Thread: Laptop set up question

Use a DC power adapter made for your laptop for DC power.
You'll have to use some other solution for automatic startup/shutdown, perhaps using Wake-On-Ring or something similar.
Another possibility is to mod the power switch on either the laptop or a docking station. The latter would be preferrable to maintain the usability (and warranty!) of the laptop.

Originally Posted by portcity

I searched and read several FAQs already but can't find my answer. I'm swithcing from a mini-ITX to laptop setup and have some questions.

How do I use a DC-DC power supply to power a laptop?

Use a DC-DC power adapter made for your laptop as DP said - just search the web or ebay for the specific adapter for your laptop or find the voltage and current demands of your laptop and get a universal DC adapter. You hust plug it into your cigarette lighter or wire into your car to 12v from the battery.

Is it better to use DC-DC for laptop or power invertor?

From everything I have read the consensus is DC adapter.

My current set up has the pc goes to standy when I turn of ignition and recover frmo standy when I start the car, can this be done with a laptop?

Shutdown is easy - most laptops have power settings - just set it to go to standby when it loses external power.(so you shut the car off and it goes to standby if you wired your DC adapter to ACC)

Startup: There are a lot of great threads out there to read. Just search for "laptop", "startup". You can look into the "wake on" options - wake on ring, LAN, usb or wire to the laptop power switch(or docking station)

I decided wiring to the power switch was best for me. If you wire to the power switch you can wire that (through a relay) to your ignition to have the computer turn on or wake from standby on start. I just wired to a switch in my dash so I can turn it on or off when I want.

I'm sorry if it's noob questions but I like to switch to laptop and am researching into it.

It is good you are doing a lot of research before jumping into it. A laptop install can be more complicated than it seems it would be. Do the search I mentioned above and you will learn a lot.

Good Luck!