60 GB on thin client

[tony]

I'm probably missing something about this idea, but if storage (flash memory) is a limitation, why not add an external USB harddrive. A case for a 2.5" drive runs about $30. And past upgrades to laptops probably means there are lots of 30 or 60 GB drives around?

Shouldn't this work, as long as XP is on the flash drive, the TC will boot. Other programs and data can reside on the external HD. I'm assuming the TC's USB port provides enough power to run a HD.

I realize one goal is minimal energy consumption and minimal heat. And maybe staying solid state, but for the gains, isn't it a good trade-off?

thanks.

[davrow]

Yes, it is a good trade-off. But, as you say, why use a Thin Client at all if you are just going to turn it into a small PC?

Old PCs are a dime a dozen (I'll give you three for free if you pick them up) and will run MJ just fine.

(caveat - the 3 I would give you no longer work )

[tony]

You're right. I see on ebay there are laptops for under $2. But how long would they last?

Anyways I just won a Thin Client on ebay. It's only got 256/256 so next step is to hunt for some flash and ram memory.

[PTravel]

I'm probably missing something about this idea, but if storage (flash memory) is a limitation, why not add an external USB harddrive. A case for a 2.5" drive runs about $30. And past upgrades to laptops probably means there are lots of 30 or 60 GB drives around?

Shouldn't this work, as long as XP is on the flash drive, the TC will boot. Other programs and data can reside on the external HD. I'm assuming the TC's USB port provides enough power to run a HD.

I realize one goal is minimal energy consumption and minimal heat. And maybe staying solid state, but for the gains, isn't it a good trade-off?

thanks.

That's exactly what I've done, except that I added a 1-terabyte Raid 1 system. You can read about it here:

http://www.thinclientforum.com/nas.htm

[PTravel]

Yes, it is a good trade-off. But, as you say, why use a Thin Client at all if you are just going to turn it into a small PC?

Because thin clients are lower power, produce less heat and are dead silent, none of which is true of an old PC.

[momo]

PTravel

did you miss your flight to china?

Posted: Tue Nov 11, 2008 3:14 am ... Unfortunately, I'm off to China early tomorrow for three weeks ...

http://www.phoneservicesupport.com/post24313.html#24313

[tony]

thanks.

That's exactly what I've done, except that I added a 1-terabyte Raid 1 system. You can read about it here:

http://www.thinclientforum.com/nas.htm[/quote]

Nice setup. These TCs have potential. Now that I know what they are, I see them everywhere.

[PTravel]

PTravel

did you miss your flight to china?

Posted: Tue Nov 11, 2008 3:14 am ... Unfortunately, I'm off to China early tomorrow for three weeks ...

http://www.phoneservicesupport.com/post24313.html#24313

Nope-- I'm there (here) right now.

[HolmanGT]

You're right. I see on ebay there are laptops for under $2. But how long would they last?

Anyways I just won a Thin Client on ebay. It's only got 256/256 so next step is to hunt for some flash and ram memory.

There is no hunt to it just go to Transcend and they will sell you a hot little ATA Flash Drive 1GB for $17 dollars.

[Mark]

I have 8GB installed in my HP5720. But I also use it for surfing the Internet (as I'm doing right now) because it's silent, etc. The drawback is that it's underpowered for optimal Internet surfing, particularly graphics, and it doesn't have the full version of Windows XP. I did upgrade to the NVIDIA graphics card, but it's nothing special because of power limitations. I have thought about buying a mini computer which is simply the smallest version of a fully configured computer.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6856167028

The power is only 200 watts, so it's not going to suck up a lot of energy. It also provides the means to install a fast processor and large hard drive, etc. The downside is that it will use a fan which means it's not silent--it's small, but not silent.

[HolmanGT]

I have 8GB installed in my HP5720. But I also use it for surfing the Internet (as I'm doing right now) because it's silent, etc. The drawback is that it's underpowered for optimal Internet surfing, particularly graphics, and it doesn't have the full version of Windows XP. I did upgrade to the NVIDIA graphics card, but it's nothing special because of power limitations. I have thought about buying a mini computer which is simply the smallest version of a fully configured computer.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6856167028

The power is only 200 watts, so it's not going to suck up a lot of energy. It also provides the means to install a fast processor and large hard drive, etc. The downside is that it will use a fan which means it's not silent--it's small, but not silent.

