Turn your OLD PC into your NEW HOME SERVER

[@locnar1701]

"We're on Windows, we have no morals". Most excellent and correct.

[@wartlme]

You might want to add a discussion about setting the BIOS to turn on the server after a power outage so the computer boots up after electrical outages. I also tweaked my power usage by using cpuinfo-freq or whatever it is called. I also tweaked some machines to spin down the hard drives. This is only done on machines that run backups once a day, so it is okay to do this.

[@RaidOwl]

Good call

[@l0gic23]

You just did...

[@wojtek-33]

I have all my servers and desktops to stay off after power outage. When we have outages, it may come back on for a minute and then go back off. Doing this multiple times. Not trying to corrupt anything, especially if the UPS is dead.

[@wartlme]

@@wojtek-33 I get it. Other parts of the country have poor electrical systems, and they lose power more often than I do. In my area, we lose power once a year. Having it power on after a power outage works because we have a reliable electrical system. When I set up a server for someone else, they might not even know how to power it up. That is my use case, and it works for me. Your use case might be much different. Adjust as needed. This is a choice each sys admin must make. When you have hundreds of servers to power back on, you want them to power on automatically.

[@fujinshu]

@@wartlmeBest thing IMO is to get an IPKVM that can interact with the ATX power and reset button signals of your computer. At least that way, it allows for a remote start without needing to have it constantly boot up after getting power, which lengthens the life of the system.

[@robster7787]

This is honestly some really good timing, I have three PCs just gathering dust. Two found in an dumpster from a college apartment complex, and one that is a leftover gaming PC stripped down to just missing a GPU and boot drive. I had just finished making a mini VPN machine with my old raspberry Pi 4. I was getting really frustrated with other video tutorials already on KZbin that only made it a plex server, when in reality I want it to do other stuff. Edit: I HIGHLY RECOMMEND you visit college campuses and check their IT surplus, or also check nearby college housing dumpsters because computers, components, and peripherals. You wouldn’t believe how much IT equipment is thrown away.

[@subhrajitkarmakar6499]

Can you tell location??? I'll go shopping...

[@XashA12Musk]

@@subhrajitkarmakar6499 bro in india, it is difficult. i have tried in my university

[@tannermorris8956]

Talk about nerding out.....I recently got a 15U server rack and am trying to figure out what kind of home server I want to build in it lol. Your channel started me down this rabbit hole for sure!

[@romayojr]

hardware haven would be proud.

[@HardwareHaven]

I am.

[@AntonoirJacques]

This is the video that has finally made me set up the server that I've been planning for a while.

[@heatherryan9820]

Thanks for the no-bs, no fluff, basic setup. These are the kind of install videos I like.

[@mattturner4620]

Its scary that this is exactly how I was planning on spending my morning.

[@l0gic23]

Nothing scary, its just 5G neurolink and AI generation, due to quantum, you get that real-real...

[@aaronb483]

Clever

[@veremlim]

You’re a hoot, my man! Thank you for the simple to follow guide.

[@clipthisoutdoors]

I see what you did there 😂

[@jeffnew1213]

RAID 1 is actually faster than a single drive in reads because both drives can be read at once, assembling the requested data up to twice as fast.

[@RaidOwl]

Run this test then report back. You won’t get double speed.

[@kevinhu196]

Some note about the Windows setup, Docker isn't the greatest with Windows bind mounts or generally NTFS compared to Windows natively, for storage heavy application (nzbget, torrent download and extraction) the speed is significantly slower. And sometime if you bind mount from a Windows directory to a mysql, postgres container, the app wouldn't run at it. For the latter, you can just bind mount your WSL home directory (which is stored as a .vhdx file on Windows) and problem go away. While for storage heavy apps like nzb, plex, it might make more sense to run it bare metal, also with Docker you can't access iGPU for transcoding. But if you do so that way, you lose ability to manage it from a terminal over SSH so you must use Remote Desktop or Rustdesk to manage it.

[@andreas.grundler]

This is exactly what I did a few weeks ago. After I accidentally fried my old QNAP NAS, I converted my old PC into a NAS. I currently have TrueNAS Scale installed on it. I still need to work on the power consumption as it currently draws around 45W which a bit much for my taste. The GTX 1060 is overkill and will probably be replaced by an Intel Arc A310 soon.

