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DVD playing w/o Windows???

post #1 of 4
1/23/05 at 1:45am
Thread Starter 
Is there a way to make the computer play DVD's and music CD's without starting up Windows?

I know some other computers such as Averatec, and the HP 1000 series can. Would it involve partitioning the drive and installing another OS? It seems like it would use less battery without running extra processes.

Also, is there some sort of FM transmitter that could be plugged into the bluetooth or PCMIA ports? I know Belkin and others make one that plugs into the headphone jack, but I'd rather not carry extra things around. (It would need less than a 5 ft range. My car has no CD or Tape deck.)

Thanks for any ideas.
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post #2 of 4
1/23/05 at 2:05am
I believe that some of the laptops that play dvd's and cd's without booting into windows either have a small utility installed with the bios or something similar or run a very stripped down version of linux. going with a stripped down version of linux might be your best bet if you want something to play around with.
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post #3 of 4
1/23/05 at 2:50am
The Gateway M505 uses a proprietary chip called the BlueBirdVL chip from Silicon Motion, Inc. (SMI). I am assuming the Toshiba Qosmio, HPDV1000, and others all use a similar system.

As for running a stripped down version of linux, this seems to be the best alternative to a chip. If you can find (or make) one that loads super-fast, takes up little or no hard drive space, and is excellent on battery life, then you should be in business.
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post #4 of 4
1/23/05 at 3:06am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Speedde423
Is there a way to make the computer play DVD's and music CD's without starting up Windows?

I know some other computers such as Averatec, and the HP 1000 series can. Would it involve partitioning the drive and installing another OS? It seems like it would use less battery without running extra processes.

Also, is there some sort of FM transmitter that could be plugged into the bluetooth or PCMIA ports? I know Belkin and others make one that plugs into the headphone jack, but I'd rather not carry extra things around. (It would need less than a 5 ft range. My car has no CD or Tape deck.)

Thanks for any ideas.

try this : http://distrowatch.com/table.php?distribution=movix
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