Mark, you say your T5720 is not a fast WEB browser? I have always found the 5720 to be a very fast, snappy machine. What size is your RAM drive set to? and how much memory and flash do you have?

Remember the RAM drive it the scratch pad for all your temporary browsing files if you have it set the the factory default of hmmm... lets say 8 Megabytes, yes your browsing will suck. Set it to 64 megs if you have the ram to spare and you will notice a much improved browsing speed.

[momo]

PTravel

did you miss your flight to china?

Posted: Tue Nov 11, 2008 3:14 am ... Unfortunately, I'm off to China early tomorrow for three weeks ...

http://www.phoneservicesupport.com/post24313.html#24313

Nope-- I'm there (here) right now.

isn't the Internet great? ... ... you also had a fast plane ... got you there quickly.

[Mark]

I have 8GB installed in my HP5720. But I also use it for surfing the Internet (as I'm doing right now) because it's silent, etc. The drawback is that it's underpowered for optimal Internet surfing, particularly graphics, and it doesn't have the full version of Windows XP. I did upgrade to the NVIDIA graphics card, but it's nothing special because of power limitations. I have thought about buying a mini computer which is simply the smallest version of a fully configured computer.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6856167028

The power is only 200 watts, so it's not going to suck up a lot of energy. It also provides the means to install a fast processor and large hard drive, etc. The downside is that it will use a fan which means it's not silent--it's small, but not silent.

Mark, you say your T5720 is not a fast WEB browser? I have always found the 5720 to be a very fast, snappy machine. What size is you RAM drive set to? and how much memory and flash do you have?

Remember the RAM drive it the scratch pad for all your temporary browsing files if you have it set the the factory default of hmmm... lets say 8 Megabytes, yes your browsing will suck. Set it to 64 megs if you have the ram to spare and you will notice a much improved browsing speed.

I did a RAM upgrade to the max 1GB. What I mean by not optimal surfing, is that the graphics will not be as fast as a higher end graphics card such as the NVIDIA 8800GTS 640MB, for example, which I have installed in my computer. The NVIDIA 64MB graphics are good, but pages will load slower and I notice that youtube videos sometimes can be choppy. And this is an obvious thing to recognize since a more powerful computer will enhance surfing. Using the 8800GTS the graphics smooth out. Also, the Thin Client's slow 1 GHz processor slows the browsing down at times. I do have the RAMDisk Manager set for 64MB and overall browsing is acceptable. Having a low power Thin Client, which can be kept on 24/7 and is silent, is nice thing to have. For me, the best advantage is the Thin Client's silent running.

[PTravel]

I have 8GB installed in my HP5720. But I also use it for surfing the Internet (as I'm doing right now) because it's silent, etc. The drawback is that it's underpowered for optimal Internet surfing, particularly graphics, and it doesn't have the full version of Windows XP. I did upgrade to the NVIDIA graphics card, but it's nothing special because of power limitations. I have thought about buying a mini computer which is simply the smallest version of a fully configured computer.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6856167028

The power is only 200 watts, so it's not going to suck up a lot of energy. It also provides the means to install a fast processor and large hard drive, etc. The downside is that it will use a fan which means it's not silent--it's small, but not silent.

I've also found my t5720 to be a speedy net browser. You mention that you have 8 gig installed. Why not install full XP Pro? That's what I did on a t5730, and it works great.

[Mark]

I have 8GB installed in my HP5720. But I also use it for surfing the Internet (as I'm doing right now) because it's silent, etc. The drawback is that it's underpowered for optimal Internet surfing, particularly graphics, and it doesn't have the full version of Windows XP. I did upgrade to the NVIDIA graphics card, but it's nothing special because of power limitations. I have thought about buying a mini computer which is simply the smallest version of a fully configured computer.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6856167028

The power is only 200 watts, so it's not going to suck up a lot of energy. It also provides the means to install a fast processor and large hard drive, etc. The downside is that it will use a fan which means it's not silent--it's small, but not silent.

