Ok, I've got really a lot of computers standing around here but from time to time I just miss another machine. As I don't want to spend money for an energy wasting high end machine, just to do some minor jobs, surf the web or read my mails I thought of an alternative. So I was very happy when I got a box with a bunch of thinclients from a liquidation. First I wanted to run them with a terminal server, but as I had no free machine (....) I thought it would be great just to convert some of them to normal desktop machines.
Winbee Thin Client Os Download
A thinclient is a normal computer, ok without a high end graphic card, it's got no DVD-/CD-ROM drive, but it's still a common computer.And a common computer has to boot an operating system to work, maybe via harddisk, maybe via floppy disk, cd drive, usb drive or whatever.Ok, as we see, there's no DVD/CD-ROM and I don't want to buy or use an external DVD/CD drive. No floppy disk drive (even if there would be one, it'd be hard to boot a complete operating system with a gui, browser, mail client, text processing software and other stuff from it. But it's got 4 USB ports... No, I don't want to boot from an external HDD or an USB pen drive.But this device has to boot from something, so it's able to connect to a terminal server. There must be something inside...
According to one of my t-shirts with the slogan "I void warranties", I've got no problem to open cases and devices. I did this as a kid and it was funny almost every time ;-)So just grab a screw driver that fits and remove the screws. A few seconds later you can see the guts of the thinclient. No unknown parts inside if you ever opened a regular computer. Just a plain mainbord, some cables, a RAM module, a CPU (passive cooled, great, no noise!!!) and .... a flash memory card with amazing 128 MB.As we can't find a harddrive this thing seems to boot from the compact flash card. So we just have to get our operating system on this.
The lazy ones can buy a module from the manufacturer of these machines. But spending 40 bucks for a pretty lame linux with almost no features? No way! We are hackers, if a manufacturer can do this, we can do this even better. All we've got to do is to erase the 128 MB card in our card reader and get a new operating system on it.So remove the card (turn off the thinclient, if it's still running...) and put it into your card reader in your Linux or Windows PC. If your're lucky you can format it without any problems. In my case Murphy's law hit me once again and my computer didn't let me format the card. Give up and buy the manufacturer's card? Don't even think about this "option". Try to get a digital camera which uses the same type of memory cards. In my case this was my Sony Alpha DSLR. I put the card in, used the "Format card" option from the menu and there was no longer a problem.Put the card back again in your PC card reader, start Unetbootin (if not done before, download it from here: ), select the Damn Small Linux image (get it from here: ) and select the target device. This is the compact flash card in your reader, which can be shown as a drive letter (Windows) or a device (Linux). After a short time you'll get a message that the copy process is completed. Quit the tool, remove the card from your reader and put it back again in your thinclient.
As it's tiny, energy saving, quiet and still powerful there a lot of new uses for your modded thinclient.You can use it as it is at the moment or you can do a lot of funny things with it!A few ideas (I'll add instructables for them in the next days)- RSS reading alarm clock- Kitchen PC- Web/Mail Server- TOR Gateway- Media Player- Automated home controller- etc.If you got new ideas just feel free to post them here!
I have an Fujitsu Futro S550:1Ghz AMD Sempron, Radeon X1200, 1GB CF, 1GB Ram.I upgraded everything!!,2 Ghz Athlon 64X2 CPU, 2GB Ram and a 32GB Sandisk high speed CF (as fast as an modern notebook HDD) and the last upgrade will arrive me tomorrow.A Zotac Geforce GT 610 low profile card (with standard PCI).I installed windows 7 on it (Using WinToUSB since the CF card is mounted as removable drive but after first boot I installed an unoffical driver wich let windows think its a normal HDD)Im planning to build a little retro console but the internal gpu isnt compatible with retroarch so I cant use EmulationStation (Controller optimized UI)I hope my new graphics card will fit in the very small case.This is the ultimate thinclient i guess...
I hv hcl winbee thinclient huts 8000. I starts it run for 30 minutes then stops. Though green led lit. I switch off main power supply n then again starts thinclient it run for 10 minutes n stops. Pls guide me.
