I guess i dare now post some questions i havent found, yet at least, from
this or other sites... Sorry if this is not the correct place to ask. You may
advise me if necessary

-------

I am, as you propably quess, a 80% newbie on HTPC and about 99% on Linux.
Have used Windows since 3.1
I have been studying some console basics and hardware issues from the
net and i am slowly getting hang of it
I have had this (originally VDR) project on my mind for couple of years now...

I have some questions considering some harware options i have...

I am now waiting for my setup (described below) from webshop to arrive
(hopefully get it by end of the week...)

I have found these IDE Flash drives (from 128 up), IDE -> CF adapters
and even Flash DIMM:s from the net: http://www.mini-itx.com/store/
and was wondering, is there any downsides if doing KnoppMyth system
install on IDE flash drive or kind?? It does get quiet and wont worm up so
mutch, especially if using case like mine. And you could swap systems pretty easy by just swapping CF-card (=
Then of course you should use a regular HDD for storing media. Maybe FireWire/USB or HDD on net? The Flash drives starts to be costy
when getting near 1 Gb.
But how mutch space, for example, KnoppMyth would need??

My upcoming setup:
- ASUS PUNDIT-R ID3 BLACK S478 ATI RS300
- Plextor PX-716AL/T3BPB (slot type)
- CELERON D 335 2.8GHZ SKT478 FSB533 256KB CACHE BOXED
- HD Barracuda7200.9/200GB ATA 7200rpm 16MB
- 512MB 184PIN DDR PC400/PC3200 CL2.5

I allready got 1 Hauppauge Nova DVB-T (90002) waiting @ home.
Was planning to get anoter.

There are of course tons of cards to use but the main thing is to have
subtitles to work properly (in finland) and it seems that these cards are
the only ones that actually does that well (?)
Got a "VDR friend" who said it would be pretty good card.

Does this setup generally sound possible to your ears?

And very BIG thanks for all writers here. This site has been pretty nice
reference guide when trying to figure out the HTPC consept, and of course Linux.

Cheers!

Mika

_________________
---------------------------------------------------
ASUS PUNDIT-R ID3 BLACK S478 ATI RS300
Samsung DVD-RW
CELERON D 335 2.8GHZ
HD Barracuda 200GB ATA
512MB DDR PC400/PC3200
Targa Visionary 32"
---------------------------------------------------

I've played with some of this stuff myself. One of the worst problems is that with compact flash you have a limited number of write cycles (don't panic it's huge for normal use) which is OK for everything except logging and swap. Having enough RAM can eliminate swap (as long as you don't let system mission creep overwhelm the RAM installed). Logging is another matter. There are various tricks to turn it off or log to RAM disk (again with the RAM). the Damn Small Linux forums at http://damnsmalllinux.org/cgi-bin/forums/ikonboard.cgi have a lot of people doing this kind of thing and there may be some stuff at the Damn Small Linux wiki (http://www.damnsmalllinux.org/wiki/index.php/Main_Page).

The other problem is that KnoppMyth using a normal install takes about 2-3 G, which is an expensive flash card.

I've found microdrives to be an answer in an application I use (an old MSN Companion Internet Appliance. It's got an externally available CF slot into which I plug a 2.2G microdrive. This gives it swap (32M on board memory) and space for DSL linux. It makes a dandy small form factor terminal I use to ssh into myth and its slaves as well as vnc into my windows laptop. Via X it can run any programs available on those other machines and in that way I web browse with it as well.

Microdrives are CF sized but actual IDE drives. Their downside is that for ide drives they are pricey (2.2G cost me $99 a while back) but still cheaper than CF. The other downside is for IDE they are slow (4800RPM) and not dma-able (on my hardware at least). They also tend to be fragile (e.g. don't squeeze them as you'll break the armature).

I got the idea now . Did not imagine all that stuff that come with IDE flash like them logs and all. But it propably does good job on frontend ...

I had this idea since that way it would start faster (?) and quiteter, possibly without using HDD untill needed...

Well, beeing just curious...

That minidrive might be pretty good idea too. Microdrives have been on the market for some time now so they are not THAT expensive anymore...

Wondering if KnoppMyth would mainly work from sutch tiny HDD and only use main (2,5"/3,5") storage unit when needed? Allso some external (firewire/USB - HDD) as media storage would then be a solution if supported by linux (?).

There were allso this nifty DC/DC adaptor to be used with 12V. That way the whole noisy PSU would be possible to get rid off?
But then again, you would need a case fan anyway in that case so...

Well. Untill i get my case and components i´ll get to play around with it. Cant really wait for it

_________________
---------------------------------------------------
ASUS PUNDIT-R ID3 BLACK S478 ATI RS300
Samsung DVD-RW
CELERON D 335 2.8GHZ
HD Barracuda 200GB ATA
512MB DDR PC400/PC3200
Targa Visionary 32"
---------------------------------------------------

Yes linux can support external drives. I use usb ones. Some say the usb bus tends to be less than perfect. Maybe that's improved with newer kernels. Firewire drives are also supported. Of course there's also NFS or Samba drives over a network. SATA also provides for external drives.

As long as you have enough space for KnoppMyth to install then yes it will confine system activities to its partition, that's an element of linux. So you'd need to do a manual install and define your partitions accordingly. Then you'd have / on your small quiet device and /myth (most likely named such) on your other external media.

Good luck!

Thanks aovermy!

I knew that linux is mutch more versatile regarding HDD:s.
Might try this @ some point but for now i propably do it the easy way (=
I really need to study some more linux before that. But since it is possible... Hmm, time will tell...

Mika

_________________
---------------------------------------------------
ASUS PUNDIT-R ID3 BLACK S478 ATI RS300
Samsung DVD-RW
CELERON D 335 2.8GHZ
HD Barracuda 200GB ATA
512MB DDR PC400/PC3200
Targa Visionary 32"
---------------------------------------------------