{"video_id":"zPmqbtKwtgw","title":"Your Old PC is Your New Server","channel":"Linus Tech Tips","show":"Linus Tech Tips","published_at":"2022-05-05T14:53:29Z","duration_s":666,"segments":[{"start_s":0.08,"end_s":6.839,"text":"remember that old PC you stuffed in the closet yeah that one today it's been","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":4.68,"end_s":13.719,"text":"given a second chance this old","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":10.32,"end_s":16.279,"text":"machine isn't worthless even with its","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":13.719,"end_s":22.92,"text":"9-year-old CPU and complete lack of a graphics card why I'll let you in on a","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":19.039,"end_s":25.16,"text":"little secret not all PCS need to be for","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":22.92,"end_s":30.72,"text":"gaming tired of paying for Google Drive host your own cloud storage hate running","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":28.0,"end_s":35.32,"text":"USB drives through your TV host your own media server the possibilities are","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":33.12,"end_s":38.879,"text":"endless with the help of pulseway that sponsored today's video we're going to","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":36.719,"end_s":44.28,"text":"show you how to repurpose that old rig into your own personal server for cheap","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":41.76,"end_s":44.28,"text":"or even","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":51.199,"end_s":58.44,"text":"free the first thing to learn is that servers are just computers the word","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":56.16,"end_s":62.92,"text":"describes a role not a specific type of Hardware sure the servers in Big Data","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":61.079,"end_s":67.439,"text":"Centers do look different than your home PC they're built for reliability with","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":64.799,"end_s":71.56,"text":"redundant power supplies and ECC memory they prefer many slower cores rather","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":69.439,"end_s":76.439,"text":"than a few fast ones and they lock consumer IO like tons of USB audio or","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":74.24,"end_s":82.0,"text":"display outputs but that's because they're serving hundreds if not","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":78.36,"end_s":84.439,"text":"thousands of clients we're not which is","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":82.0,"end_s":89.92,"text":"why even our aging closet PC an old laptop or even a $30 Raspberry Pi can","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":87.2,"end_s":94.56,"text":"all act as our first Home Server this this Optiplex 710 we picked up from our","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":92.04,"end_s":101.439,"text":"local recycler free geek is the perfect candidate not just because it's cheap","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":96.84,"end_s":104.32,"text":"at1 176 us but because the bones are","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":101.439,"end_s":111.799,"text":"solid it's got a hyperthreaded quad core Intel i7 3770 128 gig SATA SSD for a","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":108.52,"end_s":115.32,"text":"boot drive and a reasonable 1 TB of bulk","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":111.799,"end_s":117.88,"text":"storage at this price point though there","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":115.32,"end_s":123.079,"text":"are some compromises we have to make it's 12 gigs of RAM or mismatch and","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":120.439,"end_s":127.0,"text":"predictably it doesn't have a GPU and even if we did add one we would likely","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":125.159,"end_s":131.8,"text":"run into issues with the power supply because value engineered power supplies","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":128.679,"end_s":134.28,"text":"like this 250 watt one while they're","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":131.8,"end_s":138.239,"text":"generally pretty solid they don't leave a whole lot of head room to play with","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":136.2,"end_s":143.239,"text":"nor does it offer additional PCI Express power cables but don't fret what really","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":141.64,"end_s":147.319,"text":"matters here is that we have a blank canvas to work from and by the way now","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":145.48,"end_s":150.68,"text":"is a great time to open up your rig and give it a good dusting and you maybe","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":149.16,"end_s":156.84,"text":"refresh your thermal paste while you're at it it's it needs some love now let's","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":154.2,"end_s":161.84,"text":"set up our OS so before you say it we're not going to install Linux today we know","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":159.239,"end_s":166.4,"text":"that moving to a Linux or FreeBSD based option does have both performance and","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":163.8,"end_s":170.239,"text":"feature benefits over Windows however if you're just starting out and you've got","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":168.48,"end_s":175.239,"text":"an old Windows-based machine already around this is the easiest way to get","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":172.92,"end_s":179.599,"text":"your foot in the door and that's what we want this video to be a start not the","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":177.68,"end_s":184.76,"text":"end if you guys want to see a followup where we we use traz or similar rattle","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":182.04,"end_s":188.599,"text":"your Sabers in the comments and get subscribed the first thing you're going","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":186.56,"end_s":192.76,"text":"to want to do is factory reset the PC now if you're running Windows 7 or 8 now","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":190.599,"end_s":197.0,"text":"is a good time to upgrade to Windows 10 or 11 keep in mind that a lot of those","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":195.0,"end_s":200.799,"text":"old Windows keys will still work to activate newer versions of Windows if","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":198.92,"end_s":207.04,"text":"you're