Thanks for the enthusiastic response.
I didn't know I had an xserver issue. Ignorant me.
I haven't done anything special other than follow the MC Install advice for Debian Wheezy 64 bit as advised.
The N5550 does have an HDMI port and I do have a Linux box that I can use to SSH into the N5550. I loaded up MC and its various dependencies via a Windows session of Bitvise as explained.
I'll need to research things like VNCserver and setting up xserver in greater depth (any pointer would be welcome)
If it all seems haphazard, it's because it is. I didn't set out a plan other than to just take a punt and see what would happen. Thought I'd go organic and see what would grow.
I'll give your suggestions a bit of a once over and see where I get to and report back.
Thanks
Sorry about the information overload: you and I had previously chatted in a thread (
http://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php?topic=84477.msg642377#msg642377) about the xserver/DISPLAY issue so I thought you were already grappling with it or I wouldn't have laid it out at that level of detail
Before you start on any of my troubleshooting steps, read that thread from the top:
http://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php?topic=84477.0. That's where bob gives the official recommended method for headless setup that resolves the xserver/DISPLAY issue. Keep reading after the first post though as there are some points of clarification in the replies. If you need help navigating his method, post back and we can work through it (my questions above will also help with troubleshooting it if you're having trouble). His method works great, especially if you don't need to interact with the MC instance on the Thecus very much.
If you plan on using the MC instance on the Thecus for tagging or other operations requiring extensive GUI interaction and you find xforwarding to be a little slow, I'd recommend checking out this thread for my VNC remote access method:
http://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php?topic=91227.0. If you decide to go that route, you'll need to install some x dependencies and a lightweight window manager on the Thecus first: I'd recommend installing xinit and openbox (you may already have xinit installed as a dependency, but maybe not). After that you should be able to follow my steps with no trouble.
But, and I can't stress this enough, try Bob's method first because it's much simpler (and easier on the memory/CPU), and it may work perfectly for what you need.