Dhruin
SasqWatch
Long story. Bear with me.
We recently moved and the DSL modem is in a bad location - we now run everything via wireless. I used to regularly use a "server" (my old gaming box) for filesharing / media streaming and the like but space is a problem and the wireless signal is weak in that location. It's also getting old and draws a lot of power for the (old but powerful) video etc.
So, we've migrated entirely to wireless laptops (even for gaming). All good. I still like somewhere to store files, so I thought about a getting a NAS box and sitting it on the fridge - where the wireless router now has to live. But I used to like using the "server" to download large files and the like, so I could game on the laptop without overhead or interruption. I'd use VNC to access the "server".
Then I remembered I have an old micro-PC stored away - a tiny, special case with a custom M/B that would be small enough to sit on the fridge. It's old - Athlon 1600?, 256-512Mb? Running XP.
I thought a nice slim Linux distro would turn it into a filesharing box that would fit on the fridge but still give me a browser etc for downloads and whatnot.
What to use? Will something nice like Ubuntu work well on that older config? Or go for Damn Small Linux or Puppy Linux? Is there a distro just for filesharing/media streaming - but with a GUI and browser etc? I'm not a Linux newbie but also not an expert - I'd rather a GUI, thanks. I assume I need SAMBA for the Windows notebooks to connect to but the small distros don't seem to include it.
Thoughts or advice?
We recently moved and the DSL modem is in a bad location - we now run everything via wireless. I used to regularly use a "server" (my old gaming box) for filesharing / media streaming and the like but space is a problem and the wireless signal is weak in that location. It's also getting old and draws a lot of power for the (old but powerful) video etc.
So, we've migrated entirely to wireless laptops (even for gaming). All good. I still like somewhere to store files, so I thought about a getting a NAS box and sitting it on the fridge - where the wireless router now has to live. But I used to like using the "server" to download large files and the like, so I could game on the laptop without overhead or interruption. I'd use VNC to access the "server".
Then I remembered I have an old micro-PC stored away - a tiny, special case with a custom M/B that would be small enough to sit on the fridge. It's old - Athlon 1600?, 256-512Mb? Running XP.
I thought a nice slim Linux distro would turn it into a filesharing box that would fit on the fridge but still give me a browser etc for downloads and whatnot.
What to use? Will something nice like Ubuntu work well on that older config? Or go for Damn Small Linux or Puppy Linux? Is there a distro just for filesharing/media streaming - but with a GUI and browser etc? I'm not a Linux newbie but also not an expert - I'd rather a GUI, thanks. I assume I need SAMBA for the Windows notebooks to connect to but the small distros don't seem to include it.
Thoughts or advice?