So after a week of pondering, I think I finally figured out what I am going to do for a backup / file server solution for my home network. Last night I backed up what I think I needed from the mini and re-installed OSX on it. Because its an older G4, I only have the back up disk for OSX 10.3.9. Since this operating system is about four or five years old, it took an ungodly amount of time to get the the thing updated. But never the less, its back to a prime state and ready to serve.
Enabling file server access on it was very simple. The sharing between my macbook and this machine works very well. All I had to do was go into System Preferences, then Sharing and enable it on the list of services. I also enabled remote login and remote desktop. I can now ssh into it. I can also control its desktop, but that didn’t come without a bit of trickery.
First, I had to find some free VNC server software. Apple wants to charge hundreds of dollars for their own solution. I was like bag that chaz and began my hunt for the software on my own. After a bit of surfing and research, I discovered vine server. They have a free Mac version so I downloaded it and off I went. Since the mini is running 10.3.9, I ran into a little trouble. After a little more searching, I discovered this blog entry and my questions were answered. So, if anyone is reading this that needs to get vine server running on 10.3.9, fire up the terminal and do a little something like this:
~/# cd /Application/Vine Server.app/Resources/Content/
~/# rm -r TigerBundle.bundle
After that, change the preferences on vine server to automatically start the server once the software is started. Also, change the user preferences to automatically start the software once the machine is up and running. Now, I can share the desktop with ease and I can now get rid of my monitor and extra peripherals on the desk. Ahh…life simplified.
Yet, there is one more step. I have an older PC with a 200GB hardrive just collecting dust. From what I understand, I can get an external enclosure for this thing for only $20.00. I plan to order one tomorrow. This will give me a nice amount of extra storage redeeming myself for opting for the cheaper model when I purchased my macbook. Now with 4GB of ram and this extra storage for $120.00, I’ve made a significant upgrade with very little work. ding ding.