Netbook as a NAS?

[DoubleCheese]

I have a Dell Mini 9 Dell Mini 9 (1.6Ghz Atom, 1Gb DDR, 8Gb SSD) that I'd like to use as a NAS device with external USB HDD's. I want something low power that I can access wirelessley for music, photos etc and to backup my main PC.

Should I just use Win XP Home that is already installed and just add USB drives for storage and map the drives on the network? Or is there a more elegant way of doing it?

 

[Izi]

I have a Dell Mini 9 Dell Mini 9 (1.6Ghz Atom, 1Gb DDR, 8Gb SSD) that I'd like to use as a NAS device with external USB HDD's. I want something low power that I can access wirelessley for music, photos etc and to backup my main PC.

Should I just use Win XP Home that is already installed and just add USB drives for storage and map the drives on the network? Or is there a more elegant way of doing it?

What not just get an actual NAS drive? http://www.overclockers.co.uk/productlist.php?groupid=701&catid=1240&subid=707

Won't use as much power and it means you are not wasting a computer just to act as a file server.

 

[james.miller]

unless you're buying enterprise class nas drives, the speed they transfer at is shockly poor. i think the best i managed out of mine was about 7mb/sec. it was a pain in the arse and wasnt fast enough to to stream anything bar mp3, tbh and even that was a problem if i wanted to listen and browse at the same time.

using a netbook seems like a waste though, but id be inclined to buy atom 330 itx board with a cheap psu and case to suit - wouldnt cost much more than a nas drive and you'd have full speed transfers.