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February 21, 2026

TrueNAS Scale: Installing Portainer & Nextcloud on My Old Dell PC

Turn your old Dell PC into a full Network Attached Storage system with TrueNAS Scale, then add Docker-based apps like Portainer and Nextcloud for the ultimate home server setup.

TrueNAS Scale: Installing Portainer & Nextcloud on My Old Dell PC

In this post — the second installment of my Dell PC NAS series — we're going deeper into the rabbit hole. We already revived an old Dell desktop with TrueNAS Scale to handle Network Attached Storage (NAS) duties. Now it's time to supercharge it by adding Portainer for Docker container management and Nextcloud for your own private Google Drive alternative.

If you have an old PC gathering dust, this is the ultimate way to give it new purpose!

What We're Building

Think of this setup like a home office in a box:

  • TrueNAS Scale = the operating system and file manager (it handles all your storage and sharing)
  • Docker = a way to run mini self-contained apps on your server (like apps in their own sealed containers)
  • Portainer = a visual dashboard to manage those Docker containers without needing the command line
  • Nextcloud = your own personal cloud storage (like Dropbox or Google Drive, but you own it)

Why TrueNAS Scale?

TrueNAS Scale is a free, open-source NAS operating system built on Linux. It uses a rock-solid file system called ZFS that protects your data with checksums and redundancy — so even if a drive starts failing, you get warned before you lose anything.

Unlike consumer NAS boxes that cost hundreds of dollars, you can install TrueNAS Scale for free on almost any old PC.

Prerequisites

Before we dive in, make sure you have:

  • An old Dell PC (or any x86 PC) — almost anything from the last 10–15 years will work
  • At least 8 GB of RAM — TrueNAS Scale needs RAM to run ZFS efficiently
  • A USB drive (8 GB+) — for the TrueNAS Scale installer
  • At least one storage drive — this is where your files will live
  • An Ethernet connection — wired is always more reliable for a server

Step 1: Get TrueNAS Scale Up and Running

If you caught the first video, your TrueNAS Scale installation should already be up and running. If not, here's a quick refresher:

  1. Download TrueNAS Scale from truenas.com
  2. Flash it to your USB drive using Balena Etcher or Rufus
  3. Boot your Dell PC from the USB drive and follow the installer
  4. Once installed, note the IP address shown on the TrueNAS console screen
  5. Open a browser on any PC on your network and navigate to that IP address

You should see the TrueNAS Scale web interface — nice!

Step 2: Enable Applications (Docker Under the Hood)

TrueNAS Scale has built-in support for running containerized apps through Kubernetes and Helm charts. But for maximum flexibility, we'll use the Docker + Portainer route.

  1. In the TrueNAS web UI, go to Apps in the left sidebar
  2. Choose a storage pool for your apps when prompted — pick your main data pool
  3. TrueNAS will set up the app environment automatically

Step 3: Install Portainer

Portainer makes managing Docker containers as easy as clicking buttons on a webpage — no command line needed!

  1. In the TrueNAS Apps section, click Available Applications
  2. Search for Portainer and click Install
  3. Set your preferred port (default is typically 9000 for HTTP or 9443 for HTTPS)
  4. Click Save and wait for it to deploy

Once deployed, open your browser and navigate to:

http://<your-truenas-ip>:9000

You'll be greeted by the Portainer setup wizard. Create your admin username and password — make it strong!

Step 4: Install Nextcloud via Portainer

Now for the fun part — setting up your own private cloud storage!

  1. Log into Portainer at http://<your-truenas-ip>:9000
  2. Click on your local Docker environment
  3. Go to Stacks → Add Stack
  4. Name it nextcloud and use the following Docker Compose snippet:
version: '3'

services:
  nextcloud:
    image: nextcloud:latest
    ports:
      - "8080:80"
    volumes:
      - nextcloud_data:/var/www/html
    environment:
      - MYSQL_HOST=db
      - MYSQL_DATABASE=nextcloud
      - MYSQL_USER=nextcloud
      - MYSQL_PASSWORD=your_secure_password
    depends_on:
      - db

  db:
    image: mariadb:10.6
    environment:
      - MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD=your_root_password
      - MYSQL_DATABASE=nextcloud
      - MYSQL_USER=nextcloud
      - MYSQL_PASSWORD=your_secure_password
    volumes:
      - db_data:/var/lib/mysql

volumes:
  nextcloud_data:
  db_data:
  1. Click Deploy the Stack

After a minute or two, your Nextcloud instance will be live at:

http://<your-truenas-ip>:8080

Step 5: Configure Nextcloud

  1. Navigate to your Nextcloud URL
  2. Create your admin account
  3. The database credentials should auto-fill from your compose file — if not, enter the MYSQL_* values you set above
  4. Click Finish Setup

You now have your own private Google Drive! Install the Nextcloud app on your phone or computer to sync files automatically.

Key Takeaways

  • Old Dell PCs make excellent home servers — don't throw them away!
  • TrueNAS Scale gives you enterprise-grade file protection for free
  • Portainer lets you manage Docker apps without touching the command line
  • Nextcloud gives you a private, self-hosted alternative to Google Drive or Dropbox
  • This entire setup costs $0 in software — just the electricity to run it

Useful Resources

Give your old hardware a second life — your wallet and the environment will thank you. Happy self-hosting! 🖥️

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