File Server

I have an old PC in my basement I'd like to convert to a file server for pictures and media. Is there any free software I could use, or do you think it's best to just use the home network wizard in windows and just share the entire c: drive?

 

Linux + SAMBA + MDADM = Done. Or yeah set the C:\ drive as a share and use drive networking.

 

Thanks Greg. I have never delt with Linux, is it difficult? What would be the advantage of using Linux + SAMBA + MDADM over drive networking?

 

I primarily use MDADM for hard drive redundancy (5 drives in a 3TB RAID6 array for which I would have to lose 3 drives before I loose data). SAMBA isn't really any different than Windows drive sharing so I can't really say there's any particular advantage going with one tool over another.

 

Ok. Thanks!

 

Try out FreeNAS and the goodness of ZFS.

 

I've used FreeNAS in the past and it's very good. Free alsoQQ

 

I looked into free NAS, but cannot find an advantage ever windows XP networking

 

Well Windows XP doesn't have ZFS which is a big selling point of FreeNAS. FreeNAS also has better remote management than XP does as far as being a fileserver.

 

When installing free NAS, does it format the hard drive and delete Windows XP?

 

You could setup dual booting, but that is a bit more complicated. You should have a single user server when doing this.

 

Oh, no. I'd rather have it format Windows XP.

 

The setup will ask you if you'd like to wipe the drive or other formatting options. You could even run it off of an SD card.

 

I wouldn't touch ZFS with a 10' pole. There doesn't seem to be nearly as much documentation about how to recover data in a crash scenario than what you can find on MDADM.

 

None of that really matters when you have proper backups which you should keep regardless if you use hardware RAID, MDADM, ZFS, BTRFS, etc. FreeNAS is just a great tool to setup a fileserver easily.

 

I just want something that I can put two drives is a raid1 config, and access them from multiple computers (PC and Mac)

 

FreeNAS should be installed on a USB stick, not a HDD, not to say this can't be done. If it is in installed on a HDD it has to be dedicated, and you won't be able to store files on it.

FreeNAS - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

I use Windows 7 on mine, but of course I also have it running FTP and a remote desktop. If only I could figure out how to stream my Windows Media Player library over the internet, particularly to my phone. I know it's possible, just haven't looked into it enough yet.

 

Hit the Freenas setup and running. Now I just need to find 2 large sata drives to put in a raid config. Will rep when on laptop or computer. Don't think I can rep with tapatalk.

 

The note about backups is definitely true. My file server is my backup server. But if push came to shove and it was the only copy of data left (because my desktop PSU exploded, random incident where the cat knocked over a tower, whatever) I would feel better knowing MDADM is what is driving my backup RAID array. Its been around longer and there are more people that know about it to help you if you ever get in a jam.