I have an older computer that I want to turn into a file server. I has windows ME on it. This will work, but I don't want all the extra junk that comes with windows, In talking to someone they mentioned a free lightweight file server for just this purpose. He unfortunately couldn't remember the name. I have been searching for it but have had no luck finding it. Anyboy here heard of this?
Matt Probert
8:11 am on Feb 1, 2006 (gmt 0)
Any Linux distribution should do the trick. Most now come with a installation program that allows you to select which components to install, just select the bare minimum you want.
Matt
steve
2:01 pm on Feb 1, 2006 (gmt 0)
Was it Samba?
wheel
4:47 pm on Feb 1, 2006 (gmt 0)
You can combine the above two things - a lightweight linux installation (actually as long as the machine isn't crazy old and running 32megs of ram, any moderm linux distro will probably work just fine), then install Samba. Samba is the program that runs on linux, but makes the file system 'look' like part of the windows network. It's the way you put a linux box/fileserver on a windows network.
If you install Samba, you should probably install Swat, which is the gui that controls samba. You'll want that as samba is non-intuitive.
monkeythumpa
9:53 pm on Feb 1, 2006 (gmt 0)
Thanks I will give them a shot this weekend. Any chance that it will run off of a CD?
wheel
4:59 pm on Feb 4, 2006 (gmt 0)
Linux? Absolutely. There's a number of distributions out there designed to be burned to a CD then run only from the CD player. I don't know much about them, I think Knoppix is one.
