Ahh ok, Do you have a shared folder already setup? Sounds like a permissions issue. Go into the properties menu of the folder and give the everyone options full control

That is super weird… What version of windows are you running? Is it a USB external hdd or a Sata drive?

Moving files from one machine to another is pretty easy if you just want a shared drive. Getting one of those working on an old windows box is super easy, and linux isn’t far behind.

You said you have a good drive and a laptop. The first thing to do is go into the power setting sand stop is from turning off them it goes to sleep. The next thing I would do is install software to remote control it. Teamviewer is a good option, although personally I currently use Parsec for my personal PC remote control needs

Now that you have closed up secretly running laptop you can remote control, set up a shared folder (see above link) and put some stuff in it. I can share links to help you “find content” if you want, but learning how to pirate is it’s own post

Follow this guide to get a Jellyfin server running on the laptop, download the app onto your phone and log in.

You should now be able to see media from the folder on your laptop on your phone, and also be able to watch it.

Hopefully this is what you where looking for? If not please let me know and I will try and provide as much detail on whichever parts of the home server setup you would like more details with

That totally counts in my mind! Sounds like a super cool project

This is one of my favorite website to occasionally visit and checkup on. Excellent articles too.

How is infuse? I’ve been using plex as I found it’s front end the best, but it hadn’t occurred to me to use a stand alone mediaplayer.

2.5 Seems kinds overkill… until you take into account that in the next few years you’ll likely get a pc that has a similar port, then think of how fast you’ll be able to load up those HDD’s…

Speaking of that, did you hear about Seagate’s new massive HDD’s they are working on? https://www.pcgamer.com/seagates-new-hard-drives-show-its-on-track-to-deliver-50tb-hdds-by-2026/

I run Pfsence myself. Absolutely better than any ISP router out there. 10/10 reccomend. No experience with this specific box though