My carputer install

[pgarner]

Ok talked about this a few months ago.
since then ive been trailing some front end software and cutting down windows xp installs using nlite.
Started buys up cheap bits off ebay as well. So far i have
Mini itx case - think this was designed more for home servers than use as a proper computer case. also came with a 120w power supply
Intel D945GCLF2, Little falls, motherboard. - 1.6 dual core with hyperthreading enabled ( and so far it seems to work better than P4s with HT ) for those who dont know what HT is its basically each core is slit to do 2 tasks as well, so Xp thinks its a quad core.
1 GB 667Mhz Ram
360GB Hard disc

and a lilliput 619 screen - 7" wide screen with 4 wire touchscreen built in.

still need to get a automotive power supply for the intelligent shutdown.

also got another radio cage off the bay as well

Plan is to remove the current radio cage and fit in the new one.
new cage is going to have the screen bonded and fiberglassed into place to make it look OEM with the current head unit and pc itself in the boot.
keeping the HU incase i have any major issues so its just a case of swapping from Aux to cd.

Have installed a full version of XP pro SP2, all motherboard drivers, touchscreen drivers and roadrunner as a front end along with bluetooth and autoroute for gps.
still testing in the house until i can get a spare housing for the screen (incase i mess the first one up :embarrest and have it running 42seconds from switch on to music from a cold boot and 21 seconds to resume from hibernate and resume from standby 4 seconds.

going to try and install a nlited version of xp see if i can get this speeded up a bit.

will get pics of the setup up soon

 

[thexav]

Re: My carputer install

Try BOOTVIS for faster boot times, it defrags your startup. Also a SSD instead of HD will boot up more quickly and take less power.

 

[obi_waynne]

Re: My carputer install

Have you thought of a small inline UPS to give power when the car is switched off? Most have a USB lead which triggers a hibernate/suspend when the power cuts.

I recommend easycleaner from Toni Arts for cleaning your XP installation and removing all the crud that gets installed over time.

 

[pgarner]

Re: My carputer install

Bootvis claim 30 seconds from cold, 20 from hibernate and 5 from standby
so im not that far off it anyway, it also says that it just optimises the start up does change it. Have looked at doing a minlogon and ewf install to see if that makes much of a difference
SSD drives are pretty expensive at the min,looking at using a CF card along with a sata - CF adaptor 4Gb will do as my current install is only 2.5Gb and thats with all the extra crud that microsoft adds to XP (every language support along with keyboards, games outlook express, IE, Messenger etc. Installs can get as low as 600mb full versions is over 1100Mb) and autoroute which can be installed on the main HD.
dont want to do a CF install without the EWF as it will kill the card pretty quickly with the constant writes that xp does.

might look into the UPS and use standby all the time, can you get a 12v version ?.
there want be much getting installed other than whats on it and some diagnostic software. rest will be music, vids and a maps

 

[pgarner]

Re: My carputer install

heres some pics
screen

Motherboard

All together in the case

up and working

for the ups im thinking of building my own one :???: using a relay and a 12v 7Ah sealed battery,

when the computers in standby it keeps a small draw on power to hold the ram in state this is supposed to only draw a few milliamps
so the thoughts are :

• power cable form the main battery to a relay
• relay switched by ignition
• when the engine is on it runs like a split charger, charging both batteries
• when the ignition is switched off, the power supply sends a pulse to motherboard to power button, this initiates the standby rather than hibernate
• at the same time the relay is switched off
• the power for the standby is supplied by the smaller spare battery

anybody any other pointers on if this will work, note the automotive power supply kills all power if the battery drops below a set voltage ( think of the top of my head its 10V )

 

[pgarner]

Re: My caruter install

as a side note ive just thought about having a small solar panel to help supply some current to the spare battery while the realy is disconnected

 

[obi_waynne]

Re: My carputer install

looking good there PG. A laptop battery and charger may well give you the UPS capability you need.

Hibernate would be better than suspend and avoids the trickle of power drain. I'm sure you can set it to hibernate after 2 hours or something like that. Some motherboards will auto power up the computer at a set time so this might be a way of getting it ready for you when you drive to work at silly AM!

 

[pgarner]

Re: My carputer install

im going to have a look after i get the MTX power supply and see what itll draw on the standby, intel say itll pull 0.25A on the vsb line. if its lower than this (hopefully it will be) then looking at putting in smallish car battery with the split charger.

after so long on standby i wonder if i can get it to hibernate, lets say when i switch off the car the supply automatically puts in standby and after 3 hours it goes into hibernate

that way i get 1 slow start up time and quick start up times when i come back to the car after lets say getting petrol or going the shops. so this shouldnt drain the main battery and not require a second one.

