[MLStrand56]

Here's a good way to use an Older computer, on a Home Network.

Turn that old computer into a Downloader. Let that Old Slow computer do the heavy lifting of downloading.

Do you download American Idol weekly episodes? Do you download other Free TV shows? Why not use that old-slow computer in the closet, to do all your downloading? That leaves your main computer's CPU to do all the work that you need to do.

When you're DL's are done, simply transfer them via Flash Drive or burned DVD, to your Main Computer. Even Very Old computers are fast enough to be Downloaders!

MLStrand56

[MLStrand56]

To be Honest, this is NOT my idea. It's the idea of Tony Dagostino, another PCWorld member, who's been doing this for years.

Thanks Tony, for suggesting this to me!!!!!!

MLStrand56

[LiveBrianD]

Downloading hardly consumes any resources on a even semi-modern machine, so why have a second PC wasting energy for that?

[coastie65]

They make great paperweights too.

[mjd420nova]

Don't forget the boat anchor..... When anyone sets a download up to be done after hours, midnight being the normal start times, they get saved to the server and not on the directing PC. The server never gets shut down so it canhandle this easily, the i5 maked for a super home server and does those downloads at a faster speed than when all the other users are busy on the router. The DSL gets maxed out for about an hour but no one else is on. Seemed the most logical approach. Servers going to be on anyway, might as well use the resources.

[Evildave]

For about $300 you can get a DS411j with space for four drives. It's only average write-through performance with RAID 10, really. But it's a damned nice appliance. Only eats 11 watts when nobody's doing anything with it (more when the drives are spun up). It's nice and quiet and cool and reliable (so far) as it just sits in the corner doing my evil bidding, and can be configured and interacted with from any web browser, after you get the initial setup done. Just the thing if you need a few terabytes in a box, on the network, somewhere.

It has apps to do network downloads (and torrents) on their own. When it's idle, it eats very little, too. You can configure it to do dlna, mail, subversion, web server, proxy, all kinds of handy little things. You can plug external hard disks into it, too, and it will do offline backups to those automagically.
http://www.synology.com/dsm/index.php

The web configurator is among the niftiest ones for such an appliance that I've ever seen.
http://www.synology..../demo/index.php

[MLStrand56]

LiveBrianD, on 20 April 2012 - 02:36 PM, said:

Downloading hardly consumes any resources on a even semi-modern machine, so why have a second PC wasting energy for that?

Are you suggesting that it's cheaper to run a 1200 Watt computer 24/7, Than it is to run a older 400 Watt computer 24/7, & only fire up the 1200 puter when you need Heavy Computing (which you would do anyway)?

MLStrand56

[MLStrand56]

Evildave, on 20 April 2012 - 04:04 PM, said:

For about $300 you can get a DS411j with space for four drives.

It has apps to do network downloads

The DS4112j is cheap enough, looks good, consumes very little electricity, Supports 3TB drives, BUT what I don't see on the website, is support for RAID 5.

I'm already doing RAID 1 on all my puters Data Drives. For a NAS, I have to have RAID 5!

MLStrand56

This post has been edited by MLStrand56: 24 April 2012 - 07:14 AM

[MLStrand56]

mjd420nova, on 20 April 2012 - 03:44 PM, said:

Don't forget the boat anchor..... When anyone sets a download up to be done after hours, midnight being the normal start times, they get saved to the server

I'm happy that you have a server. However Most people with an old & new puter, do Not have a Server.

My original post was not directed to people with home servers. I Apologize if my Original post offended you!

MLStrand56

[LiveBrianD]

MLStrand56, on 24 April 2012 - 06:53 AM, said:

LiveBrianD, on 20 April 2012 - 02:36 PM, said:

Downloading hardly consumes any resources on a even semi-modern machine, so why have a second PC wasting energy for that?

Are you suggesting that it's cheaper to run a 1200 Watt computer 24/7, Than it is to run a older 400 Watt computer 24/7, & only fire up the 1200 puter when you need Heavy Computing (which you would do anyway)?

