[wplug] mini-itx and CF booting

James O'Kane jo2y at midnightlinux.com
Thu Dec 15 16:29:40 EST 2005


On Thu, 15 Dec 2005, Douglas Green wrote:

> Anyone play with mini-itx form factor computers??
> I was exploring around the projects in the mini-itx boards (carputers, etc). 
> I found a number of really slick linux projects (like www.dashpc.com). A lot 
> of these are using bootable CF cards- what's the advantage?? Seems like CF 
> would boot slowly, and they're still going to have a HDD in their 'puter, so 
> I'm just wondering why people don't just stick their OS on the regular hard 
> drive?

I've been working on a mini-itx system. Depending on the environment, you 
might want the two mediums. Assuming the CF is the root partition, then 
the HD only data, then it can be removed, possibly on the fly. Or replaced 
with a different drive with different data.
The CF is also less prone to vibration damage, so putting it in a car 
would work.
The CF probably uses less power, so the HD could be powered down when not 
needed, and the system still retains full functionality (except for data 
access.)

Those are what I can think of off the top of my head.

-james



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