Do you have old tech sitting around your house unused? Well, it’s time to put that old Mac mini or Wii U to use and repurpose it as a network-attached storage server.
Old Mac mini
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Apple’s Mac mini computers are actually an underrated system to use for various homelab tasks. While the latest M4 Mac mini is an absolute powerhouse, older Mac minis are actually still a fantastic option for a variety of use cases.
All the older Mac minis you probably have lying around run on Intel processors, which means you also get Intel’s integrated graphics to help with transcoding media. On top of that, the newer Mac minis could optionally have a 10Gb Ethernet port pre-installed for faster networking, making it super simple to access over your LAN. From 2018 onward, Mac minis also shipped with Thunderbolt 3, 4, or 5, meaning you could hook up Thunderbolt hard drive cages to the Mac mini for additional storage.
However, going back a few generations gives you a SATA hard drive slot that you can put a storage drive in. All Mac minis support USB storage, and 2018 and prior models you could even install your own operating system on.
All of these features make the Apple’s compact desktop a solid choice for a NAS, as you can open up the storage drive to your network, add extra storage, or even hook up larger arrays that utilize the Mac mini’s processing power.
Don’t Throw Away Your Old Mac Mini, Repurpose It
Turn it into a file server, a emulation machine, or even a Chromebook!
Old desktop
If you have an old desktop sitting around doing nothing, it’s time to put it to work. If it was made in the last 15 to 20 years, it’ll actually make a great NAS. Normal file storage operations actually don’t require a lot of processing power or RAM. An old Core 2 Duo system would make for a nice NAS—though I wouldn’t try to run many Docker containers or applications on it.
When using a tower computer, you’ll likely have at least four SATA ports on the motherboard, which can be expanded by adding a PCIe expansion card. You’re also able to connect other types of PCIe expansion, like an upgraded network card, NVMe storage, and more.
Repurposing an old desktop into a NAS is the ultimate homelab origin story. When I needed more storage than my old 4-bay NAS gave me, I broke out my aging Intel X99 system which happened to have 10 SATA ports on it, letting me plug in all the drives I could ever want without needing to buy any new hardware or expansion cards.
Old laptop
While you might think that an old laptop wouldn’t make a great NAS, you’d be wrong. Laptops, even older ones, can still have plenty of processing power in them for storage server functionality.
If the laptop had a CD or DVD drive in it, that’s also a prime candidate for replacing with a traditional SATA hard drive for additional storage in your NAS. I’ve had laptops with two 2.5-inch drive bays plus the CD drive, which would be the most ideal scenario. Of course, you can always plug external hard drives or enclosures into your laptop for extra storage if you run out of SATA slots internally.
Regardless of how you configure it, you’re able to install whatever operating system you want on an old laptop and start sharing files over the network. If you do choose to repurpose a laptop into a NAS, I would recommend making sure to use wired Ethernet for your LAN connection instead of Wi-Fi. Ethernet is more reliable and will deliver better transfer speeds than wireless.
Raspberry Pi
The newer Raspberry Pis actually make for a great NAS, but you can still turn older models into networked storage servers just the same. I’d recommend sticking with a Pi 4 or newer, as the Pi 4 added both gigabit Ethernet and USB 3.0, while the Pi 3 that came before it only offered 10/100 Ethernet and USB 2.0.
Either way you slice it, Raspberry Pis make for fantastic networked storage servers. You can run Linux on them (or even TrueNAS!) and share attached drives over your network. Raspberry Pis are low-powered and easy to use, making them the ideal candidate for a starter networked storage server.
- Brand
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Raspberry Pi
- CPU
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Cortex-A72 (ARM v8)
With the Raspberry Pi 4 Model B, you can create all kinds of fun projects, and upgrade gadgets around your home. Alternatively, install a full desktop OS and use it like a regular computer.
Android TV box
There are a number of ways to repurpose an old Android TV box into a NAS—but they all center around being able to plug in an external hard drive. If your Android TV device doesn’t have a USB port, then you’ll be out of luck. If your Android TV system does have USB (and Ethernet, as that’s the recommended connection method for all network attached storage servers), then you’re ready to go!
To get started with repurposing your old Android TV box as a NAS, simply plug an external hard drive into it and download an app like Material Files. This will let you turn your Android TV into an FTP server which you can access from other computers on the network.
Another option is Primitive FTPdwhich is available on F-Droid. With Primitive FTPd, you’re able to create a Samba share on your network, which is what a NAS does typically. The only drawback to this method is you’ll need root access to the Android TV because port 445 is typically blocked, which is what’s needed for Samba shares.
However, if your Android TV is really sitting unused, then you should check out Armbian Linux—a custom Linux distribution that can be installed on some Android TV systems, giving you full unfettered access to the hardware. You won’t be limited by Play Store apps or having to root to use Samba here, it’s just pure Linux ready for you to set up however you want.
- Operating System
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Android TV
- Resolution
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4K
The NVIDIA Shield Android TV Pro is probably the most high-end, powerful Android TV device you can buy. It can scale all video to 4K in Dolby Vision and play games via GeForce Now.
Wi
Did you expect to see a game console on this list? I didn’t either, especially one from Nintendo. But you can actually install Linux on a Wii U and that’s something I never expected was possible.
So, if you have a Wii U sitting around your house that nobody is playing anymore, why not repurpose it into a NAS? There are four USB ports on the Wii U, though they’re all limited to USB 2.0 speeds.
Since the Wii U only supports 10/100 Ethernet though, you won’t really be all that limited as USB 2.0 has a 480Mb/s transfer rate, making the Wii U a solid, though slow, networked storage server.
Nvidia jetson orin nano
NVIDIA’s compact The Orin Nano jet is a pretty unique, but awesome piece of computing tech. It’s basically a supercharged Raspberry Pi thanks to its more powerful processor, 8GB of LPDDR5 RAM, and the fact that it supports both SD and NVMe natively.
If you happened to pick up a Jetson Orin Nano and haven’t found a use for it, why not turn it into a NAS? Its high memory bandwidth mixed with the pretty solid processor makes it a great candidate for running your file server and even some lightweight services.
The Jetson Orin Nano also features four USB 3.2 Gen2 ports, Gigabit Ethernet, and even DisplayPort output, making it a great choice for starting your networked storage journey.
- Brand
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NVIDIA
- Storage
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SD, NVMe
The NVIDIA Jetson Orin Nano Super Developer Kit is a unique microcomputer that’s designed to be “the most affordable generative AI supercomputer.” With 67 TOPS of AI performance, you’ll also find 8GB of LPDDR5 RAM here with both SD and NVMe storage options built-in.
These seven pieces of tech make great networked storage servers, but there’s nothing that a dedicated NAS to me. I wanted a device that was built for storage and nothing else, so instead of spending $2,000 on a Synology that met my needs, I bought a retired server on eBay insteadand I’ve been very happy with it.
Regardless of what type of computer you use for your NAS, I believe that a network attached storage server is at the heart of every homelab—so if you don’t have one, now’s the time to build out.