Is there a personal server in windows xp home?

[ilagnado]

Hello everyone, I thought to learn asp and so need a personal server. I just got my new machine with XP home. First, does it have a personal server as win 98 has? And if it doesn't (like it seems to me), will it cause many problems to install win 2000 on the same comp? Will it cause any system instability or conflicts of both Win 2k and XP from any kind?
Also, is there any way to install applications such as Word, Excel and etc. on one op and use them on both?

Thanks for any input, ilan.

 

[malepipe]

XP(Home or Pro)does not support WPS(Windows Personal Server).This according to the MSKB.
You can install another O/S and it will work fine as long as they are on seperate partitions.You should ideally install the older O/S first!!Otherwise you will need a third party boot manager to utilize which O/S you want to use.If the file systems are the same I.E. all FAT32 then file sharing will not be an issue.Some programs WILL work across O/S's while others WILL NOT.I dont know why this is but thats how it works here anyway.For example Bearshare and Winzip DO work while Paint Shop Pro and Dreamweaver WILL NOT.
Jimi_l

 

[dilettante]

You have to consider that most Windows applications are not "XCOPY Installable."

What this means is that unlike old DOS programs, modern applications install DLLs into system folders, make registry entries, create shortcuts, and so forth - all in addition to placing a number of files into a "program directory."

There are ways to do as you suggest, but it can be messy and could lead to unsatisfactory results. The basic concept is that you install the application (or suite) twice - once under each operating system - into the same "program files" location (which ideally would be on a separate partition or drive from each OS).

Then each OS gets its set of registry entries and DLLs and such, but (hopefully) the largest body of application resources (executeables, aux files such as templates or clipart) only has to be stored once.


Instead, why not consider XP Pro? Or if cost is an obstacle and you have Win2K Pro, why not stay with that? It will remain a fine platform for software development (ASP, VB, C++) for some time to come.

Remember, there is a reason why XP Home is called XP Home - it isn't meant for serious use. This is one for Granny to use with AOL, or the kids to use for typing papers or playing games.

But I fully comprehend cost issues, believe me.

 

[GaryWilsonCPA]

The next pc I buy I want to use as some type of server primarily as an education tool?

I have setup my own peer to peer network at home but want
to learn more about networking on a server. I have heard that XP pro has server capabilities for up to 5 users? I have also been told to consider windows 2000 server.

Any suggestions?

Thanks

 

[dilettante]

Win2K Server is expensive. And you'll really want Win2K Advanced Server anyhow - that is really the "base model."

As an education tool you don't even need a new computer.

Shop around for an old one! I have run classroom networks just fine using PII 233 machines with 64MB of RAM and 6GB to 8GB of hard drive space, under NT4 Workstation.

These machines are running IIS (Gopher, Web, FTP, Email), SQL Server 6.5, a third-party Telnet server (freebie), MTS, file and print sharing, and Microsoft NetMeeting in "remote desktop sharing" mode for remote server administration.

For training and demo purposes you generally need more power in your clients than your servers.


I am currently upgrading these classroom LANs to newer technology - mostly due to changes in IIS over the years and budding interest in .Net issues.

To keep costs down I am replacing the PII 233 machines by reworked former desktop client machines.

These "new" servers will be PIIs and PIIIs in the 350Mhz to 533Mhz range. They will have 256MB of RAM and 30GB to 40GB HDs and 10/100 NICs. I will be running XP Pro as the "server" operating system.

To keep costs down I am using MSDE instead of SQL Server (MSDE is a user-limited version of SQL Server 7 that is "free" for licensees of Visual Studio).

Services supported by these new servers include IIS (again: web, Email, FTP), the XP Telnet server, MSDE (basically SQL Server 7), COM+, MSMQ, file/print sharing, MSDN Library, and XP's Remote Desktop Sharing for remote administration.

My hardware costs for these "refurb" machines runs about $250 for commercial-grade units (Dell Optiplex desktops) plus RAM & HD upgrades, and a DVD-ROM drive (software bloat - .Net betas come on DVDs). My software costs run about $150 per machine (refurb machines come with 98SE, I buy WinXP Pro Upgrade at a steal price, and I already have Visual Studio 6 Pro licenses).

The two XP "servers" I have deployed as a test are 350Mhz machines with 196MB of RAM and 20MB HDs. They are overkill for 4-student use!

I will go with more RAM and Disk for expansion and because they are cheap now.

Good luck!

P.S. - For advanced classes I rely on Windows 2000 Advanced Server. There are issues that can't be covered using a client OS - but surprisingly, not that many!

 

[ilagnado]

malepipe & dilettante thank you so much for helping out with these questions. I am actually trying to install Win2k in addition to XP home that came with my new comp, but cannot. I get a message:

"This CD-ROM is form of older version of Windows than the one you are presently using. Setup functionality from this disk will be disabled."

Any idea how to bypass it and install Win2k?

Thanks again, Ilan.

 

[dilettante]

The next thing I would try is to boot from the Win2K CD itself. Hopefully your machine is new enough to do this.

You may have to go into the BIOS setup and change the boot order or enable CD booting.

This may still be risky. Microsoft's dual-boot support usually expects you to install the older OS first. I assume the reason is that they keep improving their "dual-bootability" and worry that an older OS installed second won't understand some aspect of the newer OS already installed.

Can you wipe the HD and reinstall everything, Win2K first? That might be the "ideal" solution if you have the time and all your goodies backed up.

 

[ilagnado]

Thanx for your reply. I just got a new HP comp, 80 GB, 512 MB, 1.8 GHz. It came with win XP. All I want to do is learn ASP. For this I need personal web server, which exists in, win 2k. Can I uninstall xp, install win 2k and than xp (home)? Is there a suitable pws for win xp? I don't think I have the xp cd. This is some package from HP, or I am mistaken? I'll appreciate anyone who can make some order in my thoughts and give me a good advice for this. Ilan.