Fresh install

[unstoppedlemur]

I purchased 3 of these around Christmas from Ebay.

1. Boots to Windows XP
2. can't find boot device
3. had corupted file

the first one works but... its XP

The second one i have found that it has a 1gig flash drive and i can put that in WebDT 1 and managed to put the Puppy 431 img on it and return it to its system, however the img only uses half the drive. I would like to be able to use the full drive as one drive. I downloaded the newer puppy IMG and tried straight linux boots but it just goes to a white screen after all the loading.

The third one does not have a place for the flash drive. I am assuming that i need a compactflash drive for it.

Any help or directions to start would be great. I would like to fix these up for my kids to use or just tinker around but i am a newbee with linux.

[Dave7341]

The third one looks like a DT360 with the 1.8" PATA drive port instead of the CF card like the others. That port is bootable. You can put a 30 GB drive into it. Seach EBAY for the TOSHIBA MK3006GAL. You need to modify the port and mount the drive upside down but it works well. You can also buy the 50 pin PATA adapter to SD as the SD cards are fast and only $15 for 30gb. Something like this:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/360550769808

That's a nice option as you will have an all solid state device when you sling it around.

I have all the Windows drivers and software you will need - if you want Windows. Puppy Linux is a great choice as well. You can dual-boot easily if you like to float between OSes.

-Dave

[Dave7341]

I can't seem to blow up the pics very well but the more I stare at it, that third one might not be the PATA port - hard to tell. It could be the forum software shrinks pics to save space or my browser. If you can send me the pics directly I should be able to give you more info.

I'd hate for you to buy something you can't use so you may want to hold off buying anything until I see some close ups.

Where are you located?

-Dave

[unstoppedlemur]

I am in Fort Riley, KS

I tried to reinstall windows on the corrupted system but it kept giving the blue screen saying that it had a problem. I am more used to using windows but the hardware seems a little tricky. I managed to find MicroXP, WinLiteXP and TinyXP but they seem to have an issue with the hardware.

[Dave7341]

Tell me the model numbers and serial numbers then I can tell you what you have and send you the drivers.

Thanks.

[unstoppedlemur]

The part numbers on the main boards are

15-366-011300
15-366-013400
gd360 v0.3 (couldn't find a P/N like on the other 2)

Someone has done some modifacations, stringing wires from the power switch to the swith on the front. The button on the front seems like it could act as a mouse with the right drivers.

[Dave7341]

The "366" models are the 366 GX1 version. They usually ran WIN CE and could have 256mb of RAM. They have USB1.1 ports. Lots of reading on the forum for you with those models. They can run Puppy Linux or some version of trimmed XP (MicroXP, XP-Lite, etc) - you can also role your own lite version of XP with a tool called NLITE from here: http://www.nliteos.com

The 360 is the one with the mPCI slot that the WIFI card uses. They have the more powerful LX800 processor and USB2.0. Usually they have 256mb or 512mb but sometimes you can find them with 1gb of RAM. This is the more powerful of the three and can run WinCE, Linux or XP Lite flavors or XP Embedded. Lots of reading here too on the forum. The 360 video supports rotation - nice feature. The GX chipset on your 366 models does not support rotated video.

The D=PAD or directional pad is for reproducing the arrow keys. For mouse-type action you would use the touch screen. All three have bluetooth too.

Modifications are tough and hard to tell what someone did - that will be a challenge.

Getting into the BIOS is easy, plug in a USB keyboard and tap the F1 key as you power up. The BIOS battery on the 360 is obvious and on the 366 the battery is under the 'jumper board' on the right side in the pictures. Carefully pull it staight up - do not pry one side as the pins bend easily and then break off when you try to bend them back. The battery is under the mini jumper board. They all use the same battery. Note the cut edge orientation so you can but the board back in correctly.

Good luck!

[unstoppedlemur]

The one without the flash drive, is that where i would get the adaptor as you suggested eariler in this post?

i would like to try the linux, is there a way to use the entire flash drive. Everytime i try and boot from a usb flash it goes to a white screen i am guessing that it is from the video how can i force a video selection.

[Dave7341]

No, the earlier post about the hard drive was wrong. The PCMCIA and CF slots are not bootable - just the 44 pin interface. You can get flash drives as posted elsewhere in the forum. The pins are very short so a 'normal' 44 pin IDE cable will not work but there are posts about the proper connector and then you can add a normal IDE to CF adapter and use a CF card for storage. You could also use the previous mentioned Toshiba hard drive with appropreite adapter.

Use the puppy linux live CD version 4.3.1 - maybe here:

ftp://ftp.linux.hr/puppylinux/puppy-4.3.1/pup-431.iso

there are many other sites. This version is lightweight and the PCMCIA will work. Burn it to a CD or USB thumb drive and try it. The default video will work until the X server starts where you will choose 800x600. If it just displays white, you could have a video issue - not an OS problem.

Let us all know how it worked.

[unstoppedlemur]

I finally managed to decomplie the Puppy431WebDT IMG file and look at the extlinux.conf file. I used the settings from that and the USB boot worked fine from the ISO that was posted. I had to remove the flash drive from the 360 and put in it the 366, for some reason the usb on the 360 is not working. After partitioning the drive for 1gig and installing Puppy, screen, and on screen keyboard. i moved the drive back to the 360. It is different than i am used to but it will work. At first the y axis was inverted but after gCalib it was corrected. I do notice that as i near the right edge the mouse gets a little offset to the point that it is almost a centimeter from the tip of the pen at the edge. I purchased a battery from Ebay that arrived today so now the system can be portable. Thank you for your help. I will start working on one of the 366 soon, I am debating removing xp and putting linux on it as well.

I tried a XP usb again before using the Puppy but again the system crashed

[unstoppedlemur]

what are the sound settings for puppy? The little speaker shows a X but all the volumn are turned up

[unstoppedlemur]

Took a little time to figure out WinXP but finally got it installed. had to gut a USB Hard Drive enclosure and attach a CD drive to it and the USB hub. Used Nlite to cut the bulk of it out. The USB problem is due to a small black piece being broken. If someone could tell me what the chip is so that i could replace it.

[Dave7341]

Good job. Yup, NLITE and a USB hub is the trick. Did you find all the drivers?

[unstoppedlemur]

I found all the drivers on this website. i just can't move the flash drive back to the 360 until i can fix the broken piece for the usb to work. The biggest thing i had to find out is that windows would not run the setup from the usb flash drive it had to be a cdrom.

I belive the small part was a inductor. it had 4 contact points and the remains has a coil that i can see. if i could find out its vaule i can replace it.

[Dave7341]

Sorry, no clue on the part. You may have an additional USB port. Check the small white connector that is under the BIOS chip and left of the square processor chip. Printed on the main board is an ID next to it - tell me what it says. It could be a serial connection for a mag stripe reader or it could be a USB for the camera. That's the normal two choices but it could be something else for diagnostics during assembly. Let me know what it says and then you can use that connector and solder on a normal connector for USB use.

Sounds like you have it mostly working.