Tiggs

my home office has a pc that i use.....and a cheaper one my wife uses. she is to start doing more pc work so i have had to move some apps from my pc to hers so she can work on stuff i used to do.

this is all very slow so can i easily create a sort of server type thing?

what i want is to have all apps and work on one pc that 2 people can access.....so once my wife has finished work i can open up the same stuff on my pc and see it.

right now the pcs are wired up with a wirless network but that doesnt do quite the same thing and if she uses apps on my pc its too slow - for example, she does all the business accounts so i have had to put the software for that on her pc as using it via mine was too slow.....so now i cant see that stuff without going to her desk......would just hardwiring the pc's make all the difference then she just file shares/apps shares with my desk top????

Foot_Tapper

As a rule Tiggs, only share the data ( word docs etc), and install all the apps on both pc's.

If one app works ok when using the data associated with it on the same pc, BUT runs like a dog if the data is on other pc then it could well be the wireless, but not necessarily.

Your wireless network, do you know what speed it runs at ?
It will only run at the speed of the slowest wireless adaptor, this could be a bottleneck.
Standard wireless speed, not too long ago was only 11 Mb, if you use "wired" you will most likely be using 100 Mb ( tho not guaranteed).

Not sure how you are accessing each others files, or where they are located.

Not sure where all your files are or how you share them.
I would put them in one folder on one pc and share the folder.
Create sub-folders specfic to what they hold (structure it).

You could also use " offline files" , (not everyones cuppa) but what it would do, is allow either of you to cache the info from the main shared pc\folder
This means u could work on the documents with the other pc switched off.

When it is switched on, you just sync the "offline folder", this only syncs those files that changes have been made to.
The advantage is, to all intents, you are working with the files on the pc u are using, not trying to access remotely.
In this way you could stick with your slow wireless setup.

Does this make sense, or am i driving up the wrong tree lolol

lightning101

Hardwiring everytime for serious file sharing unless you have an ultra stable wireless system.

Or buy a cheap and nasty file server and dump everything on that

Tiggs

wirelss is 11mb i think.

some examples:

microsoft money is installed on both pcs......but the file is huge so if if the pc the file its not on opens it to run it on that pc its slow as a dog.

word files....both pcs need to access word docs on the other pcs and these are very slow to open.

it just seemed easier to have all the files live on a central system with th epcs using them......seen LAN file servers on ebay at £150ish.....would that do it? (and i assume hardwire is the way forwrad?)

Foot_Tapper

well yes a file server would do it (depending spec)
I was going to say why don't you experiment wired, with your current pc's first, until i re-read the issue about MS Money.
What spec ( processor and RAM) are your current pc's ?

J4CKO

iTrader: (1)

How about some Network attached storage, basically a box of disks that serves files across a lan ?

bob269

Cant you install the apps on both pcs and treat one as a server and set up a home network and just connect the other pc to it.

Any pc built in the last 5 yrs should be able do that without any issues

upgrading is cheap these days, dont be afraid hell you can even get a decent laptop for around £400 just sync your data with your wireless connection and away you go

TopBanana

You could look at a Linksys NSLU2 (see ebay) for file storage but it will still be limited by the speed of your network

Foot_Tapper

If you buy one of those file servers, tbh it could be a bit of a pain for you.
I dont want to insult your intelligence but just going to throw in some scenarios ( you may or not, thought of)
1 You are going to have to put an operating system on it.
2 will the seller supply all drivers, this includes all hardware support, ie RAID.
3 you will have to buy an extra monitor, keyboard and mouse OR a little
belkin type switchbox that allows you to control 2 pc's from 1 monitor,
keyb & mouse.
4 after you have got all the above running, what happens if an old bit of
server hardware fails ?
5 look at the space it is going to use up.
6 imho massive overkill in this day and age with more up to date products.

The NSLU2 sounds a better idea, but with that you would still have to buy an external USB 2.0 disk to plug into it.

Bob269's idea is just as good, upgrade 1 pc with a good motherboard, proc & RAM.

If that doesnt suit, how about this, the next stage up from the NSLU2;
Its the Buffalo Linkstation, http://www.buffalo-technology.com/pr...&categoryid=31

Not bad a price at £123from here http://www.broadbandbuyer.co.uk/Shop...ProductID=1937
BUT it already includes a 160 Gb hard disk, you can attach it to your network, has inbuilt print server, also attach additional external usb drives.
And also obv would be brand new with a good warranty.

Tiggs

thats the puppy....ordered!

TopBanana

Looks like a decent piece of kit.

I've ordered an NSLU2 because it can run all sorts of cool stuff like web servers and Asterisk - the open source VOIP software. Toys!

Foot_Tapper

I'd never researched these types of kit before, coz never needed them.
But they look pretty good.