already there hit the Windows key and type","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":203.0,"end_s":208.92,"text":"reset H it's slow then click on get","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":207.04,"end_s":214.28,"text":"started all you need to do from here is run through the prompts and until you have a fresh Windows install we ran win","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":212.64,"end_s":217.879,"text":"Arrow tweaker to disable automatic updates and kill Cortana and also","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":216.319,"end_s":222.08,"text":"disable a lot of the extra bloat like Telemetry that can suck away valuable","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":219.519,"end_s":226.68,"text":"resources from an older system like this now we're ready to set up our server to","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":224.04,"end_s":230.319,"text":"actually do stuff for starters we're going to download Plex Media Server for","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":228.4,"end_s":235.079,"text":"our media and pulseway to manage our system remotely if you're thinking why","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":233.04,"end_s":239.079,"text":"would I need remote access to this dinosaur well it's not because we plan","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":237.4,"end_s":243.2,"text":"on accessing it from across the world but rather because we may not have a","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":241.319,"end_s":248.159,"text":"Speare monitor keyboard and mouse to leave connected to it let alone the","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":245.4,"end_s":253.2,"text":"space instead we can operate it headlessly that is completely controlled","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":250.56,"end_s":258.04,"text":"via any web browser or the pulseway app neat setting up Plex is simple install","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":256.28,"end_s":262.96,"text":"the application run through the prompts and definitely read that Ula am I right","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":260.72,"end_s":266.16,"text":"they are very legally binding the beauty of using a Windows PC to start your","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":264.479,"end_s":271.16,"text":"server hosting journey is that the user experience isn't and I mean this with","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":269.28,"end_s":276.639,"text":"the utmost most respect to all command line Warriors complete crap usually you","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":275.36,"end_s":282.84,"text":"just download what you need the links are in the description and install and configure it with a goey and then you're","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":279.96,"end_s":287.039,"text":"done it really is that easy we can't cover all the options here of course you","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":284.759,"end_s":290.96,"text":"could run a remote torrenting box or an ad blocking server for instance but if","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":289.6,"end_s":294.759,"text":"you're following along and you do hit some roadblocks hop on over to our Forum","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":293.12,"end_s":299.759,"text":"where there are tons of friendly fellow nerds willing to help you out love you","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":296.96,"end_s":302.96,"text":"guys pulseway setup is similarly easy just click through the wizard and sign","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":300.96,"end_s":307.36,"text":"in at this point you'll have full access to your files and settings from whatever","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":304.639,"end_s":311.36,"text":"web browser you use to access pulseway and we're done service is running","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":309.52,"end_s":314.12,"text":"pulseway is up you can actually get away with not even setting up a network share","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":312.8,"end_s":317.52,"text":"or anything and just using pulseway to manage your files remotely but having a","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":316.199,"end_s":321.319,"text":"direct folder share on your local network is pretty nice so we're going to","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":319.319,"end_s":324.28,"text":"do that too it just takes a few more steps and you won't be able to access it","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":322.8,"end_s":328.0,"text":"from Starbucks unfortunately or fortunately we've got a drive set up","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":326.16,"end_s":331.919,"text":"here called LTT simple server that we'll go into and we have a folder we want to","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":329.72,"end_s":336.199,"text":"share what we'll do is we'll right click go to give access to and then click on","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":333.96,"end_s":340.44,"text":"specific people from here either you can allow only one person to access the file","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":338.319,"end_s":343.44,"text":"like it is normally or in our case we're going to give everyone in our local","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":341.639,"end_s":346.84,"text":"network access being sure to change their permissions from read only to read","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":345.16,"end_s":353.039,"text":"and write creating a Melting Pot and boom the folder is now","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":351.12,"end_s":356.68,"text":"able to be added as a network share by copying the link into the add a network","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":354.84,"end_s":360.08,"text":"folder prompt in any network machine on your local network don't forget to go to","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":358.56,"end_s":363.6,"text":"the Network and Sharing Center to ensure both network discovery and file and","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":362.039,"end_s":368.0,"text":"printer sharing are turned on under the private settings or if your network is","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":365.759,"end_s":371.479,"text":"set as public you should set that as private because it won't work on public","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":369.599,"end_s":377.24,"text":"networks not by default double check that really that's it for making a basic","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":374.599,"end_s":380.84,"text":"file