Ne0 Posted February 28, 2013 Report Share Posted February 28, 2013 I've an old laptop of wife (HP/Compaq , intel dual core, 2 GB RAM, currently running win Vista) , I want to put it some use , from the top of my mind 1. Use it as a NAS / File server 2. Media server (for use with PS3) 3. Turn it into a Chrome PC 4. Standalone general purpose linux server It would greatly help if you guys can give me some pointers on which option is the best, w.r.t ease of setting up/configuring etc., especially considering the h/w capabilities of the m/c. Thanks in advance Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LagWarriorZergey Posted February 28, 2013 Report Share Posted February 28, 2013 Pron Stash Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sackboy Posted February 28, 2013 Report Share Posted February 28, 2013 Coaster? Chopping board? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ALPHA17 Posted February 28, 2013 Report Share Posted February 28, 2013 Ne0 I can see the laptop adopted in the option 2) and option 4) situation the most. How much storage do you have on hand, that you want to turn this into a NAS system? I cannot guide you with the PS3 because I do not own consoles thus don't know how you plan to use it exactly. Why not option 4) which is the easiest? Install whichever distro you prefer the most from the Linux family tree and you are good to go, anything specific you want to enquire please post. Hope this helps, Cheerio! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AtheK Posted February 28, 2013 Report Share Posted February 28, 2013 Does it have a video card and HDMI port, if yes connect it to TV and make it to boot into XBMC and use as HTPC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ne0 Posted February 28, 2013 Author Report Share Posted February 28, 2013 ^^ thanks alpha 1. Currently there's around 120 GB built in the laptop, i can attach an external USB of 1TB. 2. A linux server is the easiest , but I'm not sure on how to access media/files etc easily over the home network using my phone, ipad, win laptop, win desktop etc. If you can give me some pointers here, I would definitely prefer this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ne0 Posted February 28, 2013 Author Report Share Posted February 28, 2013 Does it have a video card and HDMI port, if yes connect it to TV and make it to boot into XBMC and use as HTPC No hdmi/video card Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ALPHA17 Posted February 28, 2013 Report Share Posted February 28, 2013 ^^ thanks alpha 1. Currently there's around 120 GB built in the laptop, i can attach an external USB of 1TB. 2. A linux server is the easiest , but I'm not sure on how to access media/files etc easily over the home network using my phone, ipad, win laptop, win desktop etc. If you can give me some pointers here, I would definitely prefer this. The attached 1TB will be very slow to access over the network and the data transfer rates will be terrible. Well that depends on how you plan to connect the system, wired OR wirelessly and the depending on driver support for your system we can proceed. Which distro do you plan to install on the laptop, Ubuntu, Puppy Linux, Debian, openSUSE? Dependent on your answer we can check for the driver support and continue from that point on, although most things should function out of the box. I am not 100% on this because I am not an active Linux user, mostly use it for retrieving files from a obstinate hard-drive OR in-case my colleague(s) have forgotten their Windows user password and need to backup data before formatting the system. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ne0 Posted February 28, 2013 Author Report Share Posted February 28, 2013 ^^ Most probably, I'll go with ubuntu .... but whats the way to access data stored on linux server over android/ipad/other laptops on a local network ? For ex: I've airserver to stream video to my ipad from windows PC (not sure if there's a smilar linux app).... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ALPHA17 Posted February 28, 2013 Report Share Posted February 28, 2013 ^^ Most probably, I'll go with ubuntu .... but whats the way to access data stored on linux server over android/ipad/other laptops on a local network ? For ex: I've airserver to stream video to my ipad from windows PC (not sure if there's a smilar linux app).... If it is there for Windows / Mac OS it has to be there for Linux (OR equivalents). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dylanjosh Posted February 28, 2013 Report Share Posted February 28, 2013 Use it like a wifi router for your xbox 360. Google 'shared internet connection xbox' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
piper Posted February 28, 2013 Report Share Posted February 28, 2013 Donate it to a school or any non-profit organisation that can benefit from it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ne0 Posted March 1, 2013 Author Report Share Posted March 1, 2013 Donate it to a school or any non-profit organisation that can benefit from it. maybe later , when I'm back in India .... for now , I need to put it to some use .... @dylanjosh, thanks .... will look it up ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sathyabhat Posted March 1, 2013 Report Share Posted March 1, 2013 dedicated browsing terminal when games are loading Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Boss Posted March 1, 2013 Report Share Posted March 1, 2013 I have a spare laptop, I use it to: 1. Browse while gaming (tips in Skyrim, see scores etc) 2. Download box to download errr..stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heaven Angel Posted March 1, 2013 Report Share Posted March 1, 2013 Explore linux. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Madmage Posted March 1, 2013 Report Share Posted March 1, 2013 give it to your daughter :| Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ne0 Posted March 5, 2013 Author Report Share Posted March 5, 2013 ^^ my daughter has taken sole ownership of my ipad already .... fighting to keep my smartphone with me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Razpor Posted March 17, 2013 Report Share Posted March 17, 2013 Dp Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Razpor Posted March 17, 2013 Report Share Posted March 17, 2013 ^ On a serious note though Use it to transcode videos to your ps3. Or Linux experimentation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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