Thought I'd put in the proper section, continuing from here:
http://ukbouldering.com/board/index.php/topic,8711.0.htmlhaving done a bit more research looks like you need to get some sort of write filter:
"Microsoft provides a component called the Enhanced Write Filter (EWF) for developers planning to deploy their systems to a CF disk. EWF is simply a storage filter driver that can be configured to protect one or more volumes from any unwanted writes. All changes to a protected volume are filtered by EWF, which then stores them in RAM rather than writing them to the disk. Upon system shutdown or reboot, changes can be either committed to the volume or discarded. Since the volume is not written to during normal operation, the system is also more resistant to data corruption in case of a sudden power loss"
also something called minlogon.exe help to boot up the device a lot quicker:
"MinLogon is a component Microsoft added to XPe for devices that need quick boot times and as little overhead as possible. Normally, when an XP system is booted, an executable called WinLogon is started that performs the user login, sets the security policy settings, and runs the logon scripts. This can be a lengthy process and seriously hurt boot times. Car PC developers don't typically need this level of functionality in our systems—we just want the system to boot up as quickly as possible and start playing music like a normal radio would. MinLogon was created for just these types of devices, and coupled with EWF, you can use it to turn a regular XP install into an OS capable of quickly booting off a CF disk."
Both of these can be used with normal XP, not just XP embedded
I'll be nicking these off the XPe I just DL'd and trying them out sometime soon
