Sorry another newb after help!

scottyj12 · 04-27-2008, 12:50 AM

Right basicly i have an old acer travelmate 2200 that i want to turn into a car comp. It runs dog slow atm so i have tried to install microxp but i can for the life of me get it to boot. What format does it have to be in?? And yea just generally need help on how to get the laptop to "carputer" running before i start installing stuff. Im sure ill have more questions to follow! cheers

Grrrmachine · 04-27-2008, 02:59 AM

A Travelmate is a Pentium4 unit, isnt it? That's faster than the desktop I'm using to write this, so "dog slow" is definitely relative.

When installing laptops, you have to remember the drivers - laptops are full of specific gear that XP, and therefore the cutdown versions like microxp, don't have. When you say it won't boot, how far does it get? Have you tried safe mode? Have you ever installed a PC before? They all need answering before you think about how to hardwire the laptop into a car electrical system.

scottyj12 · 04-27-2008, 03:15 AM

Right well i have kinda installed a pc before but im no pro. And trust me it is very slow, it has had xp reloaded once in its life so there are a few drivers already missing. Not to sure why its so slow i think its just got a load of crap loaded on it over the time and it is celeron D. When i say it wont boot. XP runs fine but when i have tried (but i may have done it completly wrong) to boot the micrxp from the disc it does nothing and just loads up as normal. Thanks for all the help again

Grrrmachine · 04-27-2008, 03:19 AM

Are you sure the MicroXP disc is bootable (have you checked it in another PC) and have you configured your laptop's bios to Boot From CD-ROM?

scottyj12 · 04-27-2008, 03:20 AM

i have configued it to boot from Cd yes, wheather the cd is bootablei am not sure, ive been trying to peice together what i needed to do from varius websites before posting here but i cant get it to work!

Grrrmachine · 04-27-2008, 03:29 AM

You might want to abandon the MicroXP route for the moment and try something else. TinyXP is an obtainable self-booting package if you can find it online, and nLite is a tool for taking an original XP disc and stripping out the crap you don't need to make a new slimline bootable install. If you cant guarantee your microXP disc works, try one of those options.

scottyj12 · 04-27-2008, 04:05 AM

Okay ill give that a try. Thanks alot mate

FusionFanatic · 04-27-2008, 12:54 PM

be careful with 'tinyXP' and other versions like it. they are illegal, pirated versions not distributed by Micro$oft. any XP version you can download is not a legit copy (with the exception of developer/test versions that are downloadable, but not available to the general public). since basically anything you download is not a legit copy of XP, you never know what's in the file. there could be all kinds of harmful crap in it (it may install fine like any other OS, but it might automatically self-install malware, etc without your knowledge or consent.

nLite is always the best way to go. it allows you to customize your OS exactly the way you want it, and since you use your own [legal & legit] XP copy to make it, you know there's no hidden malware in it.
-you can strip out all the bundled crapware that comes with an OEM XP disc.
-you can remove all the generic XP drivers and add your laptop specific drivers (they will be installed automatically during the XP installation).
-you can remove lots of unnecessary files, fonts, languages, services, etc.
-you can slipstream SP2 or SP3 into the install so you don't have to waste time downloading/installing countless windows updates and hotfixes later on.
-if you complete the 'unattended setup' section then you can make the installation completely automatic (you don't have to be near the computer to answer annoying prompts every few minutes like you do with a regular install)

with a properly nLited XP install, you will have a much faster system then your OEM XP originally had on it. just keep in mind that your goal should not be to have to smallest installation possible, because you'll end up removing/disabling features that you want/need. your goal should be to have the lightest installation that still has all the features you want and/or need. if you're not sure what you need or don't need then check out the nLite forums.

good luck

scottyj12 · 04-28-2008, 06:57 AM

Ok cheers for that mate, i have downloaded nlite but haven't had the time to go anyfurther yet, Will let you know how it goes

scottyj12 · 04-29-2008, 04:39 AM

Right ive got the XP disc, and ive got nlite on my memorey stick. How do i go about installing XP and using Nlite
cheers

EDIT: ive found an online guide

scottyj12 · 04-29-2008, 10:48 AM

Right sorry for the contant questions guys. Ive got the nlite and xp all sorted but im not sure weather i can remove some of the stuff and what i need in.

Any help or pointers?

Grrrmachine · 04-29-2008, 02:14 PM

It really does depends on what you, personally, want the PC to do.

Blank CDs are hardly expensive, and the only thing it costs you is time. If you get it wrong, all it will mean is that you have to re-install the drivers or components afterwards from the XP disc, so stop being such a coward and dive in! If you get stuck, nlite have their own MASSIVE forums, plus there is the SEARCH button in here which you really, REALLY are not using enough.

We're not going to spoon feed you any more. Ask another question only when you've done something constructive!

scottyj12 · 04-29-2008, 02:26 PM

Okay fair doos, ill give it a go

scottyj12 · 04-29-2008, 05:00 PM

Right well it seems to have worked. I now have a clean laptop. It still takes 60 secs or so to load though so i think i left a lil to much in there.

another problem to, my vgaoutput doesn't seem to work

FusionFanatic · 04-29-2008, 11:11 PM

Quote: Originally Posted by scottyj12

well it seems to have worked. I now have a clean laptop. It still takes 60 secs or so to load though so i think i left a lil to much in there

is that the time it takes from the power button 'press' to the visible/usable desktop?

a good portion of that 60 seconds is probably due to the BIOS. see how long it takes to go from button push to the BIOS logo/splash screen, then how long it takes to finish booting from that point on...

you can speed this part up by going into your BIOS settings and:
- load "optimized settings", then...
- disable any onboard devices that you don't need,
- select your HDD as the first boot device,
- enable any quick-boot/fast-boot/etc setting,
- and any other tweaks that you think might speed up the boot process.

Quote: Originally Posted by scottyj12

another problem to, my vgaoutput doesn't seem to work

then you removed something that you shouldn't have, or you didn't integrate your laptop-specific drivers (from your original laptop restore/driver disk, or new versions from the web).