The Lemon Fool

Posted: **August 18th, 2023, 10:13 am**

https://www.xda-developers.com/how-turn ... -into-nas/

If you have an old PC lying around, you may be wondering what to do with it. You could turn it into a stream PC, you could give it to a family or friend... or you could turn it into a NAS. NAS stands for Network Attached Storage, but it's a little bit of a misnomer for devices like these. It's not just storage, and can actually do a whole lot more as well. I took my old gaming PC and turned it into a NAS, and it was surprisingly easy to do. Even better is that you can do it, too.

Why use an older PC instead of buying a dedicated NAS?
To be honest, there are a few reasons that you may want to use an older PC, but the biggest is simply just the act of recycling. If you have a perfectly good PC lying around not doing anything, why would you go out and buy a NAS instead of just putting your old computer to work? Especially because older computers like those are probably going to be more powerful than most NAS devices that you would pick up, it's really just a no-brainer.

Cont.

Posted: **August 18th, 2023, 10:57 am**

I’m writing in support of your suggestion but from the viewpoint of a non IT literate computer user (I had to look up what a NAS was).

Perhaps this is just a lazy way of doing what you suggest: I left old photos on my old computer and some old programmes that are seldom used. It saves cluttering up the new (actually refurbished) computer but they are quickly available if needed (and W10 updates when the old computer is on). If I want to download a free programme from the internet but am unsure how it will work, or worse concerned it might download some irritating bloatware, it’s worth downloading onto the old computer first to try it out.

Is this in line with the idea you have posted?

regards

Howard

Posted: **August 18th, 2023, 12:00 pm**

For the non techies - a RAID explainer video here..https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U-OCdTeZLac

Backup explainer here - https://www.backblaze.com/blog/the-3-2- ... -strategy/

Posted: **August 18th, 2023, 12:04 pm**

An old gaming PC might use a lot more energy than a dedicated NAS.

So be careful going down that route long term

Posted: **August 18th, 2023, 12:18 pm**

Gerry557 wrote:An old gaming PC might use a lot more energy than a dedicated NAS.

So be careful going down that route long term

I'd agree for a 24/7 powered situation one of the advantages of a dedicated NAS like a Synology /QNAP/Asustor is low power consumption.

There's nothing to stop you setting up a hibernate/Wake on Lan or scheduled power on off though to keep power consumption down on a home brew NAS.
24/7 running isn't that necessary in a non business situation.

A gaming PC is overkill unless you need high end 4K/60 Video or photographic NAS facilities - but it's effectively free hardware if you've got one lying around...
The cost of RAID drives would have to be added on to the cost of purchasing a dedicated NAS, so it's swings and roundabouts from an economic perspective.

Posted: **August 18th, 2023, 1:04 pm**

Another DIY option - mini PC + DAS...https://www.androidauthority.com/cheap- ... r-3348392/

The Lemon Fool

Turn an old PC into a NAS

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