Noob's first build AKA How to do a proper setup on Win 10

[Lord Szechenyi]

PLEASE do not tell me to use linux, I'm not tech savvy enough to do that yet.

 

I have an old Win10 PC that I want to repurpose as a NAS and install Jellyfin, I want to be both able to stream files and able to write on my NAS.

 

Is everything in this video good enough or should I use different software (Obviously you can disregard Plex)?

 

[Levent]

"Proper setup" and Windows dont go well together. That video is a good starter, it is definitely not something I would call proper though.

[Lord Szechenyi]

2 minutes ago, Levent said:

"Proper setup" and Windows dont go well together. That video is a good starter, it is definitely not something I would call proper though.

I just want something that I can say:

[Helpful Tech Witch]

24 minutes ago, Lord Szechenyi said:

PLEASE do not tell me to use linux, I'm not tech savvy enough to do that yet.

 

I dont wanna be that person, but... imma be that person. Use linux. Its really not that difficult to set up. You dont need to be super tech savy at all.
Edit: I will say: use truenas scale. you should be able to add jellyfin to it.

[Lord Szechenyi]

17 minutes ago, Helpful Tech Witch said:

I dont wanna be that person, but... imma be that person. Use linux.

 

It wasn't difficult, I put a disclaimer and yet you chose to ignore...

[YoungBlade]

Linux can sound scary, and there are plenty of Linux elitists who like to make Linux seem scarier than it really is. They like to pretend that it's some accomplishment to be able to use Linux, like it's this mythical, uber complex beast of an OS. And if you want to go down the rabbit hole, it can become that, but frankly, most Linux distributions are very user friendly these days, and the only reason Windows seems easier is due to familiarity, not because it's actually easier to use.

 

To give you some idea of how easy Linux is: my 60+ year old mom, who is not tech savvy in the slightest, has been successfully using Linux for nearly a decade now. She's used it on multiple laptops and desktops, and she has no more trouble with it than she does with Windows 10 - I get an equal share of tech support calls for her laptop as for her desktop. The desktop in her house runs Linux. The laptop runs Windows 10. At the moment, because her laptop doesn't support Windows 11, the plan is for her to it to Linux in 2025, and she'll be back to living in an all Linux household - and she is not afraid of this prospect, nor am I worried about it.

 

Granted, I'm the one who installed Linux on her computers, but I also reinstalled Windows on her laptop when I upgraded it to an SSD - she'd have had no idea how to install Windows either. And the installation is usually the hardest part. Once it's up and running, managing a Linux system is honestly a lot easier than managing a Windows one - which is a big part of the reason people here are recommending you give Linux a go.

 

If you're able to set up Windows, and can do so even if you have some hardware that you need to hunt down drivers for, then you'll be able to set up Linux. There will be an initial learning curve, but no steeper a learning curve than you're facing with figuring out how to get Jellyfin up and running.

 

With all that said, there is no shame in running Windows for a server - it has its place - but don't let fear keep you away from Linux. It's honestly not as scary as people like to make it out to be.

 

For a Windows setup, the LTT guide is fine. It's not giving you everything, but it's enough to get you started.

[Helpful Tech Witch]

1 minute ago, Lord Szechenyi said:

It wasn't difficult, I put a disclaimer and yet you chose to ignore...

I literally did not ignore it. I acknowledged it being there, but realistically, windows as a NAS is just.. bad. You shouldnt run it like that, and theres no reason to spend time setting it up the wrong way when you already will have to learn how to set it up. I using windows is do or die, use it, but its really not the right way to set it up ad if youre already learning how to do all this stuff, why learn it the wrong way?

[manikyath]

1 hour ago, Lord Szechenyi said:

I just want something that I can say:

 

that's the problem, when you let windows desktop versions sit, they sort of have a habit of "not just working" after a while.

 

i've ran home "servers" off windows desktop versions for a good long while, and i'll tell you from experience that the minimal learning curve of something linuxy is worth the lack of headache, because the moment it's set up all you need to do is give it ye ol' update every 6 months.

 

having that said - the way to use windows desktop as your home server is simple.. you remove everything that is not needed and easily removed, install some form of remote access so you dont need peripherals attached to it, and you set up a network share for file sharing.

[Electronics Wizardy]

IDK why everyone be hating on windows 10 as a server so much. Yea linux hasits advantages, but windows 10 will work just fine here.

 

But jellyfin has a exe for the server you can download and run. Then share a folder under the properties for the folder by right clicking on it. Setup should be super simple.

[Helpful Tech Witch]

27 minutes ago, Electronics Wizardy said:

 

IDK why everyone be hating on windows 10 as a server so much. Yea linux hasits advantages, but windows 10 will work just fine here.

 

because windows had a bad reputation, especially for a nas. Windows SMB servers like.. dont have the best reputation 

[Lord Szechenyi]

Ok so pulseway isn't free, what's an alternative to it?

[Electronics Wizardy]

4 hours ago, Helpful Tech Witch said:

because windows had a bad reputation, especially for a nas. Windows SMB servers like.. dont have the best reputation 

Windows SMB servers work pretty well in my experience. I mean they make the protocol. I have ran many a windows server and it works just fine for small business and other file servers.

[Electronics Wizardy]

2 hours ago, Lord Szechenyi said:

Ok so pulseway isn't free, what's an alternative to it?

What do you want out of a product like pulseway? Id say for a home server it isn't needed.

[Needfuldoer]

Emily's video is a perfectly adequate starting point for a home server. I'd install Windows on an SSD, then use two identical hard drives in a software mirror for bulk storage. Plex, Jellyfin, etc all run on Windows like any other service. You can even install Docker if you really want to.

 

If you run a media server, store the metadata database and thumbnails on the SSD as well. Your clients will feel a lot more responsive.

 

For remote access, TeamViewer is fine. If you've got a VPN set up, or your server machine is running Windows Pro, Remote Desktop will be faster.

 

The only "real server" nice-to-have you miss out on by running regular desktop hardware for your server is IPMI. If your machine gets shut down for one reason or another, you'll have to go push the power button. You can minimize this by setting the BIOS to power up when the machine is plugged in, and set the Windows power settings to never sleep.

 

 

13 hours ago, Electronics Wizardy said:

Windows SMB servers work pretty well in my experience. I mean they make the protocol. I have ran many a windows server and it works just fine for small business and other file servers.

Exactly! It's just a home server. It's not expected to host hundreds of clients at 40 gigabit speeds. Just about anything made in the last 20 years can saturate a Gigabit connection over SMB.

[Lord Szechenyi]

On 9/19/2023 at 2:53 AM, Electronics Wizardy said:

What do you want out of a product like pulseway? Id say for a home server it isn't needed.

I need something to remotely access it

[Lord Szechenyi]

On 9/19/2023 at 4:08 PM, Needfuldoer said:

For remote access, TeamViewer is fine. If you've got a VPN set up, or your server machine is running Windows Pro, Remote Desktop will be faster.

If I'm not using a VPN or running Windows Pro, is there any benefit of having Remote Desktop over Teamviewer? (Or why is Teamviewer better than Remote Desktop)

[Electronics Wizardy]

13 minutes ago, Lord Szechenyi said:

If I'm not using a VPN or running Windows Pro, is there any benefit of having Remote Desktop over Teamviewer? (Or why is Teamviewer better than Remote Desktop)

I like using RDP a good amount more. Integrates with windows better. I basically only use windows pro so I'm used to everything supporting it.