How to build a Mini-ITX using D525MW.

by itoolbelt on July 4, 2011

 I wanted a pc running Windows 7 that was quiet and had a small footprint.  I don’t use the CD/DVD drive much so I can live with an external drive when needed. This way I have more options on what Mini-ITX case I go with and helps keep the CPU cool. I already have one of the early Zotac’s (full featured but video lagged and fan was loud). I also have an Apple mini. The Apple mini is amazing in how quiet and cool it runs. The Apple mini is even smaller than the Mini-ITX with a r/w dvd drive. Yes, I know they are custom designed and built. I also took a look at a really nice custom built pc: CompuLab fit-PC2 Value (Rev 1.4), Atom Z510 1.1 GHz, RAM 1 GB, bay for 2.5″ SATA HDD. I would have purchased the fit-PC2i and added an SSD drive. The problem for me was that it did not have VGA output. Buying CompuLab’s $40 DVI to VGA is expensive (and risky from some of the comments). So I decided I had to build my own Mini-ITX fanless pc.

Disclaimer: Your experience, hardware, software may vary. This is only a post about MY Mini-ITX setup.

These are the parts I used to build my Mini-ITX PC:

The Intel D525MW manual is located here:
http://www.intel.com/support/motherboards/desktop/D525MW/sb/CS-031613.htm

Prepare the D525MW motherboard:
Add the memory to the board.

Open the Antex ISK 100 Mini-ITX case: 
Unscrew the 4 screws on the back of the box. Both panels need to be removed to insert motherboard and ssd drive. It also reduces the chance that you will scratch them while working with the case. Remove each side panel by lifting the side panel about 1/4 inch up and slide back gently. They should snap out with no problem.

 

Install The 80G SSD drive:
The SSD will sit below the motherboard, on the other side of the mount. There is room for 2 drives here. I only needed to install one drive.  I installed mine on the end closer to the front panel because this is where the wires feed through the opening and around the motherboard to connect to the other side of the mother board. Screw the SSD drive “inside” of the chassis. Now connect the SATA cable that came with the mini-itx board. Also connect the power cable that came with the Mini-ITX case to the SSD drive. Pull the cables up into the case. Having the cables pulled through will be needed when inserting the D525MW motherboard into place.

Connect the power cable that will power the motherboard to the power supply board on the Mini-ITX case.  I did not do this until the last of my connections. I think it would have been easier if I had done it here.

Mount the D525MW motherboard:
Forget using the external connector panel that comes with the D525MW Mini-ITX board. The case is not designed correctly to support it. I learned this from reviews of the case. So I was not surprised when I tried it and the D525MW’s screw-mounts were off by almost 1cm when trying to match board (mounting) with IO panel placement. The back will stay open around the external IO connectors. No big deal.  This box will not be sitting on the floor so less dust should collect inside the case.

The easiest way to remove the board from the case is to pull the external connector side out first. Reverse this process for inserting the board.

Connect wiring for lights and switches:
Follow the directions that came with the D525MW board. Easy to read and follow.
Always good to double check which connector you attached too before you turn on the power!

Connect wiring for external USB connections:
Connect it to the USB pins on the Mini-ITX board as shown in the D525MW diagram that comes with the board.

Connect the audio:
Follow the directions that came with the D525MW board. Easy to read and follow.

Connect the SATA cable:
Connect the SATA cable to the motherboard.

Connect both the power cables:
There are two power cables that need to be connected from
Move all wires away from the heat sink. 

Install the Operating System:
Connect external DVD drive via USB. Power on the DVD drive and then power on the Mini-ITX PC. The Mini-ITX detects the DVD-drive and automatically boots to it! Nice! I installed Windows 7 Home Premium x64. Select “Custom Install”. Installed my anti-virus software while I was at it.

Connect and install the Linksys:
Use the CD that comes with the WIFI Adapter for installation. Wow! That was the easiest WIFI setup I have ever done. A couple of clicks and enter the password and I’m on the net.

Upgrade the Operating System if needed:
I was prompted for 40 updates. Make sure these complete before upgrading the BIOS. Also do a reboot! Just to be sure the Operating System upgrade is complete and functional. There is an icon in the “hidden icons” tray will let you monitor the software updates. Leave it in full view until completed.

Upgrade the BIOS:
Here is the link to Intel’s site to download the manual for the D525MW::
http://www.intel.com/support/motherboards/desktop/D525MW/sb/CS-031613.htm

I downloaded and ran the Express-BIOS update from 3/25/11 while in Windows. This was very easy.

Verify the external case IO works:
Before closing the case, make sure each of the external connectors on the front of the case work properly. Meaning connect a Flash drive to the USB connectors and verify the OS sees it. And connect some speakers up to the audio-out and verify your Pandora music plays properly.

Close the case:
Make sure the cabling is away from the heat sink. I did not connect the fan because it has enough space and venting. Screw both panels to the box.

Bag all the manuals, warranty, and receipt and any leftover screws, etc into a nice Ziploc bag for storage.

That’s it – now have a quiet PC that makes no noise!

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Windows Debugging Resources

by itoolbelt on June 25, 2011

Start here by reading about  Debugging Tools for Windows. And then download the SDK that contains the debug tools. This includes WinDbg, Microsoft’s main tool for debugging. The application has a graphical interface and console interface.  Microsoft provides symbols for debugging. These can be downloaded prior to the debugging session or accessed from Microsoft’s servers during the session.  Get comfortable with the tool and write your own extensions.  If you are debugging an ASP.NET issue then you’ll want the PssCor4 extension (latest version supporting .NET Framework 4).

Note: The architecture of what you are debugging needs to match the version of the tool!  For example, if you need to debug a 32-bit application, you need to use the 32-bit debugger and load the x86 version of the extensions.

Learning how to use WinDbg may require an application that already has the failure/crash scenarios. There are several great sources of information on how to use the tool and different failure scenarios:

If you do not need to analyze a core dump, maybe it’s the SysInternals tool suite you should be looking at.

 

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