Creating a server for my Mac

I'm assuming this is the correct place to post this topic. I've done my share of searching the forums and couldn't find much relating to my question.

I currently have a custom built Windows 7 PC, which I built around 3 years ago. Now I've just ordered a rMBP 13" with the 256GB SSD and I am looking into turning my old PC into a server for the the Mac and the rest of the PC's in the house. The idea is to save as much space as possible on my new laptop.

What would be the best way to go about this? I can get access to a copy of Windows Server 2012 for free through my university, but have seen on various Windows forums that this could be a bit overkill for my needs? I simply want to store the majority of my files on the server and back up both the Mac and the PC's up to it. I plan to use my current Windows 7 license on my MBP, so I'm open to installing any OS that will allow me to share files simultaneously between the PC's and the Mac.

Thanks in advance.

dimme said:

I tried Windows home server and it works OK especially if you have PC's. It is simple to set up and maintain. For the mac's you will get to have a network drive and that's about it, Last I tried time machine would not work. If you good at tinkering you should go with Linux, it's free and very stable. It also works well with the mac's and PC, but there is a bit of work to set it up. You also may want to look in to amahi home server it's a add-on for linux. I ran it before I set up my mac mini server which I am using now.
http://www.amahi.org

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Thanks for the info Dimme, I'll definitely have a look into Linux and Amahi!