server and with it we can do a Litany of cool things we can point our","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":379.08,"end_s":384.56,"text":"Plex server to the storage folders and access the entire drive over the network","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":382.84,"end_s":388.28,"text":"we can set up a Windows remote desktop connection or go easy mode and use pulse","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":386.44,"end_s":392.759,"text":"ways built-in remote desktop tool to control our server from any in the world","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":390.479,"end_s":396.08,"text":"without exposing our IP to the net we can also update Windows without having","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":394.4,"end_s":399.479,"text":"to log into the system itself even from your phone and the best part is that","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":398.0,"end_s":405.12,"text":"we're still running Windows we're not running Linux you don't have to learn anything new if your main rig BS itself","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":403.199,"end_s":410.24,"text":"you have an easy to configure backup PC just waiting in the wings but what if","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":407.039,"end_s":412.039,"text":"you want more control or what if you","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":410.24,"end_s":418.28,"text":"don't have a Windows license to throw at your pile of spare parts well you could","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":415.759,"end_s":423.4,"text":"run a standalone Linux server of course but as we've seen in the Linux challenge","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":421.319,"end_s":428.039,"text":"that's not always for the faint of heart UNR and prox MOX are also feature Rich","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":425.639,"end_s":432.879,"text":"options but they're not super easy to use either for an intermediate user we","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":430.52,"end_s":440.28,"text":"would suggest traz core previously known as frez it's free easy to install and","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":435.879,"end_s":442.08,"text":"has a decent UI that's it video over","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":440.28,"end_s":447.4,"text":"just kidding let's kick it up by adding more storage and data redundancy these","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":444.199,"end_s":450.479,"text":"two 12 TB ironwolf Pro drives can handle","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":447.4,"end_s":453.08,"text":"that beautifully at $400 a pop they","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":450.479,"end_s":460.0,"text":"aren't cheap but considering that 10 tab of Google storage costs 70 bucks a month","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":456.479,"end_s":462.56,"text":"if we did the math this upgrade will pay","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":460.0,"end_s":467.759,"text":"itself off in under a year including the PC not to mention you will own and","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":465.28,"end_s":475.24,"text":"control all of your data all right we've got the 1 tby drive out and the first 12","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":470.36,"end_s":475.24,"text":"TB Iron Wolf in but now we have a","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":475.44,"end_s":480.0,"text":"problem where does this go we can't","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":478.479,"end_s":484.52,"text":"exactly like just throw it here and be done with it we can't put it here","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":482.479,"end_s":489.879,"text":"there's just not enough clearance like there's there's no Provisions there's","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":485.879,"end_s":489.879,"text":"not even another s cable","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":491.039,"end_s":495.919,"text":"unless this optical drive now serves no","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":494.52,"end_s":502.36,"text":"purpose oh there are some screws in there that I need to get rid","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":498.4,"end_s":505.479,"text":"of ah okay cool but there's another","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":502.36,"end_s":507.96,"text":"problem yes this freed up some room and","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":505.479,"end_s":514.8,"text":"yes this is SATA um they're not they're not the same","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":511.28,"end_s":520.519,"text":"size so that's where this comes in this","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":514.8,"end_s":522.8,"text":"will accept a 3 and 1/2 in drive like","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":520.519,"end_s":531.08,"text":"so and slot","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":525.2,"end_s":532.92,"text":"in something like so oh yep okay","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":531.08,"end_s":536.36,"text":"obviously I need to actually Mount that first but uh that's the plan let's go","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":534.88,"end_s":542.16,"text":"let's get to it let's see if it still works next now","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":539.92,"end_s":547.2,"text":"with the DVD drive out because who needs one of these these days we have a freed","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":544.24,"end_s":554.44,"text":"up SATA power and data cable right where we need it so our second drive now","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":550.519,"end_s":556.16,"text":"definitely screwed in is absolutely","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":554.44,"end_s":560.64,"text":"plugged into the system and I'm not getting a display this is very troubling","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":558.6,"end_s":565.32,"text":"one moment please two things that we learned just now first always check your","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":563.04,"end_s":569.76,"text":"cables second a lot of these old machines sometimes have issues with just","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":567.76,"end_s":573.12,"text":"like outputting anything via DisplayPort yeah these are the kinds of things","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":571.279,"end_s":577.68,"text":"that these old systems will sometimes give you trouble with but once you have","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":575.04,"end_s":582.36,"text":"it