Trailmaster Install
I'm just gonna have to make sure to return the favor to all, and remember to take pics of all my stuff too.
lol, well pc savy more along the lines of I can put one together and fix things if they break. Although, I can usually find out what I don't know, as I know where to start looking.
The answer to #1 is a little more complicated than yes/no. Try reading this article, it will answer question 1 and also give you some options on running a motherboard off of your car battery.
As far as #2, it's possible just depends on how you set everything to run, and what your pc is is capable of handling. I'll see if I can find what you are looking for. Maybe a little more idea of what you are planning to do might help. I.E. Is the flash drive all you're going to use? Or will you have a hard drive as well? And what version of Windows? Etc...
Hey thanks for the reply- very cool
Well, I have PCMScan that I want to run in my console so that I can see all my sensors in real time and take advantage of the mileage and hp, readouts etc.
I also have the GM Shop Service Manul here on CDROM (just one disc or no more than 650Mb) that I would want to run and have access to in the truck.
I hate to admit it, but I have Vista here on CDROM, so that would probably be the OS I would install.
I have an 8GB USB flash drive that I store mp3's on in my Z28, but I don't use it very often, so I thought maybe I could set the motherboard to boot from it, and load the software from it too.
I don't want to run a hard drive, because of the electrical load.
If I could just run the motherboard, I think the parasitic drain might be low enough to hook into the constant 12V - that way, in the future, maybe I could hook some I/O's to the parallel port and do some crazy sh*t like strobe every light in the truck to the mp3 player or what have you without worrying about the hard drive killing the battery while it sat in the laneway.
Well, I have PCMScan that I want to run in my console so that I can see all my sensors in real time and take advantage of the mileage and hp, readouts etc.
I also have the GM Shop Service Manul here on CDROM (just one disc or no more than 650Mb) that I would want to run and have access to in the truck.
I hate to admit it, but I have Vista here on CDROM, so that would probably be the OS I would install.
I have an 8GB USB flash drive that I store mp3's on in my Z28, but I don't use it very often, so I thought maybe I could set the motherboard to boot from it, and load the software from it too.
I don't want to run a hard drive, because of the electrical load.
If I could just run the motherboard, I think the parasitic drain might be low enough to hook into the constant 12V - that way, in the future, maybe I could hook some I/O's to the parallel port and do some crazy sh*t like strobe every light in the truck to the mp3 player or what have you without worrying about the hard drive killing the battery while it sat in the laneway.
Ok, this should walk you through step by step. Although, without knowing whether or not your motherboard will allow booting from the usb drive, might be a moot point. Not to question your intelligence, but do you know what motherboard you are planning on using? I.E. The maker and the model?
*edit* you might like this option as well.
Maybe you'll get lucky and someone who has done this before will see this and chime in with how they did it.
Last edited by deadmanet; Oct 27, 2010 at 07:20 PM. Reason: Added another link
And the funny thing is, in helping you find your answers, I just found something else to add to my list. I didn't realize self diagnostic tools/software was so cheap. My list of upgrades is getting big. Time to ask the boss for a raise I guess.