 

[obi_waynne]

Re: My carputer install

Sounds like a plan. The MOBO power saving options should allow something along those lines.

 

[HDi fun]

Re: My carputer install

Have a look here too

http://www.litepc.com/xplite.html

Here's another tip: After installing XP go to Control Panel > System > Advanced and find the swap/page file settings. Set it manually to about 3x the size of installed RAM and with min and max figures the same. This will prevent it ever becoming fragmented.

 

[pgarner]

Re: My carputer install

xplite seems to be the same as nlite allows you to strip out what you dont need
Cheers for the pagefile tip

 

[pgarner]

OK spent around an hour this afternoon starting to fabricate the screen into the radio cage.

separated the screen removed the buttons etc, while in pieces i also cut off the 4 small clips that help hold it together, so now its just screws.

used hot glue to hold in position then used fiberglass filler.
so this is the 1st coating

looking at sanding it down tomorrow, building up any areas that need it, then using some filler next week to do a final layer before sanding and painting. hopefully will have it fitted in january.

Next job the wiring

 

[obi_waynne]

Its starting to come together now. Is this a spare radio assembly or are you driving around with a hole in your dash? (What does the wife think of this project?)

 

[pgarner]

no this is a spare one couldnt live without some music while driving. does mean i have lost the wooden trim as the lower moels had the black fixed permantly whereas the higher ones the wood / aluminum was removable


wife amused by the touch screen more than anything else and as long as its not her car shes not bothered. although she did laugh when i said i was doing it as told her i wasnt going to touch the car other than a few performance bits waaaaaaaaaayyyyy back when i bought it

 

[obi_waynne]

I think we've all been there my friend. Modding is just too addictive.

 

[turbonutter69]

Thats really starting to take shape mate well done. I have been seriously thinking of doing this in my Primera, But I need to think of some where else to put the pc itself. Becasue I couldn't put it in the boot because all he bass would destroy it. I was thinking of trying to build a compact pc without a case and mounting it in the glovebox. Attached to a screen like yourself. Like I say though I am still only thinking about it.... But very tempted

 

[obi_waynne]

Is there a gap behind the center console?

 

[turbonutter69]

Is there a gap behind the center console?

If I'm honest I'm not sure. Like I say its only a thought at the min. I've not done any measuring or checked anything out. It's all just in my head at the mo.

 

[pgarner]

its easy to put one behind the centre console however you need to normally use a nano board which is slightly more expensive.

glovebox is a commonplace or under the seat, only reason im putting minein the boot is because i bought what more or less is a server case.

also taking out the subs, and custom fitting one to where i wanted the pc to be fitted but turned out slightly too small after id made a mould for it.

keep an eye on ebay for the screens they turn up now and again

 

[turbonutter69]

its easy to put one behind the centre console however you need to normally use a nano board which is slightly more expensive.

glovebox is a commonplace or under the seat, only reason im putting minein the boot is because i bought what more or less is a server case.

also taking out the subs, and custom fitting one to where i wanted the pc to be fitted but turned out slightly too small after id made a mould for it.

keep an eye on ebay for the screens they turn up now and again

I've keeping an eye on Ebay for a while now. I might get a few measurements over the weekend. I could do with finding out whats behind the glovebox? If I was to put it in there then I'd need to cut out a section at the back for it to close properly. I couldn't get rid of me subs though.

 

[pgarner]

basic size for the mini boards is 171.25 square and you can fit powersupply and hard disc above below


fitted the power supply tonight as havent had a chance to get body filler got it up and working start up and shut down working ok however think i killed the hard disc trying to knock out the old power supply 3 pin extension, sometimes works, but resets itself halfway through the hibernation, and most of the time it says that theres no bootable drive.

bugger !

 

[turbonutter69]

basic size for the mini boards is 171.25 square and you can fit powersupply and hard disc above below


fitted the power supply tonight as havent had a chance to get body filler got it up and working start up and shut down working ok however think i killed the hard disc trying to knock out the old power supply 3 pin extension, sometimes works, but resets itself halfway through the hibernation, and most of the time it says that theres no bootable drive.

bugger !

Have you made all the wires up yourself?

 

[pgarner]

What wires ?
the computer ones power 20pin power and sata ones are standard ones.
the ones from the fusebox and ignition to boot done myself. relay wiring for second battery done myself. and ones done to the power supply wil be done by myself.
extension lead for regulated power was done by my self along with crimping on the molex connector.

 

[turbonutter69]

What wires ?
the computer ones power 20pin power and sata ones are standard ones.
the ones from the fusebox and ignition to boot done myself. relay wiring for second battery done myself. and ones done to the power supply wil be done by myself.
extension lead for regulated power was done by my self along with crimping on the molex connector.

Ok was ust wondering thats all with the pc itself being in the boot an the screen up front an what not........

