Computer again
I have for the time being given up on making the old computer into a NAS server. Seems that every time I try to connect the 320gb hard drive, it reformats it as 137gb. I thought it was the older OS I was trying to use as one of my boot options; but no, it seems to be a BIOS problem. That kind of upsets me as I would not have bought the PATA drives if I knew that in advance.
I do have the dual monitors working on the new system now. Using my 19″ Hitachi and an old Goldstar I had taking up space in a closet. I know that this is hardly the most up to day setup; but it is a big step up in convenience for me, especially with Photoshop
New computer news
The new comp is running OK. Got the new hard drives from frys.com in pronto time. Been reloading software for the past couple of days. Still have more to do. A few of my favorite utilities do not seem to want to run on the new machine (SIGH).
It really is bunches faster than the old computer, my 20x-30x may not have been far off.
A clean install of XP Pro SP2 solved the OS problems. The new data drive is a 320gb Maxtor. I got one to go in the old box as well. Next I get to work on setting that up as an archive sever.
How did I do? Well I have a PDQ workstation computer for under $500 all up, so I can not complain. And there is plenty of room for growth. Yes, I am happy with how this project came out.
New Computer Up and Running
No hardware problems at all. However the existing Win XP Pro SP2 install does not see two processors. The BIOS does, and a new install of XP Pro x64 does, so it is not a hardware problem. I guess that means I am going to have to spend a week or so tweaking things. My existing install is highly customized and I forget things so I can not remember exactly how to go about it. Sigh!
Still needed are bigger hard drives as 40gb is ludicrous these days.
New Computer Update
Well, I just won the last parts needed on eBay a few minutes ago.
It will be a dual AMD Opteron workstation with all commercial grade parts. It will consist of the following:
–Enlight EN-8950 10bay Server Case.
–Delta 400watt+400watt redundant powersupplies.
–Supermicro H8DCE dual Opteron Workstation motherboard.
–2 AMD Opteron 242 CPU’s with Arctic Cooling Alpine 7 heatsinks.
–4 sticks of 512mb PC3200 ecc reg ram (2gb total).
–ATI FireGL V3100 Workstation Graphics Card.
–2 existing CRT monitors.
–2 existing hard drives.
All the parts, save the motherboard, were so cheap that I will be able to afford to toss them when and if I upgrade. In the mean time, if all the parts work, I will have a working computer that should 20+ times as fast as my existing one. So, now, all I have to do is wait until the stuff gets here, and then put it all together. Call it a week. I can hardly wait.
I made the decision to go ahead and build it as cheaply as possible, in order to get it up and running. Later, maybe next year, I can upgrade it piece by piece, although the only critical upgrade would be to dual core CPU’s.
Iwill need to get bigger hard drives as soon as possible however.