Turning an old laptop to Plex server

[Ginger_]

As the title says, I have an old laptop that ran fairly well, only problem being that the screen died, and it wasn't worth replacing. It's been sitting around for awhile now, but I got the idea of using it as a Plex server instead of my primary desktop. 

 

I can set it up using a monitor obviously, and download directly to it using TeamViewer as my remote controller from my desktop, and then just tuck it in a corner by a switch.

 

 

I'm open to suggestions though, and the reason why I am starting this thread in general. I would like to hear your thoughts about it and any suggestions, as I'm sure you all are more knowledgeable about this sort of thing than I am

[NoobCase]

Shoul work just fine . If you samt to learn a little you Could always installere a headless Linux on it

[samiscool51]

yea that will work,although don't use teamviewer as it allows remote access and can be hacked, use Remote Desktop connection for local only, to access the system via RDC turn it on in your system info and make the system visible on the network, then to connect up to it, locate the system via it's name in network, right click it and select "Connect Via Remote Desktop", make sure the system has a password to prevent unwanted people accessing the system and screwing around with settings and stuff, when presented to provide a logon to the system type: SYSTEMNAME\USERNAME then the password and click ok

i wouldn't recommend to keep the password saved on your system for security reasons

[Ginger_]

8 hours ago, samiscool51 said:

yea that will work,although don't use teamviewer as it allows remote access and can be hacked, use Remote Desktop connection for local only, to access the system via RDC turn it on in your system info and make the system visible on the network, then to connect up to it, locate the system via it's name in network, right click it and select "Connect Via Remote Desktop", make sure the system has a password to prevent unwanted people accessing the system and screwing around with settings and stuff, when presented to provide a logon to the system type: SYSTEMNAME\USERNAME then the password and click ok

i wouldn't recommend to keep the password saved on your system for security reasons

That's a good point, TeamViewer would be available to the internet. 

[l0ckd0wn]

It will work, just keep in mind that if you have a lot of people connecting at once, it can get really hot with multiple transcodes on a mobile processor.  I'd also get an external drive for the media.

[combine1237]

What os are you considering running the desktop off of? Some already have inbuilt applications for remote desktop. Do you need to expose the remote desktop to the internet.  Also, will the laptop be able to store( have enough sata or usb interfaces for hdd), and transcode the data (is the cpu strong enough for the quality of the encoding you need)?

[Archnemesis]

Laptops as servers work great, since they are relatively low power, already have a battery backup and when you shut the lid and flip them upside down, their thermals are often pretty good too.

 

Laptops as servers gets you sucked into the home server scene.

[jcarter1105]

On 5/17/2017 at 9:14 PM, samiscool51 said:

yea that will work,although don't use teamviewer as it allows remote access and can be hacked, use Remote Desktop connection for local only, to access the system via RDC turn it on in your system info and make the system visible on the network, then to connect up to it, locate the system via it's name in network, right click it and select "Connect Via Remote Desktop", make sure the system has a password to prevent unwanted people accessing the system and screwing around with settings and stuff, when presented to provide a logon to the system type: SYSTEMNAME\USERNAME then the password and click ok

i wouldn't recommend to keep the password saved on your system for security reasons

The problem with that is that not all versions of windows allow for remote desktop.... plus they can access their plex server via their phone. which can be helpful

 

[dlink377]

You might not be able to transcode more than a one or two media files simultaneously if you are using those low powered CPUs.

 

It does make a great low powered server though. I have old netbook with N270 atom running FreePBX solidly for nearly 2 years now.

[Ginger_]

6 hours ago, combine1237 said:

What os are you considering running the desktop off of? Some already have inbuilt applications for remote desktop. Do you need to expose the remote desktop to the internet.  Also, will the laptop be able to store( have enough sata or usb interfaces for hdd), and transcode the data (is the cpu strong enough for the quality of the encoding you need)?

Windows 7 home, so unfortunately I don't think I'll be able to use Microsoft's rdp. 

 

23 minutes ago, dlink377 said:

You might not be able to transcode more than a one or two media files simultaneously if you are using those low powered CPUs.

 

It does make a great low powered server though. I have old netbook with N270 atom running FreePBX solidly for nearly 2 years now.

I think it has a pentium, I can't remember for sure. I know it's 64bit and I only ever need it to send to one receiver at once. 

[mathmeister]

Google the Passmark score for the CPU. Plex recommends 2000 points for each 1080p stream. If it's less than 2000 I would avoid using the laptop.

[JoostinOnline]

On 5/17/2017 at 0:31 PM, Ginger137 said:

I can set it up using a monitor obviously, and download directly to it using TeamViewer as my remote controller from my desktop, and then just tuck it in a corner by a switch.

I read that wrong at first and my eyes nearly popped out of my head.

[Ginger_]

1 hour ago, mathmeister said:

Google the Passmark score for the CPU. Plex recommends 2000 points for each 1080p stream. If it's less than 2000 I would avoid using the laptop.

Little googling later, It's a pentium T4300, scoring a breathtaking 1244

 

...guess I'll need to keep using my desktop

 

1 hour ago, JoostinOnline said:

I read that wrong at first and my eyes nearly popped out of my head.