This Old PC
We had an aging PC in our office that ran a version of MS
that Microsoft was going to stop supporting so instead of getting rid of it I decided
to find a new function for it.
I examined our IT needs and decided that I needed to improve
our internal data storage by adding a NAS to the network (NAS – Network Attached
Storage).
I made the NAS by:
1) Replaced the hard drive with a new larger drive.
2) The RAM was already sufficient, but it never hurts to add
RAM if possible.
3) Installed a copy of Linux on the PC as the Operating
System.
4) Updated the BIOs on the PC hardware.
5) Downloaded a copy of Free NAS onto the PC then configured
it.
The end product is a NAS with decent processing power that
fulfilled the needs of our office. Obviously this won’t work on an Enterprise level, but for
our boutique office in Shanghai, China this was a great low cost solution and admittedly
a fun project for me.
Years ago I wrote another blog post about utilizing an old PC
in your small business.
I labeled it “This Old PC part one”, I was living in
Shanghai at the time and unfortunately soon after that the Chinese blocked all non-Chinese
blogs, the Great Fire Wall of China severely stopped my blogging.
I am spending a little time back in the USA after a decade
in China and I am cleaning up an old laptop and I came across some old blogs and
I have decided to go ahead and post some of them, though they might be a bit
dated I hope they are some value to you.
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| David Nealis President of Ceres Ltd |
In the past if a PC wasn’t up to task for its current role I
would clean them up and try to repurpose them while using the old operating system.
But in the current age that we live in with additional cybersecurity concerns
that is no longer a feasible thing to do, even if this PC isn’t directly
connecting to the internet it still is a security risk as hackers scan your
network looking for the weakest link. When Miscosoft stops supporting an operating
system it becomes more of a liability on
your network because security updates for it
end as well as for third party venders. This makes it a massive security
liability on your network.
Previously I wrote about utilizing older PCs for print
servers and DNS Servers, but we no longer have any PCs in the office so as I look
to the future of my legacy IT equipment my imagination is at work thinking
about what can I repurpose those laptops , tablets and smart phones to do.
This brings back memories of a fail project using an old palm pilot to be the brain of a very very simple robot. This makes
me hope that I sent that to the e-waste collection place and it’s not rusting
away in my basement or garage.
Here are the links to previous tech blogs of mine:
