Looking for Embedded Standard 2009 for a mediacenter

Discussion in 'Windows Embedded' started by runar, Aug 3, 2012.

  1. runar

    runar MDL Novice

    Jan 27, 2010
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    Hello;

    I'm trying to reconvert an old Athlon XP 1400 PC in an horizontal box with some extra memory (768MB), ATI videocard and internal Wifi card into a MAME arcade machine and media Center, to put it under my flat tv (occupies the same as a VCR). I've already got the PC and a X-Arcade circuit for joysticks. I would like to set up a mediacenter and use bluetooth controllers too, but for those to work well I would need to set up an XP SP2 at least, better if SP3.

    Trying to run XP with a service pack with so little memory is unnusable, and I can't make the mediacenter and the BT controllers work right on the Win2000 SP4 that I am using.

    For what i've managed to understand, I need to use an XPenbedded SP2 and update it to SP3, or the 2009 Standard.

    1. Where can i get it? (I'm hoping for a delta patch for m$.com / en-us / download / details. aspx? id=14947)

    2. Can I install language packs on it? Where are they?

    3. Can I install the M$ mediacenter on it? If not, what alternatives work well on it?

    4.1 Anyone knows where you can get seriar IR sensors for those irda/serial conectors in the motherboards? This box is an standard pc case, so doesn't have it, but I don't want to put a s**tload of usb dongles dangling out.

    4.2 What about using an Android phone as an bluetooth/wifi remote?

    4.3 Can I use the PC as a video source for my XBOX360?

    4.4 If I added a DVT PCI card, could I set it as a DVT player/recorder, or it would fail due to low memory / processor?

    Any help, sougerence, or links in the right direction would be kindly appreciated.
     
  2. sebus

    sebus MDL Guru

    Jul 23, 2008
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    Install Ubuntu with xbmc, job done, forget Windoze
    Or buy Raspberry Pi

    sebus
     
  3. runar

    runar MDL Novice

    Jan 27, 2010
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    I'm not good enought at linux to make this work. Very old motherboard and fairly new videocard is a dependence hell waiting to happen. Withouth mentioning is the wireless suport I wan't to try to add. No way, thank you.

    If it was only a MAME machine, it would work beautifully (it was the previus job of the motherboard), but I wanted to add other games (so I want to add a couple of wireless pads), non-mame games (Guilty Gear x, Grandia II) and fullhd video (thus the fairly recent videocard), so i would prefeer Windows.

    I take note of XBMC sugerence.

    Don't want to buy new hardware for now. I'm just trying to recycle my old one. If I wanted new one I could get an atom mediacenter with Win 7 cheaply, which would be able to do 80% of what I want. I prefer to reuse if possible.
     
  4. sebus

    sebus MDL Guru

    Jul 23, 2008
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    Stop being stuck on Windows, get life, learn something else

    Get Openelec, most likely all will work out of the box

    sebus
     
  5. runar

    runar MDL Novice

    Jan 27, 2010
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    Why don't you read what other people write before answering? Or lean to undestand basic english?

    I already have a Zotac with Linux acting as mediacenter. It works fine. i'm not doing this because i need a new mediacenter; I'm doing this to reuse a lot of old, and I mean OLD hardware (cpu, board, memory, HDs, DVD rom drive, old joystick port pads with ff, an old serial-port weel and pedals, videocard, network card, wifi card, card reader). I don't want to get into a s**tload of trouble to make it work in linux (I could, just not quickly), because it is not the mediacenter or the MAME machine the objetive. Those I already have (the Zotac).

    I just want to be able to run other WINDOWS games (old, not well suported by wine and incompatible with Vista). I could do that with a standard XP home too.

    But I want to LEARN to use windows embedded (wich I already can do with the 180 days trial). it's just that since this project i'ts for me, I would like it to last more than 3 months. As the title of the tread says, i'm asking for a link o delta patch of the full version of the 2009 embedded.

    If i wanted a linux solution I would ask in the linux forum. If i wanted a vista/7 solution I would ask in its forum. I just asked, as a SECONDARY question, to recomend me a mediacenter that they think it would work on windows and on hardware as old as this.

    I'm more interested in having something that can work as a retro game player for my old games and GOG collection and net-tv. Being able to use it as a mediacenter would be nicer so I wouldn't have to switch between the zotac and this project, yes. But it is not a requeriment.

    So if you have a comment for that, thank you. But please, no trolling.

    -Edit --

    And sorry for taking so long to answer, but, well, I have a life.
     
  6. meister_sd

    meister_sd MDL Novice

    Aug 4, 2012
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    #6 meister_sd, Aug 7, 2012
    Last edited: Aug 7, 2012
    Take a look at the embedded thread for a lot of general information. Take a look specifically the T5730 thread and the Windows Thin PC thread there.

    I put ThinPC on a thin client and it worked pretty well and would suggest that if you aren't using a flash card or whatever. If using a hard drive, it should work well and it's Win7 based so it should allow for the hardware stuff you are using. I'd post links but I don't have enough posts for the system to allow it.

    I've also used the patched trial of WinXPe builder but I don't think you can download the trial anymore from M$ but it's on the torrent sites. Basically, a cab file was extracted and the normal retail-to-volume patch was applied to the files, recompressed back into a CAB file and the ISO remade.