Spare laptop with a broken LCD....

[xiaobao12]

This is the laptop.

The LCD is busted so I use it by connecting it to a 15" DELL LCD.

I have a desktop that I use for everything else. This laptop is just collecting dust right now.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated - thanks =)

 

[TheStu]

Use it as a headless server using VNC maybe? Set it up as a router? Donate it? Investigate how much money it would cost to replace the screen and then give it to a family member?

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

Buy a replacement for it. I did for my laptop... cost ~ 225$

 

[yhelothar]

My mom got a desktop that's way faster than that(2.4 P4/gf3ti200) from a company that was throwing out their old PCs. That was about 1.5yrs ago.
Toss the mofo. You can get that laptop from ebay used and fully functional for like $90-130.

 

[Fullmetal Chocobo]

SFTP server and make it crunch. Distributed Computing FTW.

 

[Modelworks]

It would make a great router/firewall .
http://www.smoothwall.org/

 

[magreen]

Take out the hard drive and stick it in a $7 portable usb case.

Woila, portable 40gb drive, or whatever size it is.

 

[mmntech]

Media server or some other type of file server. Storage can be expanded easily enough with cheap USB 2.0 hard drives. Just make sure you use a wired connection and not wifi. You can set up screen sharing to remotely control it.

 

[magreen]

That's actually a good idea, as a media server and print server. The problem with having a dedicated media/printer server usually is they suck a lot of constant power, and you can't have them to go to sleep (otherwise they're no good as servers!). So an old laptop is a great choice, since it will barely sip electricity.

 

[magreen]

@mmntech: why do you want your server wired and not wireless?

 

[JackMDS]

Originally posted by: magreen
@mmntech: why do you want your server wired and not wireless?

Cause Wireless is Slower, less stable, and less countable than wire.

In a Server Countability is the main variable.

 

[RebateMonger]

With all those cheap 1 TB USB/SATA external drives out there, you COULD install Windows Home Server on the laptop and use a 1 TB external drive as a Secondary data drive. You wouldn't even need a monitor once it's running. The laptop is more than fast enough for WHS, and doesn't draw a lot of power.

 

[mmntech]

Originally posted by: magreen
@mmntech: why do you want your server wired and not wireless?

What JackMDS said, plus that Toshiba laptop xiaobao12 has only supports 802.11b, which tops out at 11mbps. Too slow for media. I have my old iBook G4 set up with a wired 100mbps connection running PS3 Media Server. (I recommend TVersity for Windows setups) Works perfectly. In the basement out of the way and I can just remotely control it with my new laptop. Since laptops use relatively little electricity, they're ideal for basic home servers.

 

[morkman100]

Any recommendations for an OS? WHS seems like the simple route but free is always nice....

 

[JackMDS]

Download Free trial. It is fully functional for 4 months.

http://www.microsoft.com/windo...wshomeserver/eval.mspx

 

[SparksIT]

Originally posted by: morkman100
Any recommendations for an OS? WHS seems like the simple route but free is always nice....

Ubuntu(Kubutu), Fedora 10 or 9 those will be the easiest to set up and deploy, if you really want a challange you can go Gentoo, or CentOS, Of course you could FreeBSD (cmd only) it will use the fewer resources since there is no GUI, but it will take a bit to set up.