Creating and adding a computer to a network.

[JTB123]

I am very new to this so if I ask something that is blatantly obvious I apologise

 

This week I was finally able to make a dream come true and have two computers set up simultaneously as my main setup. The main purpose for this is to use the secondary machine as a storage PC to transfer files to, sort of like a server but not really. If that makes sense... 

 

At the moment they are only connected by being plugged into the same ethernet switch so my question is can add a hard drive that is in the secondary PC as a network drive on my main PC and if so how would I go about doing so?

 

I have half a mind to go all out and build a home server but this sounds like a good half way point until I can do that, providing what I have in mind is possible of course. I really have no idea how hardware affects this so if you guys need any info on that let me know. 

[rl249]

There's a program you can use to esentally turn your pc into a NAS, it's called Amahi. It's an open-source piece of software based on Fedora. You can download it here

 

It's pretty easy to set up. I hope that this will do what you want. 

[JTB123]

There's a program you can use to esentally turn your pc into a NAS, it's called Amahi. It's an open-source piece of software based on Fedora. You can download it here

 

It's pretty easy to set up. I hope that this will do what you want. 

Thanks, that sounds great. I'm at work right now so will try this when I get home. Super noob question (I am new to this) but I assume I install this to the PC I want to use for storage?

[rl249]

Thanks, that sounds great. I'm at work right now so will try this when I get home. Super noob question (I am new to this) but I assume I install this to the PC I want to use for storage?

Yeah you install it like an ordinary program. If you really want to optimize your old pc you should look into installing Tiny7, its just a lightweight version of windows 7. I'm not sure what the rules are on the forums with regards linking you to a torrent site so I wont tell you to google Tiny7 and click on the link for kickasstorrens. 

[JTB123]

Yeah you install it like an ordinary program. If you really want to optimize your old pc you should look into installing Tiny7, its just a lightweight version of windows 7. I'm not sure what the rules are on the forums with regards linking you to a torrent site so I wont tell you to google Tiny7 and click on the link for kickasstorrens. 

 

Thanks

 

I'll be trying it this weekend, what affect would this software have on any drives currently installed on the PC? I only have a boot drive in it at the moment, but I'll be putting a 4TB one as the main storage drive for now. Would this wipe the data that's already on it?

[rl249]

Thanks

 

I'll be trying it this weekend, what affect would this software have on any drives currently installed on the PC? I only have a boot drive in it at the moment, but I'll be putting a 4TB one as the main storage drive for now. Would this wipe the data that's already on it?

sorry for the late reply. As far as i know you just install it and use it like you'd use any other software. 

[Scheer]

There are a few ways to do it using Windows itself. The easiest would be to make a folder on the "server", name it storage or something, then right click and go to properties, then the sharing tab, click share, and click share on the new window. It will then list the network path to that folder.

 

Type that path into Windows Explorer in the top bar on your main PC and it will prompt for the login of the "server" computer and voila. Once in, right click favorites and then add current location to favorites to keep it easily accessible. 

 

You may need to go into your advanced sharing settings (under your network and sharing center) and set it to allow file and printer sharing. If you aren't concerned about needing login info, you can add "Everyone" in the sharing window, and in advanced sharing settings there is a bullet you can select called allow access to folders without username and password, or something like that.

 

I'm assuming you are using Windows 7 or 8.

[LLOYD-AF]

I have a similar question, I hope the OP does not mind me adding to this thread rather than start a new one.

 

I have an old'ish laptop running windows 7, i3 processor and 250gb ssd / 1tb hdd and wanted to use it as a basic home server.

 

The end result is to have my main pc (windows 8.1) which has KODI installed to be able to watch movies / tv shows from the laptop, which option would be best for this? using free nas software or just using the built in sharing feature in windows

 

Ideally the laptop server would not need to be switched on 24/7, just when we want to access the information, I don't know if this makes a difference just wanted to mention it.

 

 

Thank you.

 

P.S This laptop has no other use to me anymore other than being a home server, so I am open to removing windows and installing dedicated software if needed.