[@mpacholik]

Hell yeah my current PC has an Intel 2600K and is still gaming strong. Can’t wait to squeeze another 13 years out of it when it becomes a server lol

[@notreal5311]

Gotta look at the power costs over 13 years vs buying some lower power setup. Sometimes the new machine pays for itself quickly in electricity costs.

[@solorke]

have the same proc but intels wesite sais no virtualization feature, is it that bad ??

[@mpacholik]

@ pretty sure the 2600k has virtualization, at least on Z68

[@jonjohnson2844]

Been using the same CPU in my unraid box for about 4 years, honestly never seen any need to upgrade it yet and it literally sips power.

[@markmonroe7330]

Excellent presentation. Thank you. I have mostly been loading Proxmox on my old systems. I find that for me the biggest issue with "old hardware" is the wattage draw on a lot of it. Striping out anything not needed like video cards and try to stick with SSD can help. That said, a video on powertop with some real world testing would be amazing.

[@philipprudhomme6967]

Thank you Brett. It's great that you've covered Windows shares. Keep safe and well.

[@JordosTechShack]

Oh the diablotek PSU. Brings back memories of the early 200s, and buying budget parts online from part stores and suppliers, before Newegg and Amazon took it all over.

[@Yuriel1981]

Man you been building a long time brotha, lol. I had just bought my own first computer around that time(early 2000s) . As I finally had my first job and I was a poor kid...

[@Kajukota]

Was that back in New Tristram or Old Tristram. Can't remember which was built by 200.

[@UnlimitedUtopia]

biblically accurate pc

[@UnkyjoesPlayhouse]

Excellent presentation, all of the options clearly explained.

[@darkkknight74]

Brett another Banger keep it up buddy cant wait to see your holiday content

[@manuelvisintin9807]

I5 4 gen isn't last CPU, i convert net storage a i atom d525. 4 gen cpu is good cpu for normal home activities, can run windows without problem. On problem power draw, bit high.

[@Redmage913]

My most recent issue was *not* having enough chassis for my systems - thankfully, my sister picked up a non-functional HP Pavilion 500 from the Haswell era. I shoved an Intel DH67BL with an i7-2600 (yay ATX standards, even if the board is installed upside-down!), and I’m going to upgrade my Core 2 Duo Samba/Jellyfin/Plex server from one 3TB drive to 4x2TB SATA SSDs. I’m hoping it’ll only sip power, and I might eventually get an ARC card for transcoding!

[@Redmage913]

Edit - retiring the C2D for the 2600 :)

[@kiefferciullo8561]

Truenas actually uses some strange form of Kubernetes. I don't use it. For some reason, the apps don't play nice with a reverse proxy. That could be a misconfiguration on my end, but I just find it easier to stand up a Docker host on a separate and dedicated VM.

[@ChristianGutierrez]

Finally someone showing a server on windows! Thank you!! ❤

[@samuelriveros6446]

I have learned so much today. Thanks.

[@johnnyg3606]

Great video mate, I used the similar one you made couple years back to get me started

[@nasifibnnasim]

Thank you very much. It was really really helpful video. I needed this video.

[@project_mini_hero]

This brings back memories of when i used virtualbox on my pc and then moved to physical hypervisors.

[@clipthisoutdoors]

So helpful! I recently bought a computer to convert into a Minecraft server. I think I now have some other thing to try now

[@DottieMaddox]

I have no idea what you just said, but I really enjoyed your content and humor!!!

[@BeardedLearza]

came across this after setting up my true nas server lol almost perfect timing, may go with true nas again for a virtualization server but i am tempted to make it a proxmox server for that and keep storage and back up storage on true nas.

[@Forevergames-vn6gd]

I am learning but first question, Can I still run it as a windows gaming unit while it runs the servers? I have not old equipment. I would like to have all the server functions as well as a friend have a terminal to game when coming over.

[@Yuriel1981]

I both understand and agree with why you went with windows for this video as most regular users are familiar with windows. And this vid is great! Awesome tips and setup. But for some reason, Windows servers make me shutter a bit. Lol I am running Truenas Scale like in the second part of the video. Specifically as a learning experience. But being able to run a VM if Truenas presents difficulties is nice as well.

