TLDR

There are actually many ways you could approach the home server you spoke about here's a few: Use HYPERV on your current OS to run virtual machines within Windows. Provided you have Hyper-V on Windows 10. This will allow you to run FreeNAS and unbutu inside and also pretty much any OS you want. You can basically have multiple seperate servers running on one OS. You can dual boot unbutu or FreeNAS (FreeNAS from USB) and partition your drives to deticate some to your normal OS and most to your server OS you choose. You can run UNRAID replacing Windows and use the VM feature to install Windows and any OS you want while having a full on file server. You can dual boot all your OS. You can dual boot or Virtulise Unbutu and use that rather then FREENAS which will also allow many other services such as plex and a lot of Linux server features. If you decide to replace your Windows OS with a server based OS then be sure to deactivate your key for later use in a VM or dual boot (you can only do this if it isn't OEM) We can discuss this further when I fully understand your needs and then we can create an action plan.

Hi, Thanks for rating my post If you need any help with the home server things let me know. If you want a file server I would go with either FREENAS, UnRaid or Unbutu. You may even look into hypervisors and virtualisation which will allow you to run multiple operating systems at once. All the Best!

I'm currently using a MacBook Air late 2014. Yep. That old thing. On a daily basis I'm having to put up with only 4GB of DDR3 RAM and onboard graphics which is really limiting for me as I'm a hobbyist filmmaker and developer. I also only have 120GB Storage. I used to use Final Cut Pro x without any problems and recently switched to premiere which to my surprise is running ok. I currently game on Xbox, I'm a big FORZA fan. I am looking to build a PC in the near future as I am looking to get more power for editing and I also have a good steam library sitting there waiting for me (I get sent lots of keys). As for the external hard drives, I don't really think it's convenient to have external Hard drives connected 24/7, especially if your traveling a lot. For me I film a lot of footage and I am regularly dumping it on a external drive, it's fine for casual use but not to be running alongside your Mac as a main source. To have laptops connected to a display can be convenient however having it on a display 24/7 is debatable. I like however being able to use a display at home then disconnect easily and take my laptop anywhere and continue where I left off. They shouldn't really age much faster than normal if you give it proper treatment. To wrap up: PROS: Portability Most are lightweight Quiet under average workloads. Can handle tasks such as video editing and light gaming depending on the laptop. CONS Can get pricey depending on brand and model. I/O can sometimes be limiting Storage can be limiting depending on laptop At the end of the day it all depends on personal preference when it comes to PC and Laptops. While I haven't had bad experiences using displays with laptops and external drives it really depends on what you plan to do. Hope this helps

Hi, At the end of the day it's all about your lifestyle and plans for the future. If I were in this position myself I would either turn it into a mini NAS or home server or keep it for compatibility if you ever need to run Windows only apps again or want to gme. Heres a list of things you could do: Start a PLEX Media Server on it Boot FREENAS and have a file server for backups and other stuff. Run Unbutu or another Linux distributions and experiment if your interested. Keep it as a backup in case anything ever happens to your MacBook, not as good as having another apple device to match but it will still work. If you are genuinely uninterested in any of the above and know you will never need it again then you can consider selling it. If you feel you might want to game again in the future on it but don't have the power you want you can always upgrade it later when you decide you want to. good luck

Thanks for your response. I'm pretty sure in Australia it's still legal to keep recordings for personal use so I will do some research on that along with the fair use if it is then I'm off to a good start.

Thanks for the Replies

You can try running android through a virtual machine but I'd reccomend bluestacks for general apps and gaming.

Ok. Depending on what OS you have you can accomplish different things. In general if you have a couple maybe start a cluster or if you only have one maybe learn the ins and outs of Linux command line if you don't know already, you could even maybe setup a tiny server. The possibilities are really endless with those, all you need is an imagination and some knowledge of or willingness to learn Linux.

Wow! This is a great post! Thanks for taking the time to write it up for us.

Hi, I am looking to build up a media library and have a ton of music, a few movies and a few shows. I was wondering where you guys get all your Plex media from especially videos? I'm looking for legal methods!!! Thanks

Hi, Following on as mentioned above and in the video. If possible use the original case packaging for the case and all the components that can stay inside. It is reccomended to take out the video card and if possible also put it back in the original packaging. When putting packing material inside make sure it's stuff that won't go everywhere like loosefill (should be common sense) use bubble wrap or other similar material. Good Luck!

Hi, I'm also Australian. Coming from a web dev background id say it should be fine. However with the state of Australia's Broardband you might wanna download it first then watch it for a buffer free experience depending on if you have NBN or not.

If this is a seperate PC for the sole purpose of a media server I suggest you go with a Linux as it is free. There's no point buying another licence to Windows for the sole purpose of plex. If this is a standalone media server I also suggest you setup some sort of redundancy if you are interested.