Storage - File server?

I have a network comprised of: 2 client computers, both running Windows XP Pro, connected to a 5 port switch via ethernet, 1 router/firewall/gateway running Linux Smoothwall connected to 5 port switch and to cable modem.

I have another system that isn't being used (it is rather limited on hardware, it's got a 7 gig drive, pentim 2 cpu,...thing is with the case there is no room for a cd drive, which makes OS installation a pain)

What I want to do is put two hard drives (1 20g, 1 10g) into it, and use it as file storage for the two clients....is there anyway to do this without installing an actual os and wasting all that hard drive space on a box that I don't even intend to have a monitor on?

Could I possibly format it NTFS and then use Microsoft Management Console to create a new partition then mount the empty NTFS folder?

If that isn't possible, what other possible suggestions can anybody provide? What about a small Linux distro that would allow the box to function as a file server for windows XP?
The machine has network boot as an option, so I can install an os....but I'd really like it to be something that won't require much knowledge to use, I can deal with Linux, but my roommate is pretty computer illiterate and I'm not real into spending every waking moment trying to sort out his issues (which would at least double having to learn Linux commands).

How about Active Directory and storage objects? would that be a consideration in this instance?


Thank you

You are fancy here. :)

If you use nLite (Google about nline or search this site, I have a topic about that on AO) and a XP CD where SP2 is allready intergrate with, you can manage to have a OS of about 1 GO. I'm pretty sure that Linux distro would take aroud 1 GO of space also unless you run it a Live CD distro.

Forget AD, it take a lot of hard drive space. If you want the easy way, install XP and jusy join that machine in the same workgroup that the 2 XP workstation and created share drive.