FWIW, proceed with caution. Automotive environments are VERY harsh, especially in hot climates. Computers (and most home electronics) are not designed/rated for operation or storage at the high temperatures that they will be exposed to in a vehicle, nor for the shock and vibration associated with driving. This means that whatever you put in there will have a significantly shorter lifespan than it would in a household environment.

 

Are you using an actual pc? I would think that it would be easier to start with a laptop.

 

mini cube pc

 

If the motherboard has a Wake-on-LAN header (it'll be a three-pin connector near one of the PCI slots) then you could always make use of that. This page has the pinouts:

http://mujweb.atlas.cz/www/jnetopil/UIR/WakeOnLan.htm

 

thanks for all of your help. i've decided to go with wake on keyboard command. now all i need to do is mod a keyboard (only 1 button inside the car) or use a mini keyboard.

 

If you're looking for a compact form-factor PC that runs on 12V to put in a car, check out:

http://www.soekris.com

You can get a WiFi 802.11b card for it, and I was thinking I could use my 802.11 PDA to control it... but I just couldn't think of any function for it to do... besides playing MP3's, but my head unit already does that.......

 

problem with powering on from keyboard or mouse is that everytime power is disconnected and the connected, the keyboard/mouse function does not work. inorder for this to work, power must be constant.

Any other ideas of how to power on???

 

Maybe play some Barry White to get it in the mood...

 

power it on not turn in on jackdeth lol

 

cut some of the insulation on the green wire on the ATX connector and any one of the black wires and tape them together (don't cut the wires, just remove some insulation and have them touch each other). thats all the bios does if it has auto power on, it just does it internally with a relay.