Anyone using Windows XPe?

[Zepher]

I was browsing around and came across Windows XPe which is an embedded version.
I am thinking about building a small pc for the car and want to use as few moving parts as possible, CD-Rom being the only moving part.

 

[[MS]]

I've used it and have to admit that it's quite interesting, but it may not be the best in this situation.

XPe requires that you run a target analysis program on the target machine then creates an image with only the required drivers. From there you can add or remove any OS component, ranging from a full XP pro install down to a system with no GUI, no command prompt, no tools or services, and mayby one preinstalled program to drive and LCD or something. All said, I like the design tools to image creation because all dependencies are automatically checked and all that need be done is copy the image to the target storage device and have it the boot device (I only ever used a normal hard drive for this, making install as easy as an xcopy).

However, I think the tools are designed more for design once, deploy many. It does take some time to get used to the tools, and create an image the way you want it, but then it's almost trivial to deploy. I think the purchase prices are set up in a similar way (though I'm not positive), the image design tools are expensive, then and the actual cost of using the an XPe OS are much less.

If you have access to the XPe tools already (or can aquire them at a big discount though some academic plan or work), then by all means it's a great thing to play with. If not, the cost of aquiring the design tools would be much higher than just getting a standard copy of XP and installing that instead.

 

[Zepher]

Ideally, I want an OS that is in ROM or non-volitile RAM with maybe 5 applications.
WinAmp for the music, my Eprom programmer software, car scanner software, internet explorer, and car tuning software.

Hardware wise, I'd need audio, display of course, mouse and kb, serial port and wireless NIC.

It wouldn't have to be fast, a P2 300 is more than fast enough.

I think I mistook the XP Embedded for a ROM based OS like Windows CE that I have in my palmtop.

 

[[MS]]

Ya, XPe has many of the same limitations as XP when it comes to hardware compatability. While it should be possible to have it in Flash (though I've never looked into it), I don't think a ROM would work.

If all you want is something with no moving parts other than the CD, you could always make and bootable CD that contained an OS. While I don't think win2k\xp works running from a CD, win98 and *nix variants can run like that. It would still require a bit of work to make the CD.

On the other hand, are you sure a standard hard disk is out of the question?

If it just that you don't want power to the system being cut, is it possible to run the power inverter off the alternator only so as not to drain the battery at all, then put a $40 UPS between the inverter and the computer? The APC software can make your PC turn off as soon as the UPS looses power. The only other concern would be if the UPS can withstand the temperature variations (but there's probably operating condition specs for such things).

If on the other hand its because you think the hard disk will crash, I though most modern disks can take quite a beating as far as shock and vibration go. Of course, there's product specs for these things as well for hard drives, so you'd want to check there.

Anyway, just thought I'd throw a few ideas out there in case they are of any use...

 

[Zepher]

A hard drive isn't out of the question, but using solid state should allow for faster boot up and shut down times, which is my main concern.
The car it's going into wouldn't be a daily driver, it's basically my weekend/road race car.

the CD would contain just mp3 files.

I was looking at those single board computers, but not sure how much they cost.

I am going see what kind of design I can come up with for the car and keep it cost effective, which is another major concern.

 

[AceXsmurF]

where does one get windows xpe? Can you just buy it?

sounds like exactly a solution to a problem i have....though a small linux solution looks to be going very well too.

 

[AchTuNG!]

Don't have time to read everything above so apologise if i repeat something. But, I had the joy of setting up a pretty fancy looking diagnostic machine (can't name brand, purpose etc) with XPe. By setup, I mean put it together and turn it on. BUT NO! it took 9 weeks, and 3 replacement machines before it ran for more than a few minutes. Didn't have a whole lot of time to play around with the OS itself coz it took forever just to get it to boot. Looked ok though, and similarly spec'd to XP as far as I could see. This machine, btw, wasn't that physically small, and had a hard drive anyway, so i never understood the whole theory. My 2c.