HP thin client update

Here's an update on the HP t5300 thin client that I got for the low, low price of $20 on eBay. (And yes, I'm writing this with the thin client hooked up to the network).

It runs the Windows CE embeddes system (in 32 MB of flash memory) with only 64 MB of RAM.

When I was researching these, there isn't much documentation out there specific to the t5300 -- HP docs cover the whole 5000 series, so I didn't know that this client has its memory hard-wired to the circuit board -- and there is no way to add additional memory. That's problematic, because I wanted to bump it up to at least 128 MB. The IDE input on the board looks like a 44-pin laptop-drive plug (and there's no additional power leads, so that makes it more likely that it's for a laptop drive). And that input is very close to the edge of the case, making it look like it would need an extension cable leading away from the side, if I were to insert a Compact Flash adapter. By the way, it has a 533 MHz VIA processor and chipset, and the motherboard is so small besides, I think it's a laptop-specific product repurposed here for a thin client ... except that the non-expandable RAM makes it seem like a thin-client design.

But since the thin client's BIOS will boot from USB, I can theoretically create a bootable USB flash drive and boot from there without cracking the case. I couldn't boot from Puppy 2.14 on the USB, but I have yet to try all the available permutations when it comes to creating a bootable USB device.

My best hope now is to a) Use the HP t5300 as a Web terminal with the version of IE 5 in its flash memory (what I'm doing now), try to create a bootable USB drive with Damn Small Linux on it, or turn it around on eBay.

I wouldn't have bought this in the first place had it not been $20, but for those who want to turn thin clients into stand-alone Linux boxes, make sure you can add memory, and also make sure that you can replace the IDE device inside and/or boot from USB.

As far as the IE included in the client, CSS stylesheets are a little funky on some sites, but I am able to use Movable Type with few formatting problems -- this is IE, after all. I bumped the screen resolution up to 1280 x 1024, and it looks great with an LCD monitor.

I'm going to try to update the "image" on the thin client via HP -- wish me luck.

(Minutes later) The update was successful, but the thin client already had this update installed. Given that the amount of flash memory is fixed at 32 MB, I guess I shouldn't expect HP to offer a full-fledged update of the Windows CE OS, along with a IE6-level browser, but it would've been nice.

Considering the matter for a moment (during which I was unsuccessful at printing over the network ... and this box doesn't have a parallel port, so the options are network or COM port -- I don't know if it will print to a USB printer) ... I could actually try to use the HP thin client ... as a THIN CLIENT connected via the Linux Terminal Server Project system.