XBMC 4W Atlantic B1 - Tiny/MicroXP

[MrFlanagan]

When I run XBMC the exe (windowed or full screen )starts for all of half a second and then just closes with no errors.


TinyXP
Tried all options and every other application I need works fine.

MicroXP
Although no options on install, still doesn't work.


I assume its the stripped down nature of these OS' is the problem but does anybody have it working.

Cheers
D

[DragonFly]

XBMC has almost no dependencies on Windows. Check your OpenGL version.

Read the Sticky!! http://xbmc.org/forum/showthread.php?t=37794

[MrFlanagan]

Cheers mate I thought the graphics card was installed properly but somehow I failed :D

All done now.

[funtasticguy]

Cheers mate I thought the graphics card was installed properly but somehow I failed :D

All done now.

Does it now work on both Tiny and MicroXP? If so, which of the two works better with XBMC?

Thanks!

[MrFlanagan]

It works with both. Although MicroXP is smaller and quicker to boot I had problems trying to access it over a network which I didnt with TinyXP so I just whacked Tiny back on.

In my opinion use MicroXP if you don't mind fiddling to get the network working and only XBMC. Use TinyXP if you'd like a prettier desktop and a few more options.

Annoyingly I cant get my svideo ports to work in either. :(

In answer to which is better

[funtasticguy]

It works with both. Although MicroXP is smaller and quicker to boot I had problems trying to access it over a network which I didnt with TinyXP so I just whacked Tiny back on.

In my opinion use MicroXP if you don't mind fiddling to get the network working and only XBMC. Use TinyXP if you'd like a prettier desktop and a few more options.

Annoyingly I cant get my svideo ports to work in either. :(

In answer to which is better

Thanks for your reply!

[genderbender]

It works with both. Although MicroXP is smaller and quicker to boot I had problems trying to access it over a network which I didnt with TinyXP so I just whacked Tiny back on.

In my opinion use MicroXP if you don't mind fiddling to get the network working and only XBMC. Use TinyXP if you'd like a prettier desktop and a few more options.

Annoyingly I cant get my svideo ports to work in either. :(

In answer to which is better

I agree. I threw MicroXP on my newly installed htpc and it worked perfectly with XBMC. Fortunately I was blessed regarding the networking. I installed a D-Link DWA-140 802.11n USB-adapter (with Ralinks latest drivers) and it's great. :)

I have no problems streaming mkv's and it boots really, really fast (in comparison to normal XP) and autostarts XBMC. I get about 40-45 Mbit/s sustained to my DIR-655 (which is located on another ceiling next to my file server).

I can really recommend MicroXP and TinyXP as an Windows OS for XBMC! :D

My next move is to get a SSD to avoid avoid noise and heat. I love optimization. :p

[treefour]

I got it working like a charm on TinyVista with no real problems for those that are interested.:grin:

[angryjack]

Sorry, i do not really understand the requirements for a downstripped XP :o

My HTPC, Intel C2D @1,8GHz now boots with cold start and standard XP-Pro into XBMC in 38 secs. I think that's absolut acceptable, or ?

To get it really fast, i would suggest to use Gigabyte's I-Ram which is a "Ram based Hard disk". It uses standard D-Ram and is buffered with a battery and should decrease boot of XP to ~10 secs only...

About noise and heat: My HTPC is "unhearable". The CPU is cooled passive with a Scythe Ninya Mini, fans are all running at 7V instead of 12V and also the 2,5" SATA hdd makes no noise at all (Picture) (http://angryjack.de/eb/pic1.jpg)

greetings
angryjack

[Livin]

angryjack,
I have the same case you do. A few questions...

What fans are you using for the exaust?
Do you have any fans in the front pulling in air?
How did you get the fans to run at 7V?

thx

[angryjack]

@Livin,

to run the fans at 7V, you have take the voltage between 12V and 5V instead of 12V and ground. That's all !

I use Xilence RedWing fans, 2x 80mm at the back which are exhausting and 1x 100mm in front which blows in, all of them on 7V. My CPU temperature does not increase above 40 degrees, even after a video evening where the PC is under stress load for several hours (Thanks to the Scythe Ninja... :D) .

here the rest of my setup:
-------------------------
Mainboard: Gigabyte GA-965P-DQ6
Graphics: ASUS Silencer 6600 passive
PSU: Be-Quiet BQT-P5
Remote: HP-MCE clone (now fully working with XBMC)

Greetings
angryjack

[DragonFly]

Sorry, i do not really understand the requirements for a downstripped XP :o

My HTPC, Intel C2D @1,8GHz now boots with cold start and standard XP-Pro into XBMC in 38 secs. I think that's absolut acceptable, or ?


Do you mean the necessity?

It's all relative. Some people are happy with a boot time of ~40 seconds, some people find that absolutely unacceptable.

For the latter and with a stock computer (no SSD or something like that), MicroXP is a solution. It probably would cut boot time in half and would use half the resources a stock XP would use. But even MicroXP needs some tweaks to make it even faster and less unobtrusive.

I would only suggest using MicroXP or similar if your computer is being used for XBMC only. When trying to run other software, you might encounter dependency problems.

@treefour.
If you don't need to "see" the OS and solely use XBMC, TinyVista is totally unnecessary and running MicroXP would be more preferable.

[Livin]

@angryjack

I'm figuring you just re-wired the connectors on the fans?

thx for the info, I'll look into the fans.

[angryjack]

@Livin,

not inside the fans, it's easier to change the wiring at the connector ;)

Look here: http://www.dslreports.com/faq/9169

angryjack

[miketowninc]

How long does it take for tinyxp and xbmc to boot in total? Are there ways to strip it down further?

[DragonFly]

How long does it take for tinyxp and xbmc to boot in total? Are there ways to strip it down further?

Roughly, TinyXP would cut down boot-time by a third; MicroXP would do it in half the time, compared to a standard XP. XBMC itself starts in one ore two seconds

It all depends on your BIOS and attached devices. As a rule, the more USB devices attached (internally or externally), the longer it takes for windows to boot. Try to disable USB in the BIOS and see for yourself.

TinyXP and MicroXP are not that tweaked. There are a number of tweaks that can speed things up.

[hammm]

I got it working like a charm on TinyVista with no real problems for those that are interested.:grin:

I tried that but i get an errror when i try to run xbmc, it says "the instruction at 0x00000000 refrenced memory at 0x00000000. the memory could not be read" What is the problem? thanx

[godsakes]

i initially tried tinyxp with xbmc but i had problems with accessing the network - i believe it's because tinyxp removed the multiple login account feature thus when i tried to access the various network shares i had it didn't prompt me with the login prompt only an error message.

when using xbmc i was able to 'partly' access the network as xbmc allows login details to be entered - however after every reboot any shortcuts would not longer work, requiring me to manally browse for a network share, before i could use the shortcuts again

[TheLandYacht]

Cheers mate I thought the graphics card was installed properly but somehow I failed :D

All done now.

Congrats on being one of the very few willing to actually admit when they've screwed up.

And Hi from a brand-new forum member.