MLStrand56

No. What I'm saying is that, if the 1200W computer is already on, why have the 400W one also running? By the way, 1200W is VERY unrealistic. A new desktop machine with discrete graphics might draw 100W idle, and up to 300W load.

[Evildave]

MLStrand56, on 24 April 2012 - 07:13 AM, said:

The DS4112j is cheap enough, looks good, consumes very little electricity, Supports 3TB drives, BUT what I don't see on the website, is support for RAID 5.

I'm already doing RAID 1 on all my puters Data Drives. For a NAS, I have to have RAID 5!

It supports RAID 5.

http://www.synology....DS411j/spec.php

Volume Management
Synology Hybrid RAID
Max iSCSI Target：10
Max iSCSI LUN：10
Volume Type: Basic, JBOD, RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 5, RAID 5+Spare, RAID 6, RAID 10
RAID Migration: from Basic to RAID 1, Basic to RAID 5, Basic to RAID 5+Spare, RAID 1 to RAID 5, RAID 1 to RAID 5+Spare, RAID 5 to RAID 5+Spare, RAID 5 to RAID 6
Expand RAID 1, RAID 5, RAID 5+Spare or RAID 6 with Larger Hard Drives
Expand RAID 5 by Adding a Hard Drive On The Fly

I misspoke: I use RAID 1, 'cuz I only felt like using a couple of inexpensive, low power consuming 2TB drives, so far. Whenever I get around to needing 'more', I'll reconsider it. The existing RAID level can theoretically be 'migrated' non-destructively. I've only managed to fill less than a quarter of it, so far, so I don't see any rush to add to it. Whenever I do, I'll invest in a bigger offline backup, too.

Though here's another small thing to consider with large capacity network storage: Keep it stored near the ground. Not on the ground (where it will collect dust and lint), but the worst possible place is anywhere it can be knocked off of, fall off of, fall inside of, etc. Make sure whatever you put it on has earthquake strapping of some sort. You should back it up, too, but dropping a box full of spinning hard drives is never, ever a good idea. There is NO level of RAID that will protect you from that.

The only (sort of) ding I have for the device is, it can take a little while to spin up and become available, once it's fallen asleep and spun down the drives. About 20 seconds, the first time I attempt to use it. But that might be the 'green' drives that I use, taking their sweet time to spin up.

[MLStrand56]

Evildave, on 24 April 2012 - 04:31 PM, said:

It supports RAID 5.

Though here's another small thing to consider with large capacity network storage: Keep it stored near the ground. Make sure whatever you put it on has earthquake strapping

The only (sort of) ding I have for the device is, it can take a little while to spin up and become available, once it's fallen asleep and spun down the drives. About 20 seconds

I'm not so much concerned about "spin up" time, as I am about capacity. 20 seconds is a long spin-up time, BUT the power consumption of having power hunger NAS HD's spinning 24/7, isn't worth the 20 second spin-up time to rarely accesed files.

I do live in an earthquake area, but if my house falls down, I'm not so much concerned about whether the NAS survived. I'll have Bigger issues when that happens!!!

MLStrand56

[MLStrand56]

LiveBrianD, on 24 April 2012 - 04:11 PM, said:

No. What I'm saying is that, if the 1200W computer is already on, why have the 400W one also running? By the way, 1200W is VERY unrealistic. A new desktop machine with discrete graphics might draw 100W idle, and up to 300W load.

You have Good understanding of current draw.

Everybody has an Old Computer. It seems better to me to Use it constructively, than to dump it in a Land Fill.

Even low capacity HD's can be used in a Download Computer. Then you can move the Data to your NAS.