[@RaidOwl]

Lol good thing I used TrueNAS too

[@Yuriel1981]

@RaidOwl Lol I had just edited to include that brotha. It's a great system even with some of the setup difficulties I have encountered. Still having issues connecting my local Ollama to my HA VM.

[@thedevtoss]

That's exactly what I've done with my old PC and it's been flawless, great job! Although, I'd go with wg-easy for the VPN

[@sadessnuk1955]

Its always nice to watch your videos, i always get new knowledge. And i have some questions about building a NAS, i have 0 knowledge, buying a ready made NAS like ASUSTOR/Synology is too expensive for me. I watched some videos but still have some questions in mind. I hope someone can answer. 1. Can Home Server / NAS be accessed from outside? i mean i travel alot 2. Is it possible to make each account have their own folder and can only access to their own files? 3. My MiniPC only have 1x M.2 Slot and 1x SataIII Slot. So i plan to use USB3.2 Flashdrive as boot and M.2 as main storage, is there a way to automaticly mirror/backup M.2 to sata HDD?

[@TazzSmk]

this video just hits perfect, I've been using all sorts of systems (mainly Synology DSM and Proxmox with Docker VM), so it's nice to see such roundup from time to time, gotta take a deeper look into Docker setup within Windows, because despite all the blasphemy Windows remains the most advanced option when it comes to GUI and software/hardware support, I wanna ask though, is there some (third-party) WEB UI for managing Windows? I remember Windows Admin Center from Win Server, but it's rather barren imo

[@sujaybhakat2548]

Using the new m4 mac mini a home server for running home assistant plex bitwarden etc

[@solorke]

My 2600K intel i7 is not havin the mentioned virtualization feature, in case i convert, what am i missing out on?

[@deechvogt1589]

Thanks Brett for a very informative video.

[@Viking8888]

Nice video as always Mr. Owl!

[@sadravin1]

you forgot to mention that the windows server will reset every day. at max, you can put it off 7 days. with a 3rd party app you can push it 90. but that is the limit

[@BrunodeSouzaLino]

Another downside of VMs in TrueNAS is it takes your graphics card for itself. If you want to do GPU passthrough, you need another graphics card.

[@pav1u]

i want to do this but how could you be able to acess files outside your home network??

[@jujjuj7676]

I hate these new PC cases, I need bays in front like the vintage ones had for raid drives the new ones dont have crap anymore but fans. Anyone know good place for old NEW cases with multi bays in front?

[@henryd4331]

The whole VPN idea scares me to bits. There's no way I am going to expose my home network to the Internet. Awesome tutorial otherwise!

[@LennartDaniyyel]

My cpu has virtualization but mu bios hasn't any VT -x option and is disabled, what can i do without virtualization?

[@sadravin1]

when the pc reboots, how do you prevent data loss and make it restart everything automatically?

[@arjungupta3531]

6:04 cmon hyperv is easier for someone who needs this guide quick rate is literally all a person like that would want and then docker for microservices

[@geesharp6637]

I find TrueNAS an odd choice. Top complex for just a share. VM and docked in it is meh. Probably would have chosen Proxmox and add what you need on top. Some simple lxc to create shares and VM support is way better.

[@RaidOwl]

Cool

[@reddeviluk]

I literally just offered a Aoostar WTR PRO which should arrive in a few weeks. I fully intend to use windows and set it up as a NAS, hoping to get Plex and also Google Photo alternative so this is ideal timing. Anyone know of any good Google Photo alternatives and also if there's any such thing as a free remote management dashboard to be able to monitor cpu temps, disk space etc (like Pulseway). Thanks

[@LEGnewTube]

Huge! Thank you!

[@lamar9525]

No, your DDDR2! And great info!

[@allanbsantos]

O cara lá fala que um i5 é velho 😢. Aqui nossa realidade ainda é Pentium 2 e athlon

[@Innocentdarkness72]

cool video !!

[@HarishCousal-zj9lv]

Is there any way to convert mirror driver to other raid without loosing data

[@MarloMitchell]

Why not use Hyper-V? its right there in windows.

[@RaidOwl]

Not in Home edition

[@MarloMitchell]

@@RaidOwl Using Home Edition is always a sad sight to see, sorry to hear dude. I think using Hyper-V that's already built in is always a better option but that's just be. I enjoy your uploads, keep up the good work.

