I have one client that has most users connecting to a Terminal Server. This means that desktop support is generally a non event. As time goes on, I have found a workstation here and there has died, power supply gone or dead hard disk.

This client had plenty of Pentium III and Pentium 4 machines lying around, and what better way to save them some bucks, than to rebirth them, as hard disk less thin clients that boot off a CD, and connect straight up to the Terminal Server! Welcome to a simple opensource solution - Thinstation!

Vintage Compaq Deskpro - Pentium III - blazing fast with ThinStation!We went with a simple setup, practically everyone in that client's office uses a resolution of 1024 x 768. So we created an image, with that resolution set, and added the details of the 2 terminal server they have running on the network - that would appear on the menu when you boot up.

All I do, is burn off a bunch of these CDs, rip out the hard disk from the old workstations, set the BIOS to boot from the CDRom, and away we go. The CD boots into Thinstation in under a minute, the user then selects the terminal server they wish to use, and BAMM, they are instantly presented with the Terminal Server login screen!