MLStrand56

This post has been edited by MLStrand56: 26 April 2012 - 04:16 AM

[Evildave]

Actually, the house doesn't have to fall down for the drive to fall. Put it on a book case, and if the book case topples, there goes the drive with it. Put it on the edge of your desk, and if the heave of the quake is just enough (or the cat stretches in the wrong direction), it will topple off. If you're in an earthquake prone region, you should shim furniture and use straps to keep tall things from falling. 6.0 or above is enough to make things fall off shelves, especially if the quake and shelf are oriented, and the shelf is not quake safe. Just think about where you will put it, so it will be safe from falling.

Christchurch 6.3, emptying store shelves, not knocking the building down.


Japan, 7.4, and it made a mess of the place... without knocking the building down.


As for 'landfill', be realistic. First, you can donate that computer to a friend or family member who doesn't have a computer (or has a much older computer). CAUTION: You become permanent 'tech support' for it, from then on.

Second, it's illegal to chuck a computer, monitor, even an old cell phone battery into a landfill. It's 'e-waste'. You can take it to any best buy, or have your local waste disposal company come get it, or drop it off at an e-waste collection center. Just smash (or remove and re-use) the hard disk, first. As e-waste, it doesn't matter if you salvage parts from it, or if any part of it is 'intact' or not. So you can scrap all of it, or just the parts you don't want. It gets recycled.

BTW, Home Depot takes dead fluorescent/CF lights, but 'Best Buy' doesn't. They were both at least clever enough to recognize anything that gets people into the door is a Good Thing.

This post has been edited by Evildave: 27 April 2012 - 12:57 PM

[mjd420nova]

MLStrand56, on 24 April 2012 - 07:21 AM, said:

mjd420nova, on 20 April 2012 - 03:44 PM, said:

Don't forget the boat anchor..... When anyone sets a download up to be done after hours, midnight being the normal start times, they get saved to the server

I'm happy that you have a server. However Most people with an old & new puter, do Not have a Server.

My original post was not directed to people with home servers. I Apologize if my Original post offended you!

MLStrand56

MLS: Well it was really a mistake. It was going to be my video desktop unit but had no more slots. It was stripted and mounted with four 500GB drives. The home server software sets the drives up with mirrored drives and has been on 24/7 for 500 days so far. In idle it draws only 100 milliamps on the 120 line. When doing photo saving, video reading or playing CD/DVD, it's a meager 500 milliamp. Downloading and saving isn't much over the idle. It has onboard video but normally has no monitor attached. What was the old IBM PC power supply rated at?? I used two different ones, a 130 watt and a 150 watt, the heavy one was for those that had the 384 KB memory expansion card and serial/parellel ports. If you had the 256 KB system board, you got the 150 watt unit and the 130 was found in the 64KB system boards. I pay three times more natural gas charges than electric.

[MLStrand56]

Evildave, on 27 April 2012 - 12:52 PM, said:

As for 'landfill', be realistic. First, you can donate that computer to a friend or family member who doesn't have a computer (or has a much older computer).

Second, it's illegal to chuck a computer, monitor, even an old cell phone battery into a landfill.

BTW, Home Depot takes dead fluorescent

I'm Frequently asked if I have an "Old Computer" that somebody can Buy. I rebuild old computers to their Maximum potential, as a hobby. I NEVER sell them!!!!! I always give them away. For me, the WIN is taking an old computer & making it useful to a family who Never had a computer before. High School computer class is just starting to be taught here. Even private schools may only have ONE working computer for All their HS students to use!!!!

I'm sure that in your country, it's illegal to throw a computer into a landfill. Here, Many people legally defecate into plastic bags, & throw them into any river. That makes me re-evaluate your USA-centric Green Opinions!!!

Oh Yeah, No Home Depot in my country. Here, Dead CFL's ARE dumped into landfills!!!!

MLStrand56

[MLStrand56]

mjd420nova, on 27 April 2012 - 04:46 PM, said:

MLS: Well it was really a mistake. It was going to be my video desktop unit but had no more slots. It was stripted and mounted with four 500GB drives.

Do you want to donate that computer to a public or private school, who would Really Appreciate it, after it's rebuilt?

