I'm sure I'll not be the only person to respond, but I'll take a stab
nevertheless, since I've always been grateful for the help I've received
round these parts...
> I'm going to upgrade to one of the new MacBook Pros. So I would like to take
> my G4 Mini and use it as a back-up server that will be located in the basement
> of my house. I'll attach a 500GB MyBook to it and run Retrospect as the
> software, not a perfect solution I know because wireless back-ups are slow.
> But the real question I have is this: Since I won't have a keyboard, monitor
> or mouse connected to the Mini, how can I configure it, check on progress of
> Retrospect etc. from my new MacBook Pro? Are there solutions that won't cost
> me the price of the Apple Remote Desktop software without having to carry an
> extra monitor and such downstairs now and then?
The good news is that there are solutions. The even better bit is that
they're easy, and possibly the best bit of all is that there is one that's
in fact free.
First, you'll need to set up the Mini, and for this you'll need mouse,
monitor and keyboard. Open System Preferences, and choose "Sharing." Under
"Services," make sure that Apple Remote Desktop is checked. Click on the
words "Apple Remote Desktop" to highlight this service, and you'll see
options available on the right of the window. Click on the button labelled
"Access Privileges," and make sure that the option about two thirds of the
way down the window, "VNC viewers may control screen with password" is
checked, and enter your password of choice into the box to the right of that
text.
Next, let's set your computer's name. After you've set your password, click
OK to dismiss that sheet, and you'll see at the top of the System
Preferences window a place to enter your computer name. Set it to whatever
is memorable or meaningful to you. Click on the "edit" button just below the
text box, and set the subnet access name to "mini.local" or something else
that you'll remember.
Assuming that you have activated Airport, your Mini is now ready. Once it's
in place and on, you should obtain a copy of the wonderfully-named Chicken
of the VNC (http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/14099 or
http://www.apple.com/downloads/macosx/networking_security/chickenofthevnc.ht
ml). Open CotVNC, and you should see a list of available computers on your
network. Click on the name of your Mini, and enter that machine's password,
and click Connect. You should now be able to control your Mini remotely.
As I understand it, Apple Remote Desktop is simply a highly Apple-ified
version of virtual network computing (hence "Chicken of the VNC"). If you
use ARD, then yes, you get some very fancy computer-management features such
as being able to lock the screen of the computer you're controlling
(preventing the user of that machine from using it while you're controlling
it), or the ability to observe without controlling. But CotVNC is a very
useful alternative to ARD for less demanding applications, such as the one
you mention.
I hope this works for you.
Steve
gmail.com![[F]](/Images/i7/site.gif){kind=small}
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