As a recent purchaser of a netbook I sought out to make it the most functional system possible.  Ultimately I wanted to make sure that all of my files I can access from the PC in the Den I can access from my netbook.  I have well over 200 gigabytes of music, photos, videos, and other personal files.  My netbook, a HP Mini, has only a 60 gigabyte drive.  Fortunately there are many options to easily share these files without needing space on your netbook.  I took an approach leveraging Windows 7 and Windows Home Server.

First, I have all of my personal files located on my Windows Home Server.  Each is well organized into folders for Photos, Music, Video, and personal files.  Second, I have installed Windows 7 on my HP Mini. (I’ll post on how to do this in the future.)

Windows 7 has a new capability called Libraries which is a way of easily accessing a collection of folders and files.  You have libraries configured for your Document, Music, Pictures, Videos, Downloads, etc.   Each of these libraries can be configured to reference any folder located on your local PC or Network.  With this capability, I modified each library to reference the corresponding folder on my Windows Home Server.  I’ll provide an example using the Music library:

1. Click Start, right-click on Music, then click Properties
2. From the Properties window click the Include Folder button, then navigate to the Music folder located on your Windows Home Server.
3. Click the Include Folder button once you have located the folder.
4. Click OK to close the Properties windows.

Now you can easily access all of your Music located on your Windows Home Server from your Windows 7 PC.  These steps can be duplicated for each of your personal libraries.

Another option that will work if you are running Windows 7 on all PCs across your home network would be to create a Homegroup on your primary PC and then join the netbook to that Homegroup.  This will also allow you easy access to your personal files.

I’m quite pleased with the overall results.  Windows Home Server, combined with the capabilities of Windows 7 have allowed for easy sharing and easy access to all of my personal files in just a few clicks.

I’ve been running my Windows Home Server (WHS) for about 18 months almost flawlessly.  My WHS was a old re-purposed system that had sat unused for many months.  I installed WHS on it and plugged it in to the home network, and there it sat humming in the closet for the next 18 months.  Until last week, when I decided to add more storage and do some routine maintenance.  It was the not so routine BIOS update that ruined the long standing stability that I had enjoyed.  The short story is that the BIOS updated failed part way through, and my motherboard was old enough it did not have a backup BIOS.  My lesson learned?  Don’t feel like you need to update your BIOS just because an update is available; after all, the PC had run perfectly for many years without it.

After these events I sought out to replace my hardware with some updated parts, and a smaller form factor.  I also wanted to spend less than $500 and repurpose any hardware I could.  Here is what I opted for in configuration:

• Shuttle K48 Barebones PC - $130
• Intel Celeron 430 (1.8 GHz) - $35
• Kingston 2GB Value SDRAM DDR2 (PC5300) - $30
• 2 x Seagate Barracuda 1 TB SATA Hard Drive (32 MB Cache) - $100/each
• Windows Home Server License - $100
• Repurposed: DVD-ROM (Only needed for WHS install) - $0

Grand Total: $495

Because Windows Home Server has low system requirements I could have opted for less memory and less CPU speed – but it is hard to buy new equipment with specs much lower than this.  I could have gone with 1GB of memory and save $12… but with memory as cheap as it is I figured 2GB wouldn’t hurt.  Also, remember that with Windows Home Server you only need a DVD-ROM for the installation, after than you really won’t use the drive any longer.

In the end I am very happy with my configuration and the smaller form factor PC for my WHS.  It now sits nicely and quietly on my desk.

Any other low-priced configuration?  Share them in the comments.