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February 21, 2026

Reviving Old Hardware with TrueNAS Scale

Alright, let's dive into setting up a NAS!

Here's a blog post based on the YouTube video, aiming to guide you through installing TrueNAS Scale on older hardware and getting it ready for home server use.

Reviving Old Hardware with TrueNAS Scale

If you've got an old PC lying around, you can turn it into a Network Attached Storage (NAS) device using TrueNAS Scale. This is a great way to breathe new life into unused hardware, giving you a centralized place to store and share files on your network. In this guide, we'll cover the process of downloading, installing, and configuring TrueNAS Scale on a Dell Vostro PC, including hardware considerations.

Preparing for Installation

Downloading TrueNAS Scale

First, you'll need to download the latest stable version of TrueNAS Scale. You can grab it from the official TrueNAS website. For the video, the 22.12 version of TrueNAS was used.

Creating a Bootable USB Drive

Once the ISO is downloaded, you'll need to create a bootable USB drive. Balena Etcher is the recommended tool for this process as shown in the video. It's a free and user-friendly application that makes imaging a USB drive straightforward.

Using Balena Etcher

  1. Launch Balena Etcher.
  2. Select "Flash from File" and choose your downloaded TrueNAS Scale ISO.
  3. Select your USB drive as the target. Using a 32GB USB drive, like in the video, is recommended.
  4. Click "Flash!" and wait for the process to complete.

Hardware Considerations

Before booting up, prepare the hardware. It's a must that the old system is cleaned inside before installing the storage system. The Dell Vostro system mentioned here comes with 4GB RAM, so it will have to be upgraded.

  • TrueNAS requires a minimum of 8GB of RAM to function, and 16GB is recommended for optimal performance.
  • This Dell Vostro system only has two available slots.
  • The presenter ends up installing four 160 GB HDDs to the Vostro system. The system initially only supports SATA Ports, so the presenter will install a PCIE to SATA Adapter.

Hardware Installation

  1. Replace the PSU. The PSU has to be unscrewed to be replaced.
  2. Clean and re-apply thermal paste to the CPU to ensure proper cooling.
  3. Install a Kingston 120GB SSD to the boot directory to host the operating system.
  4. You will also need a PCIE to SATA Adapter to support the four 160GB HDDs that the presenter installs.

Booting from the USB Drive

  1. Plug the bootable USB drive into your old Dell Vostro PC.
  2. Boot the PC and tap F12 to enter the boot menu. This key may vary depending on your PC manufacturer, so consult your motherboard documentation.
  3. Select the USB drive from the boot menu.

Installing TrueNAS Scale

  1. When prompted, select the drive where you want to install TrueNAS Scale. In the video, it's being installed on a Kingston SSD. The presenter also noted they they want to format the boot device.
  2. Create an admin user password when prompted.
  3. If prompted to create a 16 GB swap partition on boot devices, click “yes.”
  4. Wait for the installation to complete.

Setting up TrueNAS

After the installation is complete, you’ll be presented with a console screen displaying the IP address of your TrueNAS server. Take note of this IP address.

  1. On a computer connected to the same network, open a web browser and enter the IP address of your TrueNAS server. This will bring you to the TrueNAS web interface.
  2. Log in using the username "admin" and the password you set during the installation.

Creating a Storage Pool

Before using your NAS, you'll need to create a storage pool. This is where your files will be stored.

  1. Go to the "Storage" section and select "Create Pool."
  2. Give your pool a name and select the disks you want to include in the pool. The presenter installed four 160GB HDDs, and recommends selecting at least one of the disks.
  3. Choose a RAID configuration.
  4. Click "Create" to create your storage pool.

Installing More Apps

TrueNAS has the capability of installing more applications in the network. One easy way to do this is to update the catalog and select the Core Trains. This will allow for the installation of Kubernetes, Emby, Plex, qBittorrent, and many more.

Key Takeaways

  • TrueNAS Scale is a great way to repurpose old hardware into a functional NAS device.
  • Hardware preparation, including RAM upgrades and ensuring sufficient storage, is key to a smooth installation.
  • Balena Etcher simplifies the creation of bootable USB drives.
  • Configuration is easy to complete with the TrueNAS web interface, including setting up storage pools, users, shares, and applications.

Resources

  • TrueNAS Scale: https://www.truenas.com/download-truenas-scale/
  • Balena Etcher: https://etcher.balena.io/
  • Truecharts Catalog: https://github.com/truecharts/catalog
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