seeing as a number of you have / have had car PCs....

 

how does the PC get switched on / off and boot up and shut down properly?

 

it cant be as simple as connecting a PC to the battery via an inverter

Not my area this but I do know your right!-It's not that simple!

You can get Specific PSu's for this that boot on/off safely:ninja:

 

Something like this........

http://linitx.com/viewproduct.php?prodid=10917

Ive got mine running from an inverter, to switch it on, I've soldered a wire onto the mother board and ran that into the cabin to a momentary switch (just press it to create a circuit and when you let go it kills the circuit), shutting it down is as simple as using the windows menu in the OS.

Ive got mine running from an inverter, to switch it on, I've soldered a wire onto the mother board and ran that into the cabin to a momentary switch (just press it to create a circuit and when you let go it kills the circuit), shutting it down is as simple as using the windows menu in the OS.

 

Yep, same as mine is running, it is still going after all of the Nurberg trip and still working perfect.

so you have to remember to shut down the pc properly every time you stop the car?

IIRC, the psu can either switch the pc off or put it into sleep mode

so you have to remember to shut down the pc properly every time you stop the car?

 

IIRC, the psu can either switch the pc off or put it into sleep mode

 

If you buy the proper inverter, it can detect when you turn the car off, and shut the computer down automatic

my advice - Get a proper 12v In-Car PSU as per the link from MantaV8.

 

Not only will it automatically control the startup and shutdown of the pc safely and is fully customisable on how it starts and shuts it down, but it will protect the PC from the surging and spiking experienced during the starting of the car.

 

Also, It can keep the PC running for a set amount of time after ignition is off (for example if your popping into a shop or getting petrol - you dont want to have to go through the shutdown and restart up procedure) and it can put it into sleep mode and monitor the battery voltage and shutdown the pc entirely if battery gets too low.

 

It also has extra 5v feeds with controllable setup for remote start up of Amps with delays to prevent the 'thump' you can get when started before the carputer...etc

 

This is what I used in my own Carputer setups, and those I built and sold to customers - and can Highly recommend them. The M2 ATX is a great bit of kit.

Edited August 23, 201114 yr by Yowser