I've also found my t5720 to be a speedy net browser. You mention that you have 8 gig installed. Why not install full XP Pro? That's what I did on a t5730, and it works great.

I actually attempted to install the full version of XP. I bought a full version of XP that I tried to flash onto a 4GB USB stick but I couldn't get it to work. I followed instructions I found on a website, but again, not successful. I would appreciate any suggestions.

[PTravel]

I have 8GB installed in my HP5720. But I also use it for surfing the Internet (as I'm doing right now) because it's silent, etc. The drawback is that it's underpowered for optimal Internet surfing, particularly graphics, and it doesn't have the full version of Windows XP. I did upgrade to the NVIDIA graphics card, but it's nothing special because of power limitations. I have thought about buying a mini computer which is simply the smallest version of a fully configured computer.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6856167028

The power is only 200 watts, so it's not going to suck up a lot of energy. It also provides the means to install a fast processor and large hard drive, etc. The downside is that it will use a fan which means it's not silent--it's small, but not silent.

I've also found my t5720 to be a speedy net browser. You mention that you have 8 gig installed. Why not install full XP Pro? That's what I did on a t5730, and it works great.

I actually attempted to install the full version of XP. I bought a full version of XP that I tried to flash onto a 4GB USB stick but I couldn't get it to work. I followed instructions I found on a website, but again, not successful. I would appreciate any suggestions.

I've tried that as well. Here are some things I've found:

1. XP Pro will boot from a hard drive connected to the IDE connector (where the flash drive plugs in), but not from an external USB case.

2. XP Pro will boot from a CF card connected to the IDE connector, but not from an external USB adapter.

3. My understanding is that some USB thumb drives are bootable, some are not. However, I've tried a number of them and they don't seem to work. There appears to be some kind of timing problem, either in the sequence in which the USB ports are initizliaced by the BIOS, or in the sequence in which the USB drivers are loaded by the OS.

The only think I found that worked was loading XP Pro into a replacement flash drive. This requires atleast 6 gigabytes for full XP Pro, so I bought an 8 gig IDE flash drive from Transcend for one of my t5730s. Purchase price was around $100, which isn't cheap.

I also couldn't figure out a way to install EWF. I tried upgrading an existing install of XPe, but that failed. I've also tried installing EWF separately by copying over the components and installing the EWF driver manually. This, too, didn't work. I wound up giving up on the idea of having the EWF and, instead, made sure that all system and user temp directories are located on devices other than the flash drive, and also programs that routinely write configuration files, e.g. FireFox, are also installed to other drives.

[momo]

I also couldn't figure out a way to install EWF. I tried upgrading an existing install of XPe, but that failed. I've also tried installing EWF separately by copying over the components and installing the EWF driver manually. This, too, didn't work. I wound up giving up on the idea of having the EWF and, instead, made sure that all system and user temp directories are located on devices other than the flash drive, and also programs that routinely write configuration files, e.g. FireFox, are also installed to other drives.

I have EWF running on my full XP Pro 8GB Flash Drive

I took the files directly from the Windows XP Embedded Service Pack 2 Feature Pack 2007 Evaluation
at the direct file link ...
http://download.microsoft.com/download/ ... ck2007.iso

and then used an ISO Reader *so i didn't have to burn a CD*, and extracted the needed files from the rep folder

I was even able to get the Control Panel files for it from a Ghost v9 image I made of an origial XPe installation, along with some others needed, not in the ISO, but only in the full installation of XPe.

[PTravel]

I also couldn't figure out a way to install EWF. I tried upgrading an existing install of XPe, but that failed. I've also tried installing EWF separately by copying over the components and installing the EWF driver manually. This, too, didn't work. I wound up giving up on the idea of having the EWF and, instead, made sure that all system and user temp directories are located on devices other than the flash drive, and also programs that routinely write configuration files, e.g. FireFox, are also installed to other drives.

I have EWF running on my full XP Pro 8GB Flash Drive

I took the files directly from the Windows XP Embedded Service Pack 2 Feature Pack 2007 Evaluation
at the direct file link ...
http://download.microsoft.com/download/ ... ck2007.iso

and then used an ISO Reader *so i didn't have to burn a CD*, and extracted the needed files from the rep folder

I was even able to get the Control Panel files for it from a Ghost v9 image I made of an origial XPe installation, along with some others needed, not in the ISO, but only in the full installation of XPe.

