced tab, select 'standby' as the answer to the question "when I press the power button on my computer".

You do not havev to anything but shutdown your engine, and your computer will go into standby after the alloted time based on the jumper setting you have selected in the Opus power supply. You may have to adjust a setting in your bios (I think it is an APM setting) to make this work. This is explained in the Opus manual. If you didn't get a manual with your Opus, email me at scafremon@350zfrenzy.com and I will email you the pdf of the manual.

As for my video loss issue, I just got through troubleshooting it, and have determined that there is a short in my video cable near the end that attaches to the computer. I did this by first hooking up another VGA monitor to my car PC, and no matter now much I jiggy (go Ducks!) the cable, I did not lose signal. Then, I hooked up my laptop to my car LCD screen, and sure enough, when I jiggy (go Ducks!) the cable where it connects to my laptop, the video signal goes off and on. Thanks for your ideas though.

As for audio, I use the Clarion FM modulator, and have not had any 'whine' problems. I would eventually also liketo get rid of the modulator, but that is going to be a future task.

 

All_bark,

I just checked my bios settings for my epia M.

Under Power Management Setup:

ACPI Suspend Type: S3(STR)
HDD Power Down: 10 min
Power Management Timer: Disabled
Video Off Option: Always On.

I'm not stating that these are the best or optimum settings, just letting you know what mine are set at, and that mine seems to work. I have my jumper in the Opus removed, so I am getting the 10 sec default setting.

Also, regarding the video setting above, I have my monitor receiving it's power from the computer, not from another source. Not sure if this setting would be correct for you (or for me even, now that I think about it...lol)

 

Well I was trying to 'experiment' with Standby AND Hibernation. Have the PC going into standby after certain time (or pressing power button) AND then hibernate after a certain time after that. Haven't gotten it to work (if you choose Laptop option you see what i'm talking about) Not sure if the motherboard that doesn't allow this or what.

I had the wake on lan option check when I first installed windows. It doesn't work like you would expect. I kept powering up the pc for some reason (haven't figured it out yet).

 

By the way All_Bark...I never said get an Alpine. You asked if anyone is having whine in their audio and I said that I didn't because I was running it through my Alpine HU. In all honesty, I started with my car audio system (pre-Auto PC) using an FM Modulator and the factory deck. After a couple of months I couldn't take it any longer and purchased the aftermarket HU. I know these can get pricey, but you've spent alot of money getting the Auto PC and IMO it would be worth it to upgrade your HU. Now, I know easier said them done, since the money doesn't grow on trees.....just passing on my advice and opinion.

Good luck and GO MAVS!!!!

 

That's actually how I expect it to work. It powers up the PC, and then the power supply will keep the PC running for 20 minutes after a wake-on-LAN boot-up.

 

Not sure how you have you network setup, but if your network is running (i keep mines on all the time) Your pc will keep booting up as long as the network is on (from what i've seen) So you would have to turn off your network connection to prevent it from constantly booting up.

Also, have you lost network connection when coming out of standby (or hibernation)?

 

Honestly I just do not want to loose the factory look.
Everything I have done has not changed that and that is something I like!

And I know you never said to get an Alpine. It was just me being the wise *** that I am. Check my name, it says it all!

 

how much did it cost? and can u gimme all the info on it?! and tell me where i can check it out. thx

 

I was the first to order and promised to do the "debugging" of the system so my pricing was a little better than what people will be paying from now on. It is still very comparable to the stock navigation and it comes with so much more.

one gig processor, 512 k ram (expandable to 1 gig) dvd, 4 usb ports with another 4 on an expandable setup. Wireless mouse that also controls windows media player 9. (mpegs and music video's) A floppy keyboard that works perfectly and navigation (delorme 4.0 is what I got) that comes with a brand new GPS finder that works great. I also installed the xenarc non touch screen vga monitor which is beautiful.

Chazzg is the designer and builder. He has a couple of posts in the private classifieds section and recently said he will soon open another post to consolidate all necessay information for those that are interested.

I'd be happy to show it to you if you live in San Diego. If you have any more questions let me know.

 

The Same Unit that All_Bark Has( the high-end unit) will retail for around $2,700.00 USD. XM Sat Radio will soon be available as an option, As well as other stuff!!!

 

Would that be with or without the Xenarc?

BTW-System is functioning PERFECTLY!

 

Can't wait to get home from work today to see if I've had a visit from the UPS man!!!

 

Doc, I KNOW what you are going through! let me know if you have any questions on the install (if you are doing it yourself)

Remember to be patient and dont break anything! (that was a Dr. Bonz reference for those who didn't get it!)

I will be out of town this weekend but I will try to check the site nonetheless.

 

That price is with the Xenarc.

 

I just spoke with Chazzg and he said some people were having some issues with the install.

Follow the links I posted earlier in this thread and they will help you remove the center console and how to install the xenarc screens.

After that it is MUCH EASIER! All you have to do is run the two power wires (one is a constant on and the other is the auxillary on) and a ground wire.

First - Make sure the battery negative is disconected. This is a must for all wiring as I can say from personal experience. (I tried to connect two hot wires, got a spark and blew a fuse, goof!)
The only other wires that will need to be conected are the audio cables from the pc to the fm modulator, the video cable from the pc to the xenarc screen and finally both an aux. power and a ground wire (with inline switch) for the fm modulator.

Here's a tip to look for.
The constant on is the BIG wire that is in the large group of wires that are plugged into the back of the premium bose sound system (if you went aftermarket or do not have the bose this tip probably will not be correct for you) There are two groups of wires into the stereo. A smaller group which runs the speakers and the larger group which brings in power and such. Once again the BIG WIRE is the constant on. I think it is third in from the right side on the top row.
One auxillary on that works great for me is the first wire on the right side of the large group of wires. It is not the same row of wires as the BIG wire. It is the other row and is down at the end of the row. It is light green with a purple stripe on it. This is the wire you can splice into to get your aux power for the pc.

So what you have to do first is to test the wires to make sure they are the correct wires for the job. GET A TEST LIGHT to make sure. It looks like the picture below and you can poke the wires (first with out the key in) to find the constant power on and then with the key turned to aux. poke the wire to find an aux. on.

Make sure to turn the key off again and test the aux on. to make sure it is not a constant on before splicing into it.

Splice the wires (solder/heat shrink a plus) run the wires to where the pc is going to be and do a test run.

UNHOOK the battery, hook the three wires up to the pc (constant on, aux on and ground) plug in the video cable and go put the battery cable back on.

Turn the key to aux and wait a few sec's. If the pc / video screen comes on, you did it right. take the battery cable (neg) back off, put everything back togeather and finish the install.

This should get you going in the right direction. If anyone has any more questions either PM me and I'll answer it asap.

good luck.

disclamer - do not proceed with this install if you feel that my instructions are incorrect or you do not feel comfortable cutting into any factory lines. I do not want to be held accountable for any info posted here or any mistakes you might make!

pic of test light that should be used to find proper power lines: