network a Performa to store stuff?

[asherman13]

hey everybody,

i have an old mac performa 6400 180mhz with an ethernet card and a 60GB hard drive. can i, and if so, how would i, hook it up to my house's network so we can store stuff on it, like backups of ipod videos, etc.?

i'm pretty sure it's running os 8.6, and i'm running osx 10.4.3, as is our family imac.

EDIT there's also some sizable RAM, not sure how much though...

any ideas?

 

[matticus008]

hey everybody,

i have an old mac performa 6400 180mhz with an ethernet card and a 60GB hard drive. can i, and if so, how would i, hook it up to my house's network so we can store stuff on it, like backups of ipod videos, etc.?

i'm pretty sure it's running os 8.6, and i'm running osx 10.4.3, as is our family imac.

EDIT there's also some sizable RAM, not sure how much though...

any ideas?

Well, basically, you'd plug it into the network. You'd then find the connection, name it ("ethernet" is a good name), and select "make active." Configure the TCP/IP options you need, and that should be it.

Create a storage share on the hard drive, mount it from OS X and copy files to it.

Are you having trouble getting it to show up on your network?

 

[asherman13]

Well, basically, you'd plug it into the network. You'd then find the connection, name it ("ethernet" is a good name), and select "make active." Configure the TCP/IP options you need, and that should be it.

Create a storage share on the hard drive, mount it from OS X and copy files to it.

Are you having trouble getting it to show up on your network?

oh no, i haven't even plugged it into a power outlet yet, i'm just wondering if i should even try...guess i should tho!

 

[matticus008]

oh no, i haven't even plugged it into a power outlet yet, i'm just wondering if i should even try...guess i should tho!

Sure. It's not going to be very fast (especially since it's probably got a 10Mb card on top of that painfully slow CPU), but for use as a glorified external hard drive, it should be okay. I'd clean out the inside first (dust and whatnot) and make sure all the fans are working and well-ventilated, because it's going to be running a lot.

If you're not going to stuff it in a closet, you might even want to invest in some quieter fans or a new power supply if practical. But as long as it was once able to surf the net, it should be okay as a network file server.

Good luck!

 

[asherman13]

Sure. It's not going to be very fast (especially since it's probably got a 10Mb card on top of that painfully slow CPU), but for use as a glorified external hard drive, it should be okay. I'd clean out the inside first (dust and whatnot) and make sure all the fans are working and well-ventilated, because it's going to be running a lot.

If you're not going to stuff it in a closet, you might even want to invest in some quieter fans or a new power supply if practical. But as long as it was once able to surf the net, it should be okay as a network file server.

Good luck!

what do you think about removing the HDD and putting it in a firewire enclosure for use as an external firewire hard drive?

 

[matticus008]

what do you think about removing the HDD and putting it in a firewire enclosure for use as an external firewire hard drive?

It would save a little on your power bill, take up less space, and make less noise. However, it would be less suited for network operations.

But if you're only going to be backing up small files, you could just move the FW hard drive from computer to computer, so you don't really need the network functionality. In a pinch, you could also share the external drive out over the network, too. All in all, it's probably a better solution.

 

[asherman13]

It would save a little on your power bill, take up less space, and make less noise. However, it would be less suited for network operations.

But if you're only going to be backing up small files, you could just move the FW hard drive from computer to computer, so you don't really need the network functionality. In a pinch, you could also share the external drive out over the network, too. All in all, it's probably a better solution.

ok thanks.

FYI FOR MODERATORS, ETC.: i've had experiance when posting in the "basics/help" forum that there aren't many people viewing them, and, after i posted it there, thought i should post it in the other forum. i realized my error, as people responded to both. my apologies.

 

[mklos]

Will the Performa even see a 60GB HD? I don't think it will....

 

[asherman13]

Will the Performa even see a 60GB HD? I don't think it will....

i'm pretty sure it's 60GB...then again, it hasn't been turned on for almost two years, so i'm not sure

 

[Macky-Mac]

i'm pretty sure it's 60GB...then again, it hasn't been turned on for almost two years, so i'm not sure

specs at Lowendmac say the 180 MHz had a 1.6 GB hard drive

 

[balamw]

Will the Performa even see a 60GB HD? I don't think it will....

I didn't think SCSI machines running anything over MacOS 8.1 (i,e, HFS+) had those kinds of limitations that are so common on the Windows/ATAPI side of life.

Did they?

They only troubles I've had with SCSI linux boxes is finding the right adapters to connect the various SCSI connectors 50 pin, 68 pin, etc...

B