MLStrand56

[mjd420nova]

MLStrand56, on 28 April 2012 - 02:10 AM, said:

mjd420nova, on 27 April 2012 - 04:46 PM, said:

MLS: Well it was really a mistake. It was going to be my video desktop unit but had no more slots. It was stripted and mounted with four 500GB drives.

Do you want to donate that computer to a public or private school, who would Really Appreciate it, after it's rebuilt?

MLStrand56

I've still got plenty of use for it here. It was more of a roll back than a rebuild. The school already gets my donations, one next weekend. They like to call them E-waste. My last two desktops were donated. I get weekly flyers from local charity drives for even large household appliances. Not much that I put out to the curb goes where it should. Most likely I use a twice yearly but that's scheduled. I still have a problem with old tires, truck, car and motorcycle. They charged disposal fee when I bought them and want close to $20. each to take them back.

This post has been edited by mjd420nova: 28 April 2012 - 02:28 AM

[LiveBrianD]

mjd420nova, on 28 April 2012 - 02:26 AM, said:

I've still got plenty of use for it here. It was more of a roll back than a rebuild. The school already gets my donations, one next weekend. They like to call them E-waste. My last two desktops were donated. I get weekly flyers from local charity drives for even large household appliances. Not much that I put out to the curb goes where it should. Most likely I use a twice yearly but that's scheduled. I still have a problem with old tires, truck, car and motorcycle. They charged disposal fee when I bought them and want close to $20. each to take them back.

One time I was participating in a clean-up day by some trails and creeks, and you know what some people found there? Some ewaste (for instance, an old TV). Seriously. Another time, my dad was on a walk and found a washing machine in the path (there was a road above btw). Man, that's what happens if you charge people to recycle - they dump stuff in random places like that, and then it costs a lot more to clean it up...

[brainout]

I have many old machines, and each is valuable for something.

1. 286's -- 486's still do a great job of processing DOS apps. DOS is actually faster and better for a lot of computer needs, from scheduling to alarms to spreadsheets and word processing. These are the core of my business. Granted, they are slower, and due to stupid lack of backwards-compatibility in Win machines, I'm stuck with Imation, Backpack, Zip, and floppy drives for transfer. But it's better than nothing, stable and reliable.

2. 486's process Win3 apps. This matters, as Windows has progressively eliminated backwards-compatibility with software and hardware, so what worked fine in Win3, doesn't work fine later. So you need the old software and hardware, kept in good working order.

3. Win95 and Win98SE machines process many things faster and can search whole drives. Can still run DOS searches quickly, too. I can still hook up my 250 GB old WD big external drives to those machines, and search. Of course, advantages #1 and #2 remain, as usually the hardware fits with DOS, as well as software. XP's text searching is abysmal, and older software can't search even its own files, even if that software otherwise runs on XP. Examples here are Word and WordPerfect. (Can still run old DOS Xtree Gold on XP, but it's too slow, now.) Some people tell me they can still surf with these older machines, but I've not tried that.

4. Older XP machines can download, as others have here said. But if they have enough video horsepower, they can also render videos. Video rendering can take an hour or more. I make a lot of HD videos, and the main reason I wanted to upgrade, was to get the rendering done on an old machine, while surfing the net, on a later machine.

5. Apparently Linux requires less power to run, and can run on an older machine. I've not tried this, but someone in Youtube told me that an older machine can become faster and 'new', if migrated to Puppy Linux or other small Linux.

6. Outside the US, the usage of older machines is more prevalent. So if you're into donating, find someone who makes regular container shipments to the third world or even to Europe, and give that person your machines. Lots of missionaries etc. ask for these kinds of donations, to help the third-worlders become computer-literate. Always need to learn the old stuff, in order to have a good frame of reference for the new stuff.

In short, the older stuff which worked better than in later Windows, still can work: if you KEEP the older machines and software.

This post has been edited by brainout: 20 August 2012 - 06:10 PM