mac osx and windows 2000 vs. windows xp

i have an old nt 4.0 server whcih i use for centralized file storage
for my two mac osx computers. the server hardware is dying and i need
to replace it. i've been exploring windows 2003, windows xp and
possibly just adding an external disk to one of my macs and forgetting
about windows completely. only problem is i need a windows based
machine for a specialzed web based application and a card reader with
no mac os suport.

the two scenarios i've come up with are
1. windows 2000 or windows xp on a pc i will purchase (i'm looking for
suggestions on which os to use since i only need basic file sharing and
data is not real critical as long as it's backed up and can be
restored) i don't need exchange or sql.

2. an external hard drive hooked up to one mac via usb which would be
shareed by both macs. and configuring one mac with boot camp so i can
use the web app and card reader when needed. do i have to buy a copy of
windows xp to put on the windows partition? does boot camp really work?

.

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