General Embedded CE questions
MN_Marine
2008 (it was a Microsoft giveaway). It has Windows Embedded CE 6.0
pre-installed. I don’t know how to do several things which are probably
because I don't know anything about CE:
1. Access the 120GB 2.5" hard drive - it doesn't show up in "My Device"
2. Use any kind of USB peripheral except the keyboard and mouse (flash
drive, USB external hard drive, or USB CD/DVD R/RW optical drive)
3. Download drivers from the internet
4. Upgrade to 6.0 R2 or R3 on the internet
5. Set up a network, share folders with other computers on the network, and
share a printer (which I’d have to download drivers for and I don’t know how
since I can’t get the USB optical drive to be seen)
Thanks,
Aaron
Paul G. Tobey [eMVP]
> 2008 (it was a Microsoft giveaway). It has Windows Embedded CE 6.0
> pre-installed. I don't know how to do several things which are probably
> because I don't know anything about CE:
>
> 1. Access the 120GB 2.5" hard drive - it doesn't show up in "My Device"
Windows CE would have to have a driver for it and that driver would have to
be configured properly to recognize and use the target drive. You'd also
need the FAT driver, partition driver, and so on. If the OS doesn't have
those built-in, you'd have to get Windows CE Platform Builder and build a
new OS for the device.
> 2. Use any kind of USB peripheral except the keyboard and mouse (flash
> drive, USB external hard drive, or USB CD/DVD R/RW optical drive)
Same deal. If the guy who built the OS didn't include support for those
other devices, there's nothing you can do, other than rebuild the operating
system.
> 3. Download drivers from the internet
Drivers for what? Windows CE is NOT DESKTOP WINDOWS. You can't Google for
a driver for your new printer and download it to the device and have it
work.
> 4. Upgrade to 6.0 R2 or R3 on the internet
No such thing. Each copy of Windows CE is custom-built for the target
device. You can't use the OS built for any other device as the OS for your
device; it doesn't know the low-level details of your device so that it can
operate it. There's no required level of hardware, no BIOS requirement,
etc. Each device is different and the OS is designed only to work in that
environment.
> 5. Set up a network, share folders with other computers on the network,
> and
> share a printer (which I'd have to download drivers for and I don't know
> how
> since I can't get the USB optical drive to be seen)
The file/print server is another component that can be built-in or left out
of the OS by the guys who built it. If it's present, you can look up the
registry settings to configure it. If not, you can't and would have to
redesign the OS.
Paul T.
MN_Marine
doesn't work.
Microsoft also gave away Embedded Standard with the Pico-ITX (XP Embedded)
but since I can't get the external USB CD/DVD reader to work, I don't know
how to install that OS.
Also, the manufacturer says that the Pico-ITX is compatible with XP but
again, I'm not sure how I'd install that OS either without a working optical
drive.
Any advice?
> .
>
Paul G. Tobey [ eMVP ]
> doesn't work.
"Doesn't work" is pretty much useless information for getting any help. The
evaluation version of Windows CE with Platform Builder *does* generally work
as downloaded from the Web.
> Microsoft also gave away Embedded Standard with the Pico-ITX (XP Embedded)
> but since I can't get the external USB CD/DVD reader to work, I don't know
> how to install that OS.
They gave away a build of Embedded Standard for the device with it or they
gave you Target Designer? I would presume that, if they gave you a disk with
the OS for the device on it, you should be able to set the BIOS so that the
disk can be booted.
> Also, the manufacturer says that the Pico-ITX is compatible with XP but
> again, I'm not sure how I'd install that OS either without a working optical
> drive.
For many of these questions, I'm wondering why you don't ask the
manufacturer. We don't know more about the hardware than they would.
Paul T.