I'm confused by your question
individual programs etc are run of the individual pc with a network connection to a central PC (or server) where all data is stored and accessed
the business is a private dental practice - i started looking after it when they had 1 pc and all their records were on paper
I'm not a network expert but have repaired and looked after single pc's for years - what i have is self taught (but that knowledge is getting a little strained these days)
the reason i said windows 7, is because I know it.................i have no experience of Server 2012 at all.........and that makes me nervous - i have to have him up and running over the weeked
for the bootable hard drive, is a SSD an option or should it be steared clear of ?
thanks
Ok, I understand now.
The PC you have is being used to serve files. The reason I would normally steer clear of using a desktop OS (XP, Vista, 7 or 8) is because I'm pretty sure they have to remain logged on by a user for the services to be running (this was certainly true for XP, I'm not certain if this has changed sinced). With a server OS the services continue to run even without a user logged on.
If you are only familiar with desktop versions of Windows, I wouldn't suggest trying to user a server version if you don't have some time to learn it. On the face of it 2012 looks identical to Windows 8 but under the hood it's quite different.
As for SSD drives, they are fine as daily drivers if you need speed. However, they are an 'expensive' luxury for a five user server, especially as I imagine you need lots of space rather than lots of speed.
Typically with all things computers it comes down to budgets. The more you can spend the more future proofing you can do.
EDIT - If you are using an SSD for the OS and then a big spindle drive for the file storage I can't see there being much benefit other than to boot times. It would be worth it only if the server gets restarted often.