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Raspberry Pi Forum Can you Replace the Guts of a EEE PC with a Pi3B+?
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Can you Replace the Guts of a EEE PC with a Pi3B+?

mattig89ch
mattig89ch over 6 years ago

Hello all,

 

First and foremost, I'm not an engineer.  I'm a network tech by training, and a Help desk tech by profession.  So this is something way out of my normal area of knowledge.  I did take a basic engineering course in colledge, but I failed that class so hard it was almost comical.  3 weeks in, I reach a point of simply not understanding what the teacher was saying.  It was like he was speaking another language.  So I dropped the class, and transferred into the networking field.  The mandatory programming classes were so hard, I barely squeeked by them.  But the actual networking stuff was easy for me.

 

I have a Rasberry Pi3B+ I'm not doing anything with.  Originally, I bought it to turn it into a reto-pi, and put some N64 ROMS on it.  Sadly, I can't see to give it enough power.  Every time I enable the Wi-Fi, it reboots.  I suspect the power draw is too great, so it shuts down.  Then when the power draw isn't as high as it needs to be, it powers up.  The wifi then comes on automatically, and it repeats the process.  I have tried multiple outlets, and and wall adapters (including the official Rasberry Pi power brick!).  So far, nothings worked.

 

I also have an old EEE PC that runs XP-Pro.  Yep, I'm that old.  What I want to do is to gut the thing and replace the innards with this Pi3 B+.  The screen works, the keyboard/track pad work great, and the battery still holds a charge last time I checked.  its just the motherboard/hard drive I want to replace.

 

Is something like this even possible?  If so, where would I look to even begin a project like this?

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  • shabaz
    0 shabaz over 6 years ago

    Hi,

     

    There are several threads on this topic (e.g. https://www.reddit.com/r/raspberry_pi/comments/6rxm63/computerception_a_raspberry_pi_zero_inside_a_2007/   ), but it seems no-one has managed it so far.

    I think it will be hard, because most of the things you want connecting to the EEE PC's interfaces, will have different interfaces on the Pi.

    Your best bet is just to get the Pi running as-is, since you'll need to do that anyway regardless of what you attach to its interfaces.

    It's not normal for it to reboot like this, so to troubleshoot, it is worth confirming: by official Pi power brick, do you mean the one that looks identical to this: https://www.newark.com/stontronics/t5875dv/psu-raspberry-pi-5v-2-5a-multi/dp/77Y6535  - what voltage and current values are marked on it? The correct one should say "Stontronics" on the back, and "5.1V 2.5A". If it doesn't say that, what manufacturer and values are marked on it?

    Although it looks like a normal USB supply, the official Pi one has a few unusual features, which are important for it to make the Pi 3 B+ function correctly.

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  • dougw
    0 dougw over 6 years ago

    If your power supply is good, the issue may be too much voltage drop in the cable. Look for a USB cable with 20 gage power wires in it.

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  • Robert Peter Oakes
    0 Robert Peter Oakes over 6 years ago

    Yup, agreeing with both Shabaz and Douglas on this one. It will be very difficult and not cost effective to retrofit that laptop

     

    You will have probably one of 3 issues, a bad power brick or a bad PI or bad firmware image on the SD Card (Try a different quality SD Card)

     

    As mentioned a power supply of 5 or preferably 5.1 or 5.25 volts at 2.5 Amps is needed and even more important a very good quality USB wire

     

    5 years ago (Were does the time go... wow) I posted an article just about this so here it is, you should find it quite informative and even though the PI has evolved, the principals I mention are as tru today as they were when I created that post.

    Raspberry PI:- USB power cables, crashing and other problems

     

    A short USB wire will be better, all other factors being equal, dont go for one of the 6' kinds, for trouble shooting purposes go for something about 6" instead or as short as you can find.

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  • rew
    0 rew over 6 years ago

    You can put together a PC from separately bought components because the interfaces between them are standardized. Want to plug in a keyboard? Use USB. Connector and protocol are standardized so you you can chose a Logitech or Cherry keyboard as you wish. Want to use a screen? PC outputs HDMI, monitors have an HDMI input. Again, Physical, electrical and software standards mean you can use an Acer or Benq monitor without any problems.

     

    Inside a laptop things are bit cramped. So there won't be an internal HDMI plug and socket from the computer-part to the screen part. Moreover, for transport over usable cable, things are encoded in the computer and decoded in the screen. not necessary in a laptop. So... the interfaces between the components in a laptop are A) not the same as for desktop PCs and B) not standardized. If they want to use a certain screen and a certain graphics chip, and the interfaces do not match, the laptop designer has to find a solution. Either another screen or another graphics chip. They solve problems like this until done. But when you start with a "fixed" screen and "fixed" CPU/graphics chip, you don't get to chose an other CPU if it doesn't have an interface compatible with the screen.

     

    That said, the screen probably uses some form of parallel RGB, and the raspberry pi CPU has that too. But the problem is that not all required pins are available on the outside of the pi board. And the connectors are really really small and difficult to handle.

     

    In short: forget about it.

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  • mattig89ch
    0 mattig89ch over 6 years ago

    Thanks for the responces all.  I apreciate it.

     

    Its a neat idea to think about.  I just didn't realize how proprietary they made everything in the case.  Of course, this is the days of XP.  So I'm not really surprised, just disappointed.  Ah well, we live and learn.

     

    Thanks again!

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  • Robert Peter Oakes
    0 Robert Peter Oakes over 6 years ago

    But dont be in a rush to throw out that old laptop either, it is full of fun goodies, if your not planning on using it as a laptop any more

     

    WEB Cam, typically a USB based device but without a case etc

    Hard drive, can be adapted for use with the PI

    Inductors, Caps, FETS etc can be claimed from the PCB

    possibly a seperate WIFI/BLE module

    Batteries (LIPO 18650 normally)

    etc

     

    Regards

    Peter

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