It depends on exactly what type of server you are planning on using ( ftp web game forum etc etc ) as some will be a bigger load on the CPU making the computer basically unusuable for anything else.


In your case I'll assume you should be ok because if you're starting out with this chances are it won't be something too demanding to the computer.


And in most instances you can run server services in the background.

yes and no

depends on what type of server you are running, like FTP servers can run in the background, file servers mail servers etc will probably require the machines complete resources thus making it not possible to be used as a regular computer.

some "servers" require less so it really depends. example, one of my home computers is my "server" because it has all my files, runs a VPN server (program that lets me connect to my computer), runs a FTP server (another program that lets me/others connect to my computer), etc...

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yeah, i guess i should have been more specific.

it's for my work where we want to be able to share files from one computer and store common files on one computer so when you assess stuff it will be accessible from all other computers.

im guessing you are setting up a network aka LAN in your house. That's not as bad as setting up a file server or something large.

I don't remember exactly the steps you need to do but all I know is you need to have more than 1 computer, a cable/dsl router that these computers are connected to. Basically right click and go to sharing (might be a check box when the sharing window pops-up) and enable sharing.

it should automatically set the rights to the folder and give you options on how to share folders/files from one computer to the next.

another thing you might want to do is right click My Computer, go to properties, and make sure your computers are on the same "domain", it should be under Computer Name.

Now that you've done that one both, double click My Network icon on your desktop and you should see the other computer and the folder you've shared.

^^that's the abridged version i'm sure you can find an indepth version somewhere on the net...but you don't need a "server" to access files from one computer to the next. just need to make sure they are all connected on the same network (meaning all connected to the cable/dsl router - the thing that gives internet to all your computers).

hope i helped

___________________
I PUT TRADEMARKS AROUND YO MOTHAFUCKIN EYE
JUST ME N YOU