Turning an old laptop into an LMS?

[davidro]

G'day all

I'm a noob and not very technical at all.

I was wondering if I could turn an old laptop into a dedicated Logitech Media Server so that I can run it with my SBD.

Is that a possibility? And if so is there a way to make that less electricity-consuming (like that VortexBox appears to be?)

In other words I'd like to know if it's possible to turn an old laptop into something like a VortexBox.

Yes I am being a cheap ass!

Any advice would be appreciated.

[garym]

G'day all

I'm a noob and not very technical at all.

I was wondering if I could turn an old laptop into a dedicated Logitech Media Server so that I can run it with my SBD.

Is that a possibility? And if so is there a way to make that less electricity-consuming (like that VortexBox appears to be?)

In other words I'd like to know if it's possible to turn an old laptop into something like a VortexBox.

Yes I am being a cheap ass!

Any advice would be appreciated.

Yes install vortexbox and turn off display. Done.

[davidro]

Thanks man am I supposed to download this from vortexbox.org?

[Goodsounds]

Yes install vortexbox and turn off display. Done.

He's saying he's not very technical and wants to save money. How does your suggestion help him accomplish that? It might cause him a problem he can't fix.

OP, decide how you want to spend your money. If your old laptop runs ok, it's cheaper to use it than to buy a new one, even if it consumes more electricity than a newer model would. Use it with whatever operating system it now has that (I assume) you're accustomed to. If you want to conserve power, turn it off when you're not using it. Or, use your current PC so that you don't have two on at the same time. Or, buy a newer model that's more efficient - a nettop or net book type works fine, the LMS software runs fine on even a basic level PC.

[Mnyb]

He's saying he's not very technical and wants to save money. How does your suggestion help him accomplish that? It might cause him a problem he can't fix.

OP, decide how you want to spend your money. If your old laptop runs ok, it's cheaper to use it than to buy a new one, even if it consumes more electricity than a newer model would. Use it with whatever operating system it now has that (I assume) you're accustomed to. If you want to conserve power, turn it off when you're not using it. Or, use your current PC so that you don't have two on at the same time. Or, buy a newer model that's more efficient - a nettop or net book type works fine, the LMS software runs fine on even a basic level PC.

But that is exactly what gary is saying install vortexbox on the old laptop it is a software distrubution not only a specific product ( that has this software installed ) you can turn any old clinker into a " vortex box " .

It's a one click way of getting Linux LMS and other stuff installed at the same time in a nice package.

You could also keep the old os install and just install LMS and turn of the display, but vortexbox would be more efficient than an old windows install ?

[davidro]

I have an old netbook that my gf no longer uses. I was thinking of turning that into a VortexBox. I thought of using a network HDD but the idea of having to turn on my main laptop everytime I want to use SBD turned me off a bit. If the converted VB doesn't consume too much electricity I could perhaps just turn it on all the time? And I could actually add a normal external HDD.

BTW, I can't even find where to download this stuff!

[garym]

Thanks man am I supposed to download this from vortexbox.org?

Yes but they have just moved websites so the links aren't working and they are working on that. . But yes you download an ISO there, burn to a cd rom, then install.

[garym]

He's saying he's not very technical and wants to save money. How does your suggestion help him accomplish that? It might cause him a problem he can't fix.

OP, decide how you want to spend your money. If your old laptop runs ok, it's cheaper to use it than to buy a new one, even if it consumes more electricity than a newer model would. Use it with whatever operating system it now has that (I assume) you're accustomed to. If you want to conserve power, turn it off when you're not using it. Or, use your current PC so that you don't have two on at the same time. Or, buy a newer model that's more efficient - a nettop or net book type works fine, the LMS software runs fine on even a basic level PC.

It is free and requires a couple of mouse clicks and the ability to burn the downloaded file to a cd rom. And then it just works month after month after month in my experience.

[Swiftie]

Most laptops have components that you won't need; you should disable as many as you can.
For example, if you can connect the laptop to your network with an ethernet cable, then you can turn off the wireless. Your connection will probably be faster and more reliable.
Also, you won't need bluetooth.
I use a desktop mostly, so I can't list other stuff which would be superfluous.

[Goodsounds]

It is free .........And then it just works month after month after month in my experience.

How is that different from the current state of his PC? You guys are nothing if not persistent. I can't imagine how changing to Linux would change the PC's electricity consumption, as has been intimated, but I'm always ready to learn something new.

OP, understand that you'd be erasing your hard drive and its operating system (windows?), the change is likely not reversible if you don't like the result, and you're installing an operating system that perhaps no one you know is familiar with.

I think it's generally agreed that LMS runs well on the three major operating system families (Apple, Windows, Linux) and usually the choice depends on which one a person has or has the most familiarity with. If you know and use one, you're likely not missing anything by virtue of not using one of the other two. To suggest otherwise is silly.