all set up and running here we go we've got 12 terabytes of storage right","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":579.88,"end_s":589.24,"text":"here did I say 12 I meant to say 12 terabytes of redundant storage yes now","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":586.48,"end_s":592.04,"text":"it's time to raid these things we're going to be setting up raid one which","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":590.72,"end_s":596.36,"text":"means the drives will be mirrored there's no performance benefit on wres","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":593.88,"end_s":600.8,"text":"anyway for reads there is but if one dies you get to keep 100% of your data","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":599.079,"end_s":604.88,"text":"hit the Windows key and type storage spaces then create a new pool using the","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":602.88,"end_s":609.64,"text":"steps we've linked down below you will need to format your","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":606.88,"end_s":613.16,"text":"drives first make sure you do that there we go un format","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":613.44,"end_s":620.2,"text":"drives I'm I'm allergic to Del storage","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":616.72,"end_s":624.279,"text":"space resiliency 2way mirror yep file","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":620.2,"end_s":626.839,"text":"system NTFS size okay so 10.9 terabytes","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":624.279,"end_s":633.12,"text":"that's 12 terabytes and create storage space formatting the storage space we","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":629.519,"end_s":636.399,"text":"are good to go and there we have it a 12","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":633.12,"end_s":639.24,"text":"terabyte redundant Nas boox for under","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":636.399,"end_s":643.44,"text":"$1,000 and each of these hard drives costs about 400 bucks so that's telling","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":641.88,"end_s":648.2,"text":"you something this particular form factor is actually really easy to hide","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":646.24,"end_s":651.44,"text":"somewhere inconspicuous especially if you use pulseway to do all of your","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":649.48,"end_s":654.959,"text":"remote monitoring and maintenance so huge thanks to pulseway for sponsoring","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":653.0,"end_s":658.6,"text":"this video we hope you enjoyed it and if you want to see more of this sort of DIY","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":656.8,"end_s":662.12,"text":"server content don't forget to get subscribed and check out all of our","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":660.399,"end_s":668.12,"text":"other server videos we'll have those Linked In the End screen for you for now","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":665.36,"end_s":668.12,"text":"see you later","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0}],"full_text":"remember that old PC you stuffed in the closet yeah that one today it's been given a second chance this old machine isn't worthless even with its 9-year-old CPU and complete lack of a graphics card why I'll let you in on a little secret not all PCS need to be for gaming tired of paying for Google Drive host your own cloud storage hate running USB drives through your TV host your own media server the possibilities are endless with the help of pulseway that sponsored today's video we're going to show you how to repurpose that old rig into your own personal server for cheap or even free the first thing to learn is that servers are just computers the word describes a role not a specific type of Hardware sure the servers in Big Data Centers do look different than your home PC they're built for reliability with redundant power supplies and ECC memory they prefer many slower cores rather than a few fast ones and they lock consumer IO like tons of USB audio or display outputs but that's because they're serving hundreds if not thousands of clients we're not which is why even our aging closet PC an old laptop or even a $30 Raspberry Pi can all act as our first Home Server this this Optiplex 710 we picked up from our local recycler free geek is the perfect candidate not just because it's cheap at1 176 us but because the bones are solid it's got a hyperthreaded quad core Intel i7 3770 128 gig SATA SSD for a boot drive and a reasonable 1 TB of bulk storage at this price point though there are some compromises we have to make it's 12 gigs of RAM or mismatch and predictably it doesn't have a GPU and even if we did add one we would likely run into issues with the power supply because value engineered power supplies like this 250 watt one while they're generally pretty solid they don't leave a whole lot of head room to play with nor does it offer additional PCI Express power cables but don't fret what really matters here is that we have a blank canvas to work from and by the way now is a great time to open up your rig and give it a good dusting and you maybe refresh your thermal paste while you're at it it's it needs some love now let's set up our OS so before you say it we're not going to install Linux today we know that moving to a Linux or FreeBSD based option does have both performance and feature benefits over Windows however if you're just starting out and you've got an old Windows-based machine already around this is the easiest way to get your foot in the door and that's what we want this video to be a start not the end if you guys want to see a followup where we we use traz or similar rattle your Sabers in the comments and get subscribed the first thing you're going to want to do is factory reset the PC now if you're running Windows 7 or 8 now is a good time to upgrade to Windows 10 or 11 keep in mind that a lot of those old Windows keys will still work to activate newer versions of Windows if you're already there hit the Windows key and type reset H it's slow then click on get started all you need to do from here is run through the prompts and until you have a fresh Windows install we ran win Arrow tweaker to disable automatic updates and kill Cortana and also disable a lot of the extra bloat like Telemetry that can suck away valuable resources from an older system like this now we're ready to set up our server to actually do stuff for starters we're going to download Plex Media Server for our media and pulseway to manage our system remotely if you're thinking why would I need remote access to this dinosaur