Ello!
Right, my lovely parents have bought me a pc for crimbo. Now the question is what to do with my current one. It's currently running XP, a bit old, but it still a decent machine.
I dont know whever to leave it with XP or install some sort of server OS.
someone told me about Amahi, any other suggestions?
Ta!
What do you actually want to do with it? File serve or set up a domain? You could even set it up as a NAS drive using FreeNASOriginally Posted by Little-Miss
Little-Miss (1st December 2008)
I know what I'd do (Debanize it) but that may not be the answer you want...
What are your goals with turning it into a server?
Oh, erm....
Hmm, was thinking file server i think....got one laptop i'll want to connect and at xmas my boyfriend will be having a Xbox 360 so i will want to take advantage of its Media server bit.
I think FreeNAS then, put a large hard disk in and you can share files to other computers and to your XBOX. It also has a bittorrent client so you can download files straight to your fileserver.
Excuse my ignorance....you'd what it?
Exactly.
You could also have a look at Windows Home Server. The primary market is pre-built machines but you can buy a 'System Builder' install disk to roll your own from a spare machine. I have a machine running it at home and it works brilliantly. The backup system in particular is outstanding.
It does take a little bit of tweaking to get the Media Sharing to work with the 360 but I know it's been done.
I've just remembered that because of the Microsoft courses ive sat i can get some M$ software for free the server OS's being some of them. Could stick server 2k3 or 2k8 on and train myself while im at it!
IMHO if you arnt familiar with *nix then you shouldnt be using it at home for something like that. Well my way of thinkin is once i get home i want it all to work without having to think about it too much. Maybe you will get it going perfectly, i dunno... Anyway, another vote for freenas if that is what you want to do.
Whats wrong with XP? Only problem i can see with it is the limit of 10 con-current users but theres only 2 of you...
(Im fairly familiar with *nix so my opinion doesnt stem from ignorance)
Do a fresh XP install using a streamlined copy with all the rubbish taken out and unnecessary services disabled - NLite is ideal for this. As others have said, 10 concurrent connections issue isn't going to be a problem on a home LAN.
For the 360, I'd highly recommend using TVersity - TVersity - Home - over trying to use WMP or the extender for sharing. It's one of the best bits of free software I've come across in a long time! Handles transcoding (pretty much realtime on decent hardware) and enables playing a lot more formats on your 360, plus has great organisational tools etc if you have a large media collection.
AngryTechnician (1st December 2008)
OT slightly, but that right there is why I stopped building my own machines and now buy Dell with a 4-year warranty. I just can't be bothered doing my day job at home any more!
And that's why I use osx on macbooks and ubuntu on my main pc at home - there's always something bl@@dy going wrong with windows and I want something at home that just works - I don't want to be doing my day job at home either. Windows, in any variation - is a pain in the a$$.
I so wish i had done that. I think my motherboard has something wrong with it, causing it to crash all the time (even before loading an OS). I say think because i cant prove what it is as it only starts playing up after around 30hours of being switched on and will take another hour or 2 to play up again after you have powered down for a few minutes.
Best bet is theres a hot spot somewhere...
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