[@V1N_574]

I'm user dockers and my friends have been properly informed

[@BezZnaczeniaa]

diablotek 400 watt, sounds ominous 😈

[@darsparx]

I'd love to see this but with k3s on fedora. Something I've meant to do forever but keep screwing up 😂

[@shib5267]

Diablotek is a banger name for your brand lmao

[@joepalovick1915]

Great video. Thanks for showing the Windows piece too.

[@B_r_u_c_e]

Thank you.

[@robbyarng]

Killroy was here.

[@knowledgepower3558]

Oh hell nah yall ain't got no morals 😂 Well at least he honest omg. As a full time Linux/Mac and part time windows user . I guess that means I have some morals 😂

[@ToucheFarming]

MSI is a chinese motherboard? thought they were Taiwanese?

[@RaidOwl]

Lol I misspoke. Wrote the script before swapping out the MB 😅

[@CPPRODUCTIONS1001]

I know it was a mistake but its actually a massive issue between the two countries. Both claim to be china

[@l0gic23]

​@@CPPRODUCTIONS1001I thought Taiwan 🇹🇼 wants nothing to do with China 🇨🇳? Well, the China that has persisted at least. I think they are happy to go forward as a independent country, no?

[@AllSeeingEy3]

Instructions unclear friends unimpressed

[@RaidOwl]

🥲

[@Brinkmasterj]

can i use your server to clobe my vm's :D

[@hornetbad]

Oh my god i am a DDR2 👀

[@phillipmartinez583]

Diabotek PSU... You trying to burn the house down?

[@RaidOwl]

Yes

[@truckerallikatuk]

PS: That diablotek PSU is definitely E-waste. Possibly pyrotechnically e-waste.

[@RaidOwl]

Works great

[@bluesquadron593]

T-shirt approved

[@FranciscoMartinsKiko]

My old pc it's Pentium IV 3.0 Ghz

[@arjungupta3531]

0:37 bro what if its your kid

[@RaidOwl]

I said what I said

[@BenReese]

IMO, nobody should be using Windows 10 for this. Win 10 goes out of support in October 2025. Yes, it will continue to run, but at risk of joining a botnet within a couple years. Also.... Win 10 / 11 Pro supports Hyper-V. Probably not as portable as VirtualBox, but more integrated.

[@HyPex808-2]

Here for the comments…🍿😂

[@daniellee930]

Boooo, between VT-x and VT-d, I only have one. (Intel© Core™ i7-3770K CPU @ 3.50GHz × 4)

[@justrosy5]

And exactly HOW am I supposed to use this when my ISP wants $600 per month MINIMUM and wants me to call it a "Business Plan" or else they'll cut off my Internet altogether????

[@RaidOwl]

idk..?

[@johnthomas2970]

Is this NBN 😳

[@TazzSmk]

you don't need to open this up online, you can start by building up your local network, without anything being open on the internet

[@awillyerd4996]

You wearing that shirt because of a lost bet?

[@awillyerd4996]

But really, cool content. I like that creators (like you, techno tim, etc.) are lowering the barrier for entry to homelabbing by giving simple instructions and budget friendly options. Another banger Bert, thanks.

[@RaidOwl]

No. I like it.

[@stephenreaves3205]

The irony of copying and pasting terminal commands from the internet on windoze... Is this cultural appropriation?

[@WilReid]

Some misinformation in this video. Clearly that box is black, not white. Also, RAID 1 does or can have some speed benefits on reads, both throughput and latency.

[@Denny-ku2lx]

hi

[@Thewickedjon]

hyper-v is built-in windows 10... all you have to do is enable it. watching you fumble around in windows is painful.... I couldn't finish the video.

[@FireWyvern870]

Not available in home version.

[@RaidOwl]

Not in Home edition dipshit

[@Yuriel1981]

Maybe should delete this comment? Lol

[@Kajukota]

Insert ackchyually meme here

[@BrunodeSouzaLino]

@@RaidOwl There are ways of enabling Hyper-V in Home edition.

[@AnomalousURL]

Yup, my old gaming pc is running proxmox with my pihole, siem, idk, and a few kubernetes containers

[@ewenchan1239]

Great video! It's too bad that my old Core 2 Quad Q6600 sucks back 140 W at IDLE. Some older systems BELONG in the e-Waste pile nowadays.

[@flipsterfpv]

hi