well it's not because we plan on accessing it from across the world but rather because we may not have a Speare monitor keyboard and mouse to leave connected to it let alone the space instead we can operate it headlessly that is completely controlled via any web browser or the pulseway app neat setting up Plex is simple install the application run through the prompts and definitely read that Ula am I right they are very legally binding the beauty of using a Windows PC to start your server hosting journey is that the user experience isn't and I mean this with the utmost most respect to all command line Warriors complete crap usually you just download what you need the links are in the description and install and configure it with a goey and then you're done it really is that easy we can't cover all the options here of course you could run a remote torrenting box or an ad blocking server for instance but if you're following along and you do hit some roadblocks hop on over to our Forum where there are tons of friendly fellow nerds willing to help you out love you guys pulseway setup is similarly easy just click through the wizard and sign in at this point you'll have full access to your files and settings from whatever web browser you use to access pulseway and we're done service is running pulseway is up you can actually get away with not even setting up a network share or anything and just using pulseway to manage your files remotely but having a direct folder share on your local network is pretty nice so we're going to do that too it just takes a few more steps and you won't be able to access it from Starbucks unfortunately or fortunately we've got a drive set up here called LTT simple server that we'll go into and we have a folder we want to share what we'll do is we'll right click go to give access to and then click on specific people from here either you can allow only one person to access the file like it is normally or in our case we're going to give everyone in our local network access being sure to change their permissions from read only to read and write creating a Melting Pot and boom the folder is now able to be added as a network share by copying the link into the add a network folder prompt in any network machine on your local network don't forget to go to the Network and Sharing Center to ensure both network discovery and file and printer sharing are turned on under the private settings or if your network is set as public you should set that as private because it won't work on public networks not by default double check that really that's it for making a basic file server and with it we can do a Litany of cool things we can point our Plex server to the storage folders and access the entire drive over the network we can set up a Windows remote desktop connection or go easy mode and use pulse ways built-in remote desktop tool to control our server from any in the world without exposing our IP to the net we can also update Windows without having to log into the system itself even from your phone and the best part is that we're still running Windows we're not running Linux you don't have to learn anything new if your main rig BS itself you have an easy to configure backup PC just waiting in the wings but what if you want more control or what if you don't have a Windows license to throw at your pile of spare parts well you could run a standalone Linux server of course but as we've seen in the Linux challenge that's not always for the faint of heart UNR and prox MOX are also feature Rich options but they're not super easy to use either for an intermediate user we would suggest traz core previously known as frez it's free easy to install and has a decent UI that's it video over just kidding let's kick it up by adding more storage and data redundancy these two 12 TB ironwolf Pro drives can handle that beautifully at $400 a pop they aren't cheap but considering that 10 tab of Google storage costs 70 bucks a month if we did the math this upgrade will pay itself off in under a year including the PC not to mention you will own and control all of your data all right we've got the 1 tby drive out and the first 12 TB Iron Wolf in but now we have a problem where does this go we can't exactly like just throw it here and be done with it we can't put it here there's just not enough clearance like there's there's no Provisions there's not even another s cable unless this optical drive now serves no purpose oh there are some screws in there that I need to get rid of ah okay cool but there's another problem yes this freed up some room and yes this is SATA um they're not they're not the same size so that's where this comes in this will accept a 3 and 1/2 in drive like so and slot in something like so oh yep okay obviously I need to actually Mount that first but uh that's the plan let's go let's get to it let's see if it still works next now with the DVD drive out because who needs one of these these days we have a freed up SATA power and data cable right where we need it so our second drive now definitely screwed in is absolutely plugged into the system and I'm not getting a display this is very troubling one moment please two things that we learned just now first always check your cables second a lot of these old machines sometimes have issues with just like outputting anything via DisplayPort yeah these are the kinds of things that these old systems will sometimes give you trouble with but once you have it all set up and running here we go we've got 12 terabytes of storage right here did I say 12 I meant to say 12 terabytes of redundant storage yes now it's time to raid these things we're going to be setting up raid one which means the drives will be mirrored there's no performance benefit on wres anyway for reads there is but if one dies you get to keep 100% of your data hit the Windows key and type storage spaces then create a new pool using the steps we've linked down below you will need to format your drives first make sure you do that there we go un format drives I'm I'm allergic to Del storage space resiliency 2way mirror yep file system NTFS size okay so 10.9 terabytes that's 12 terabytes and create storage space formatting the storage space we are good to go and there we have it a 12 terabyte redundant Nas boox for under $1,000 and each of these hard drives costs about 400 bucks so that's telling you something this particular form factor is actually really easy to hide somewhere inconspicuous especially if you use pulseway to do all of your remote monitoring and maintenance so huge thanks to pulseway for sponsoring this video we hope you enjoyed it and if you want to see more of this sort of DIY server content don't forget to get subscribed and check out all of our other server videos we'll have those Linked In the End screen for you for now see you later"}