Have you ever bought a new PC or upgraded your storage, only to find yourself with a surplus HDD lying around that you no longer use? It would be a waste to just let it sleep! This time, we’ll show you how to reuse leftover HDDs and build a convenient “backup server” for your home.

The easiest way is to purchase a commercially available NAS kit (HDD-less model). Just by incorporating your own HDD into the entry model NAS released by manufacturers such as Synology and QNAP, you can create a full-fledged file server in no time. Initial settings can be done intuitively from the browser, so even beginners with no knowledge of server construction can feel at ease.

If you don’t want to spend as much money as possible or want to build one while also studying technical aspects, we recommend installing Linux on an old PC (or Raspberry Pi) that you no longer use, connecting an HDD to it, and starting your own file server (Samba server). It’s a good opportunity to learn basic Linux command operations, and the degree of freedom is much higher than with a commercially available NAS.

The most important thing to keep in mind when using a surplus HDD is the health of the HDD. HDDs that have been used for many years have a high risk of failure, so be sure to check the S.M.A.R.T. information with a tool such as CrystalDiskInfo and check whether it is “normal”. Also, use it only as a “backup” storage and avoid making it the only storage location for main data that you don’t want to lose. If you have multiple redundant HDDs, a smart way to use them is to create software RAID for redundancy. Wake up your sleeping HDD and get a comfortable data management environment.