Dell Inspiron 6000 as an audio server to my stereo system

[Joacchim]

I have a large catalog of MP3 files that I want to connect with my stereo system. My stereo cabinet is in the wall where a computer would fit but it would be unwieldy and inconvenient to put a monitor in there... So I'm considering repurposing an old Dell Inspiron 6000 with a bad display, upgrading it to Win7 Pro with a WD dual drive SSD/HDD, and connecting the audio output jack to an aux input on my receiver. The pro version of Win7 allows me remote access from other computers I have in the room so a working monitor wouldn't be needed. However, this old laptop maxes out at 2Gb of RAM and it's only running a 1.3GHz Celeron processor. I have a new copy of Win 7 Pro and the dual hard drive already in my possession, but I hesitate to "waste" them in this old laptop. Any advice or suggestions?

4/6/15 update: Did my homework and found 2 problems with my plan. 1. Computer will only accept ATA drives. The new drive I was hoping to use is SATA. 2. The Dell must use 32 bit Win7. The copy I have is 64 bit.

Thanks to all who considered my dilemma!

 

[americanaudiophile]

You could install Vortexbox as your OS. This is linux distro that makes your pc into a music server/ ripper. You can use the laptop without a display and control it with a tablet or smartphone once installed.
http://vortexbox.org/about

 

[joacchim57]

Well, I put this off long enough that new tech gave me a simpler solution: I attached a Chromecast audio device to my stereo receiver, uploaded all my music to Google Music, and now I can say, "Hey Google, play Satisfaction" and it plays! Voila! Plus anywhere I have web access, I have access to my music.