Thanks, Momo! I tried looking for something like this on Microsoft's site, but gave up -- Microsoft's search feature is terrible.

This is terrific! Thanks, again!

[testing123]

I'm probably missing something about this idea, but if storage (flash memory) is a limitation, why not add an external USB harddrive. A case for a 2.5" drive runs about $30. And past upgrades to laptops probably means there are lots of 30 or 60 GB drives around?

Shouldn't this work, as long as XP is on the flash drive, the TC will boot. Other programs and data can reside on the external HD. I'm assuming the TC's USB port provides enough power to run a HD.

I realize one goal is minimal energy consumption and minimal heat. And maybe staying solid state, but for the gains, isn't it a good trade-off?

thanks.

That's exactly what I've done, except that I added a 1-terabyte Raid 1 system. You can read about it here:

http://www.thinclientforum.com/nas.htm

PTravel: Nice.

I use them for all sorts of stuff now -- but I don't run Windoze on them ... running Debian Etch via external USB Flash instead.

Latest triumph was setting up a 4 Camera Surveillance system on one (using a Laptop hard drive making it a low power/low heat/low profile "fat client"). All using 13 Watts electricity!

[VaHam]

I'm probably missing something about this idea, but if storage (flash memory) is a limitation, why not add an external USB harddrive. A case for a 2.5" drive runs about $30. And past upgrades to laptops probably means there are lots of 30 or 60 GB drives around?

Shouldn't this work, as long as XP is on the flash drive, the TC will boot. Other programs and data can reside on the external HD. I'm assuming the TC's USB port provides enough power to run a HD.

I realize one goal is minimal energy consumption and minimal heat. And maybe staying solid state, but for the gains, isn't it a good trade-off?

thanks.

That's exactly what I've done, except that I added a 1-terabyte Raid 1 system. You can read about it here:

http://www.thinclientforum.com/nas.htm

PTravel: Nice.

I use them for all sorts of stuff now -- but I don't run Windoze on them ... running Debian Etch via external USB Flash instead.

Latest triumph was setting up a 4 Camera Surveillance system on one (using a Laptop hard drive making it a low power/low heat/low profile "fat client"). All using 13 Watts electricity!

You beat me to the punch testing123. I was just looking into using one of my TC for surveillance cameras as well. Being chepa I was looking at one of the cheap 4 input USB capture adapters. I think they use software for encoding. I was not sure if the T5710 would have enough horse power to do this without an adapter which user hardware encoding.

Which video caputre adapter did you use?

[PTravel]

I'm probably missing something about this idea, but if storage (flash memory) is a limitation, why not add an external USB harddrive. A case for a 2.5" drive runs about $30. And past upgrades to laptops probably means there are lots of 30 or 60 GB drives around?

Shouldn't this work, as long as XP is on the flash drive, the TC will boot. Other programs and data can reside on the external HD. I'm assuming the TC's USB port provides enough power to run a HD.

I realize one goal is minimal energy consumption and minimal heat. And maybe staying solid state, but for the gains, isn't it a good trade-off?

thanks.

That's exactly what I've done, except that I added a 1-terabyte Raid 1 system. You can read about it here:

http://www.thinclientforum.com/nas.htm

PTravel: Nice.

I use them for all sorts of stuff now -- but I don't run Windoze on them ... running Debian Etch via external USB Flash instead.

Latest triumph was setting up a 4 Camera Surveillance system on one (using a Laptop hard drive making it a low power/low heat/low profile "fat client"). All using 13 Watts electricity!

Interesting! Any chance I can get you to write about it for the Thin Client Forum?

[testing123]

Interesting! Any chance I can get you to write about it for the Thin Client Forum?

Send me a PM.

[testing123]

You beat me to the punch testing123. I was just looking into using one of my TC for surveillance cameras as well. Being chepa I was looking at one of the cheap 4 input USB capture adapters. I think they use software for encoding. I was not sure if the T5710 would have enough horse power to do this without an adapter which user hardware encoding.

Which video caputre adapter did you use?

VaHam: Check your PM