Computer hard drives
NAS stands for network attached storage. The benefit of a NAS is that you can copy all of your files to it for backup and don't have to worry about spyware, programs failing or taking up more space than you have. The biggest advantage of a NAS is that it is available to all of the computers on the network and not just the computer where it resides. Converting a computer into a NAS is just a matter of purposing to do so.
Instructions
1. Clear the computer of everything but the operating system. Uninstall every program or, to be safe, format the drive and reinstall a fresh copy of Windows. Do not install any other software unless you want to install NAS software such as FreeNAS, but this is not necessary.
2. Add more and/or larger hard drives to the computer. The point of a NAS is storage. It's best to have storage space independent of the drive the operating system is on. Add a second or even third hard drive. You also want quick access to the drives, so consider upgrading the motherboard to one that has SATA connections if your computer does not support SATA drives.
3. Make it available on the network. Once you have the computer free from excess programs and problems and have the necessary storage space, you need to make it available on the network. Plug the computer into your router via a network cable. Right click on each hard drive and choose "Properties" and go to the "Sharing" tab. Select the box to share the drive and give it a name. Also check the box to allow network users to change the files.
Tags: available network, hard drive, hard drives, operating system, storage space