 

[pgarner]

well everything inside the pc apart from battery ignition and earth and the custom molex to screen conections are standard computer ones, everything outside it has been wired my myseflf

 

[turbonutter69]

I may well take this route with my install. But I'd have to find somewhere to mount the motherboard and hard drives seperately. The boot is not an option. I don't think under the seats is deep enough so it looks like the dash may have to house them in 2 different locations. I'm gonna have to do a bit of research and find out whats behind and above the glovebox.

 

[pgarner]

you dont need that much depth, this is one of the most comonly used automotive cases voom2 dimentions of this are : Dimensions:210(W)x265(L)x66(H)mm
my case is only 47mm high but its the lengh that stopped me fitting it uner a aset

 

[turbonutter69]

When my car come off the road i'll start taking some measurements to see where I can put things. I'm hoping I can hide everything behind the dash somehow...

 

[pgarner]

remove the interior of the glove box, the bit that moves apart for the door, and fit everything inside there should get away with it as i think the primera has quite a big glovebox

 

[turbonutter69]

remove the interior of the glove box, the bit that moves apart for the door, and fit everything inside there should get away with it as i think the primera has quite a big glovebox

Thats what I was thinking stripping the hatch of the glovebox and mounting it on there so I could open the glove box to reveal the motherboard. And the hard drive will fit just about anywhere. The more I think about this idea the more I want to do it....

 

[pgarner]

just watch the pennies
think i might have to fork out for a new HD. got it working refitted it and it stopped again this ime saying files were missing, cloned over the disc image i had stored on the laptop (contained everything other than media) and tried again still got the same message. tried it out with a 20gb hd that ive had lying around for a while same image worked fine. Currently doing a full format on it and at 360gb its taken an Hour so far and its only looking at around 10%

 

[turbonutter69]

just watch the pennies
think i might have to fork out for a new HD. got it working refitted it and it stopped again this ime saying files were missing, cloned over the disc image i had stored on the laptop (contained everything other than media) and tried again still got the same message. tried it out with a 20gb hd that ive had lying around for a while same image worked fine. Currently doing a full format on it and at 360gb its taken an Hour so far and its only looking at around 10%

Oh dear could be there all night then. Hope you got plenty of coffee...:bigsmile:
I wonder if I could strip a tower for the hard drive bracket and use that to mount a hard drive somewhere?

 

[pgarner]

yeah that was my basic idea as was going to build a custom case outa perspex but decided against it. most cases, including the one i gave yyou a link for , have the mouting points for a hard disc. just watch out and check what size they are set for alot of automotive cases use a 2.5" drive rather than the 3.5" desktop size

 

[turbonutter69]

I was think of mounting everything without a case. I'd make a tray for the motherboard to sit on inside the glovebox and a cage round the hard drive mounted under the dash somewhere. I couldn't put it under the seat cause i'm clumsy and tend to spill the odd bit of pop. How big are power inverters? As this would have to find home behind the dash too.

 

[turbonutter69]

Oh yeah an what about when the cars moving? Like pot holes an rough roads. Won't this damage the motherboard an hard drive?

 

[pgarner]

Power inverter - imusing the common m2atx gives 160w over the 3 rails and its huge, maybe 150 X 50 mm and most cases will accept this. if my board hadnt been so heavy on the 5v rail i was looking towards the m3atx which just plugs into the power socket on the motherboard.
motherboard has no real moving parts other than the fans so there fine with knocks. Hard disc hoever theres lots of theroys floating about
use a 2.5" drive as these have better tolarnces
mount the drive vertically so the heads dont hit the platters instead they move along with it.
rubber mount kits are avalible (small o rings that you can pick up for a few pence rather than the prices one place wanted) which help dampen the bounce.

me im sticking with the HD hard mounted to the case which wll be mounted to a sheet of wood on the back seat ( hide the wiring underneath it for a neater install)

 

[turbonutter69]

Sounds good mate cheers for the tips... I think i'm gonna start getting little bits every now an then....

 

[pgarner]

telling you ebay is your frien for everything.
also check out http://www.mp3car.com/vbulletin/ for alot of hints. just watch out theres a few ............... on there ask a simple question and theyll just ignore it or tell you to search as its been aske before

 

[turbonutter69]

telling you ebay is your frien for everything.
also check out http://www.mp3car.com/vbulletin/ for alot of hints. just watch out theres a few ............... on there ask a simple question and theyll just ignore it or tell you to search as its been aske before

Cheers mate nice 1 I'll have a search around on there...

 

[pgarner]

Ok well after a total of 17 hours doing a full format and running a disc checker program to check for damaged sectors i have a working har disc again.
now just need to copy al the media back across again and itll be ready to whack in the car