Thread: How reliable is your car computer?

I run a simple system. Keypower DC-DC, a low power MB/CPU and one hard drive. Win XP and WinAmp. It is very stable. This set up reflects my goal of simple and does what I want for now.

Very impressed with the stability of carputers, I was expecting major troubleshooting and often. So far has not been the case.

Issues only arise when I change or add something which is to be expected.

The trick is do not cut corners with wiring and get the best damn equipment you can afford.

Originally Posted by -zip-

Very impressed with the stability of carputers, I was expecting major troubleshooting and often. So far has not been the case.

Issues only arise when I change or add something which is to be expected.

The trick is do not cut corners with wiring and get the best damn equipment you can afford.

I added a lot of parts along the way, and had many issues getting them all to work.

Hardware wise I have no problems. But Im having a **** time with windows resolutions changing on restart. And screen flashing when power supply is interupted - quiting RR makes it stop though

Oh, and I need a reset button, and master power switch fitting

My install is so stealth the only visible part is the moulded in lilli that looks OEM. More pics to take. then a bit of a blog will follow...

Major problems (PSU/HD taking a dump; OS crashing): A couple of times a year.
Minor problems (Staring in cold weather, driver errors, hibernation issues): Maybe 3 times a week in general... I'm normally better off in the summer.

Anytime I do something minor inside the case (add a stick of ram, change a fan, change a ghosted HD), the whole thing bombs like mad. I get powerup issues, Windows gets angry, PSU doesn't work at all, freezes, or whatever. Then I figure out what dumb simple thing it was, fix it, and it's golden with no problems for months. Until I have to add/change something else again, and it all goes to hell for about a week while I figure it out.

The core systems (one PC, one Mac Mini) run reliably and without problems. Trying to extend them to do stuff is often a software/hardware headache but they don't generally crap out and require major rebuild.

we should post the same poll but asking about Desktop computers...

Its be nice to see a comparison.

1-2 a week mostly due to using alpha/beta software nothing a reset doesn't fix though. Had some huge problems with new bluetooth drivers a couple weeks ago but that was a 1 time thing with my phone setup.