Reviewed at MissingRemote.com!

Andrew Van Til at MissingRemote.com kindly reviewed the PSU backplate. Be sure to check out his review here: http://www.missingremote.com/review/psu-backplate

picoPSU Tight Fit On ASUS H61 mini itx Motherboard

Look how tight the picoPSU sits against the RAM on the ASUS H61 mini itx motherboard.  It hasn't caused any problems so far but this RAM (Kingston ValueRAM DDR3 1333) doesn't have any heatsinks.  If you tried this with RAM that had heatsinks, like G-Skill Ripjaws for instance, I don't think it would fit.

More about backplates / covers for mounting picoPSUs jacks in computer cases PSU openings

Things have progressed since my first post about the prototype I created to mount a picoPSU in my Lian-Li PC-Q07 case. I now have backplates designed and created for both ATX and SFX12V openings. I made CAD files using the ATX and SFX12V specifications as well as 80mm and 60mm fan specifications and then sent those away to have some aluminum templates made that I can now use as jigs to manufacture them from ABS plastic.

I've actually already sold one ATX backplate with an 80mm fan and an SFX12V backplate without a fan! I really need to get some kind of store set up. I am thinking eBay is going to be my best bet. It's just a matter of finding the time to set it up.

Here are some photos of the aluminum templates I had made and some experiments using ABS plastic.

This is the ATX backplate with mounts for an 80mm fan, 2.5mm barrel-style jack and 4-pin panel mount jack.

This is the SFX12V backplate with mounts for a 60mm fan, 2.5mm barrel-style jack and 4-pin panel mount jack.

These are some experiments with making these out of ABS plastic. The trick is getting the drilling smooth. Once the pieces are mounted in the holes though you can't see any burrs or imperfections in the plastic, especially once mounted in the case. These are predecessors of the ones I actually sold.

This one was sold to be mounted in a Moneual LAB Black Aluminum MonCaso 312B Micro ATX Media Center / HTPC Case:

This one was sold to be mounted in an APEX MI-008 Black Steel Mini-ITX Tower Computer Case:

If you're interested, leave me a comment with contact information and I will get back to you. You don't have to have a gaping hole in the back of your PC to use a picoPSU.

Meanwhile, I hope to get something up on eBay very soon.

Rosewill RC-CIX-01 / Intel D525 "Mount Washington" build

I built this computer for my daughter's pre-school.  It features the excellent Rosewill RC-CIX-01 case, Intel's BOXD525MW mini-ITX motherboard, 2GB DDR3 800 SO-DIMM RAM, Western Digital 320GB "Green" HDD and a Lite-On CD/DVD RW ODD.  More details about the build coming soon ...

Lian-Li PC-Q09F / Gigabyte GA-H55N-USB3 build

Here are the pictures for now.  I will detail the build soon.

Netflix error code n8156-6013

"You know, I've never gotten Netflix to work" is not what you want to hear from your wife when she's trying to get a movie to play on your HTPC.  Wife Acceptance Factor (WAF) is all-important when it comes to integration of new technology into the home and having something "never work" makes for very low WAF.  It turns out there is a pretty common DRM issue that happens with the Netflix plugin for Windows 7 Media Center on Windows 7 x64.  There's a bug in Microsoft Silverlight 4 where it cannot write to a file which triggers a DRM error and makes it so no movie will play through the plugin.  What do you see instead of Dora or the latest Chick-Flick?  "Netflix error code n8156-6013".

Luckily, the fix is pretty simple though it's possible following this procedure could render other DRM protected media unplayable so YMMV (Your Mileage May Vary).  Close W7MC and any other media players.  Find the file 'mspr.hds' and rename it to 'mspr.hds.old'.  In Windows 7 x64 I found this file under C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\PlayReady.

Now restart W7MC and try the Netflix plugin.  You should be able to play movies again and bring your home WAF back in line to where is should be: still highly suspicious if this is all necessary but happy to be able to listen to the latest Colbie Caillat album at the press of a button.

Mount a picoPSU jack in an ATX PSU opening: mounting plate prototype

These are pictures of my first prototype for a power supply mounting plate that will adapt the panel-mount jack of a DC power supply (such as a picoPSU) to the ATX power supply opening in a computer case.  This one is made of ABS plastic and has a 80mm fan, hole for the power jack and 4 threaded 6-32 screw holes for mounting the plate in a standard ATX power supply opening of a computer case.

This one was mounted in a Lian-Li PC-Q07 mini-ITX tower case.  It works with the picoPSU 120 and acts as a mount for the picoPSU's power jack (where the AC adapter plugs into the DC PSU). Since the PC-Q07 has no fans, the plate also has a mount for an 80mm fan making this the one and only case fan for the PC.  It also performs the job of plugging up the ATX opening where a full-sized PSU would normally be mounted making the PC look better too.

This is the front view.

This is the back view

And this is what it looks like mounted in the case.

In the next few days I'll be creating a jig so I can fabricate these quickly.  I need to add a mount to it for mini-fit JR style jacks now that I have the specs for that.  I plan to offer them with and without the fan and maybe also in clear or different color acrylic with an LED fan.  I am in the process of setting up a webstore for these and I am still working on a name for them and for my webstore's domain.