Tinker, Tailor, Streamer, Pi.

[Fretless]

Well.

I have got the PC to boot with Volumio from a USB stick.

And it worked.

But trying to boot it 'blind' without a monitor, mouse or keyboard isn't working. Yet.

[Fretless]

Damn, blast and other frustrated expletives.

This isn't going to be easy.



It's possible that this PC is too obsolete for this. It was running Windows Vista which was probably the worst Windows version ever (after Windows 8 anyway).

[slinger]

On a positive note though, I can watch your progress and then avoid everything you bugger up.

[slinger]

Got a busy day today. So no time to play.

Trouble is, this has triggered my 'obsessive attention focus' side - so I'll get no rest until I have either got it running or so totally screwed it up that there is no hope of success.

But, early days ...

[Fretless]

Right, tried something else .

Fighting my way into the BIOS (hate messing with that). I could set the PC to boot from the USB stick. Which worked, reasonably.

Until I switched it off and rebooted, then it just went back to loading windows from the internal harddrive.

However - I had spotted a Volumio setting where the boot data can be loaded from USB to HDD. Ran that (and that is where you lose Windows on the machine). Now the PC boots directly into Volumio.

But I'm not really happy as there are still strange things going on and the Bootup is a hit-and-miss affair.

Want to be able to use this as a standalone unit with no monitor or keyboard. We're not there yet.

[Fretless]

Workaround - crude but effective.

Things are okay until I decouple the PC's power supply. Then when it fires up anew it gives an error and tells you to either hit F2 or go into bios with DEL.

Hitting F2 then sets the Volumio bootup in progress.

Shutting down the unit without removing the power cord doesn't give this problem.

So. Put the Acer PC into the main audio set. USB output to the Oehlbach / Teradak rig. Ethernet cable in and a USB keyboard (no monitor).

Switch on
Wait about 20 seconds
Hit F2 on keyboard.
See that PC is loading Volumio - HDD Led's flash.
Takes about a minute.
Hear startup beep through audio system
Remove keyboard
Volumio up and running !

Might try a serious audition this evening to check out the SQ. Access speed on the network music library is similar to the Tinkerboard (fast). And I wonder if the slight noise from the fan might prove to be irritating.

More when there's more.

[slinger]

Out of interest, what did you use to get the Volumio build onto the USB stick?

[slinger]

Volumio themselves recommend 'Etcher' and have a link to it in their instructions. Works fine.


Well I'm finally flabbergasted.
The aged Acer PC is kicking out digital music of seriously high quality.
Seems to have a slightly firmer sense of control than the Tinkerboard.
Rounder, easier top end. Excellent bass definition.

Responds positively to 2 Jitterbugs.

Happy me.

[slinger]

Seriously. I never thought I would ever use this PC again. It was an utter pain as a Windows computer; desperately slow and unresponsive.

Now it might turn out to be a useful HQ streaming source.

I have had an Allo USBridge Sig on order since march, before the lockdown, and there is still no news on that front. Might cancel that and concentrate my efforts on this for now.

The fan noise is noticeable in very quiet musical sections but it could be something you get used to. Wish I had been turned on to this idea before now (Thanks Slinger for the inspiration) and it is a great way to use discarded hardware.

[slinger]

I went for a fanless mini-PC for precisely the reason you've stated above. Fans can be a cause of both mechanical and electrical noise. My box should arrive tomorrow and the new SSD should arrive in the next couple of days, so hopefully, I'll be able to replicate your success.