Thin Client?

[WayneH]

I built the same thing but instead of a standard hard drive I bought a SATA to compact flash adapter and a 16 GB compact flash card from Amazon for $40 and made a 16GB SSD so I would have less heat, noise, and no moving parts.

You're asking for trouble running an OS like windows on a CF card. The hardware is not designed for it; it's not like an SSD.

Running OS's off memory cards and USB sticks is OK for OS's like Linux since they handle the writing different, but Windows, nooooo!

Stick with an SSD.

 

[Bellingham_Scanner]

You're asking for trouble running an OS like windows on a CF card. The hardware is not designed for it; it's not like an SSD.

Running OS's off memory cards and USB sticks is OK for OS's like Linux since they handle the writing different, but Windows, nooooo!

Stick with an SSD.

:roll: I am running Linux, I would not run Windows on anything I wanted 24/7/365 reliability.

 

[WayneH]

:roll: I am running Linux, I would not run Windows on anything I wanted 24/7/365 reliability.

Well then I'm sorry you're a purist.

I wanted to make it clear in case anyone else got the impression they could run Windows off a CF card. You don't exactly provide a lot of details in your post. :roll:

 

[Bellingham_Scanner]

Actually there are several examples of running Windows from a CF card and even USB flash drives out there, I have XP that boots and runs on a thumb-drive. Sure they are not going to last forever due to the finite number of read/write cycles of flash memory and the lack of auto leveling in the CF card. There are also plenty of tips on running Windows on an SSD to reduce read/write cycles, all of them would be applicable to a CF card. But we are still looking at years of use and there would be signs of impending failure with the CF drive just like with any failing hard drive.

 

[WayneH]

Actually there are several examples of running Windows from a CF card and even USB flash drives out there, I have XP that boots and runs on a thumb-drive. Sure they are not going to last forever due to the finite number of read/write cycles of flash memory and the lack of auto leveling in the CF card. There are also plenty of tips on running Windows on an SSD to reduce read/write cycles, all of them would be applicable to a CF card. But we are still looking at years of use and there would be signs of impending failure with the CF drive just like with any failing hard drive.

I'm not disagreeing with you, but you can't accept the level of reliability compared to an SSD (running documented reliable firmware).

Will it work? Yes, of course it will. Will it be reliable in a consistent way across multiple vendors? No. I'm not trying to shoot your idea down but folks should be aware of the risks. It's certainly a cheap avenue but it may not be the route the less computer savvy expect.

 

[PeterGV]

Actually there are several examples of running Windows from a CF card and even USB flash drives out there,
...
But we are still looking at years of use ...

Years? Maybe, but not necessarily.

I've seen usb flash drives fail ASTONISHINGLY quickly. Just to give you an example, the last time I saw this happen I was using a USB flash drive to log some data. I was writing a log record 12 times an hour, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The USB flash drive failed in less than 90 days.

It's not the only time I've seen USB flash drives fail in use, either.

For a thin client, you can use a proper SSD (even an ATA SSD, if that's how the thin client machine is configured) and you'll get many years of reliability. I run 3 thin client machines with Windows XP Embedded, all of which run 24 x 365. The only time they stop are for power failures. One has run non-stop for over a year at a time.

Windows Embedded is *extremely* reliable. And on the right thin client, it makes for an excellent streaming platform. OTOH, using a thin client is a bit of a hobby venture. It requires you to learn about configuring and managing thin client systems. If you find that sort of thing amusing, I'd highly recommend it. If you just want something to work reliably, I'd steer you away from the thin client approach.

Peter
K1PGV

 

[Bellingham_Scanner]

Yeah okay, I have had two thinclients and a micro-atx system running 24/7 for over a year and a half now on a CF card. As far as I know nobody has said either of you two have to switch all of your hardware over to CF based drives.

I am not sure why after this thread was dead for over a year (last post was on 11-12-2011) WayneH saw fit to dredge it up and make me defend my idea. :roll:

Most boards autolock threads after a few months. I think that would be a good suggestion for this board too.

 

[Inssomniak]

Could always consider a used laptop, tons to be had, Old p3 p4 lappies all over the place for less than 50 bux.

I ran my feed on an IBM laptop for a few months. Worked great.

I ended up consolidating a few servers I had around the house into one box running VMware ESXi 5.0, now I just have one server, with a few VMs. Also works great for feed providing and very flexible.

EDIT: Wow I didnt realize this thread was a blast from the past.