I've got two Centerm GI945 thin clients that came to me stripped (no flash disk on module installed). I'm trying to find a compatible flash drive to work in it. I know they have a SATA connector on them, and they have what appears to possibly be a 44 pin laptop style ide connector, but I'm not sure. they also have a mini PCI-E type connector for the optional WLAN module, but I know from testing that this doesn't recognize a M-SATA SSD drive so it's pretty much useless unless I put a wireless card into it. Can anyone advise on what would be the best compatible flash disk module for it? I've got the Windows XPe image from centerm's website to put on it, and I am hoping to be able to modify the image to add the drivers for my USB asicminers along with the bfgminer software to autostart on them when they are powered on. I'd like to be able to delegate these out to my workshop area along with the usb hubs I have them plugged into so I don't have to worry about my cats messing with them and potentially screwing something up.
You could install an embedded version of Windows if you are motivated enough to download an image for another thin client then use imagex to write it to flash, but I wouldn't bother on such an underpowered machine. WinPE variants could also work. See my previous post. There is no reason to want Windows on it, since each OS is merely a tool and you should make the effort to get comfortable with multiple operating systems for your own (considerable!) benefit. DSL is light and fast. Puppy Linux uses more RAM but is outstanding and very popular for thin client conversions. BTW there are much more powerful thin clients available cheap via Ebay since this article was posted. Happy hunting.
A thin client is a lightweight computer with no hard drive. Thin clients are centrally managed, with most of their memory, applications, and data stored on a server. This may be a cloud server or an on-premises edge server.
Thin clients enable a virtualized business environment, which often delivers cost savings, security, and scalability benefits. By creating an architecture between the thin client device and the server, Intel technologies enable virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI), intelligent desktop virtualization (IDV), and transparent client infrastructure (TCI).
When powered by Intel technologies, thin clients enable great user experiences with integrated graphics, support for 4K displays, and responsive compute performance. These devices are ideal for helping IT teams:
From low-power devices to powerful edge servers that process large amounts of data, thin client hardware based on Intel technologies deliver the performance, connectivity, and manageability features to accommodate a growing number of applications.
Microsoft Windows Embedded Standard is a componentized operating system optimized for usage on an embedded device, in this case a thin client. The WES7 operating systems use the same code base as Windows XP Professional SP3 or Windows 7, making it compatible with all Windows devices and applications.
It is especially useful for companies that need to run applications on the local device because Windows Embedded gives you the flexibility to install 3rd party software on the local thin client OS. Thin clients running Microsoft Windows Embedded gives the users a true desktop feel without total reliance on a back end infrastructure.
Thin client hardware generally supports common peripherals, such as keyboards, mice, monitors, jacks for sound peripherals, and open ports for USB devices (e.g., printer, flash drive, webcam). Some thin clients include (legacy) serial or parallel ports to support older devices, such as receipt printers, scales or time clocks. Thin client software typically consists of a graphical user interface (GUI), cloud access agents (e.g., RDP, ICA, PCoIP), a local web browser, terminal emulators (in some cases), and a basic set of local utilities.
In using cloud-based architecture, the server takes on the processing load of several client sessions, acting as a host for each endpoint device. The client software is narrowly purposed and lightweight; therefore, only the host server or server farm needs to be secured, rather than securing software installed on every endpoint device (although thin clients may still require basic security and strong authentication to prevent unauthorized access). One of the combined benefits of using cloud architecture with thin client desktops is that critical IT assets are centralized for better utilization of resources. Unused memory, bussing lanes, and processor cores within an individual user session, for example, can be leveraged for other active user sessions.
The simplicity of thin client hardware and software results in a very low total cost of ownership, but some of these initial savings can be offset by the need for a more robust cloud infrastructure required on the server side.
Thin client computing is known to simplify the desktop endpoints by reducing the client-side software footprint. With a lightweight, read-only operating system (OS), client-side setup and administration is greatly reduced. Cloud access is the primary role of a thin client which eliminates the need for a large suite of local user applications, data storage, and utilities. This architecture shifts most of the software execution burden from the endpoint to the data center. User assets are centralized for greater visibility. Data recovery and desktop repurposing tasks are also centralized for faster service and greater scalability. 2ff7e9595c
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