In Car Computer :d

[Michael_1882]

What about with a nomall computer DVD drive? Or woudl you have to get a special one, or laptop drive?

[Liiger]

You can get slot DVDRW drive that dont have a tray, much like most head units. ie cd slide in by a motorized roller. Dont know much power they eat up though, but that's what I'm gonna be doing. Then you can get the best of every world, cd, cdrw, dvd, dvdrw.

[Michael_1882]

Hmm good point, i've never seen them before, then i'm not really much of a tech head, i'm very interested but pritty much know bugger all I know what your mean though, like a normall car CD player, keep us posted how you go.

Michael

[syx]

most laptop cd/dvd drives are cd-cdr-cdrw-dvd-dvdrw-blah blah these days. If you can get your hands on a slimline drive go for it.

It would be really cool in the dash under the screen if you have a setup like Parish's in my opinion.

[Liiger]

Booya:

http://www.auspcmarket.com.au/show_product...5D=MU-PIDVRK06L

Am sure you can find one for cheaper, but that's pretty much the best thing to get if your looking for all in one DVD Drive

Edited June 25, 2006 by Liiger

[Pulp]

Hey has anyone got that USB boot thing working yet?

I've read through some of the website but haven't been successfull in getting my USB key to boot the OS. It boots off the key but stops cause it can't find some system file that is part of windows.

[syx]

I actually started this using a guide from tomshardware.com but I must have stuffed something up and then I forgot about it/got busy at work.

http://www.tomshardware.com/2005/09/09/win...in_your_pocket/

[Pulp]

Yeah I read through that same guide, got it to boot but said there was a particular file missing, one need to boot up windows or something.

Pretty much stepped through it exactly but something still ain't right. Oh well I'll keep trying!

[finch180]

hey just found this thread, what a fantastic idea with the car-pc!

i might add a couple of improvements tho, firstly you could get a USB 802.11b/g wireless card... you can get external antenae for them also to improve reception, hence eliminating the need to transfer files/data via a cd drive or usb key. Obviously secure it or disable it when you dont use it!

next for those who are having issues booting off usb, you can buy things called Disc On Modules which are in effect, flash memory built into a 40-pin IDE connector.

So you plug it into the HD connector and it should detect as a HD... havnt seen prices for anything larger than 128mb, but they say theyre available up to 1.5gb. Keep an eye out for them, they may be the next cool thing.

As for speed with flash memory well there are pros/cons, most memory has extremely low latency (fast seek time) but transfer speeds are low compared to HD's. Also they have no moving parts. So would be great for opening/moving small files, but churn with large file copies etc.

I've also heard of some ppl using mini-ITX boards with Compact Flash adapters onboard. Lots of modems/routers use this method for booting skeleton versions of Linux, but I cant see why Windows couldnt work. Compact Flash cards can be bought in sizes up to 3-4gb im fairly sure.

Anyway nice work to those who have made them, got me motivated for when i look at stereos in my car

[mad082]

i have a 17" screen, 40gb hdd, dvd player, 6 usb ports, etc...... but thats only when i'm taking my laptop to work.

[Dragonforce]

So has anyone had any luck sorting out a fast way of booting the OS?

[Trav33]

So has anyone had any luck sorting out a fast way of booting the OS?

What do you call fast booting?

Restore from hibernation is quick enough for my carputer.

[ob1]

What do you call fast booting?

Restore from hibernation is quick enough for my carputer.

ditto. Keep the RAM size small (256MB for me) and return from hibernate is plenty quick enough.

If you had a dual battery setup with isolation circuit, you could even keep the pc in suspend-to-ram mode for instant turn on. A deep cycle gel-cell as the 2nd battery should keep suspend mode going for a few days.

[Dragonforce]

I didnt really consider a second battery thinking that the time it would last wouldnt be that great but a few days you say? awesome, whats involved in putting in a second battery and an isolation circuit?

[Chris Rogers]

with mine keep a 1000cca battery with a isolator off the main battery. I can run it into the ground and the vehicle still goes. when I'm on site I plug the van in and it switches straight to mains and shuts the inverter down. remove power and it fires right up without a glitch.

hardware wise: 7 port usb hub HP 1200 laserjet printer,40gb hd, 4g RAM, 3g modem, keyboard and mouse. 3kw inverter

display wise 17" LG monitor. base machine is a acer laptop. OS is winXP - extra memory is for quicken - its a memory hog!

it will run 3 days before shutting down. I use it daily for invoicing and general internet when I need info quickly.. it is also networked back to the workshop SBS server (quickbooks sits on this.)

the whole lot in integrated in the floor of my van . (if someone knows how to empty a nokia N70 memory card without the lead I'll show you the pictures.)

[ob1]

I didnt really consider a second battery thinking that the time it would last wouldnt be that great but a few days you say? awesome, whats involved in putting in a second battery and an isolation circuit?

you can buy them:

http://www.4wdsystems.com.au/html/isolators.htm

or make them (search for isolation circuit, or tank circuit):

http://mp3car.com

[Dragonforce]

And connecting a second battery? is it just a matter of joining it to the first battery in parallel and having the isolator between them?

Edited May 24, 2007 by Dragonforce

[Dragonforce]

Woops, found it.

Thanks for ur help guys, for anyone else wondering here is a good diagram of how it should be set up.

[Dragonforce]

Almost a year later...

Bump. because this thread is excellent.

Any chance of getting the pics on page one rehosted?

[hydie]

I remember this thread.

Although I may not have a Skyline, i thought i would post pictures of my current modified skin.

Always good to see CarPC progress threads.

Edited April 15, 2008 by hydie