this post was submitted on 16 May 2025
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Selfhosted

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Selfhosting on old MSI laptop (lemm.ee)
submitted 6 days ago by dan00@lemm.ee to c/selfhosted@lemmy.world
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Hello preppers! As I prepare further and further for the digital and traditional collapse of society (/s), I finally got to the point of building my selfhosted server.

At the moment I have a single bay Synology nas but it will soon find a new home (🗑️). I was thinking that instead of buying new tech I can be a conscious human being and recycle my old laptop.

My old MSI PE60 2QD with i7 5th Gen, its a very capable machine and having the battery, I think, is better for a sudden loss of power. I replaced it because the hinge and screen broke but I never thrown it away.

I wanted to wipe it and install some linux distro for selfhosting with, I think, Tailscale for access it remotely. I use it to store file, photos, music …normal cloud stuff.

Before wasting hours troubleshooting, I’m sure there are brilliant people here that can give me tips or a link to a simple guide to follow. (Please don’t make me ask the bots).

I’m sure this thread is already open somewhere and I’ll be happy to follow that and delete this, if so.

Thank you lemmings.

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[–] sxan@midwest.social 10 points 6 days ago (2 children)

What is your question? I see you describing your approach, and think reusing an old laptop for this is perfect (built-in UPS, yay!), but it's not clear what you're seeking advice about.

[–] HelloRoot@lemy.lol 5 points 6 days ago (3 children)

More like build-in UPS that will do the forbidden caprisun and set your house on fire after a year.

[–] lka1988@sh.itjust.works 5 points 6 days ago

Not if you get a laptop that supports battery charge limiting. Like a Thinkpad.

[–] Dirk@lemmy.ml 4 points 6 days ago

Spicy Pillow!

[–] Onomatopoeia@lemmy.cafe 3 points 5 days ago (1 children)

Never had this happen, and I've carried laptops since the mid 90's, and they've always been plugged in most of the time.

Get to office, plug on, get home, plug in and sit overnight in the charger with no use.

I've seen a few expanded batteries, but that's across the hundreds of laptops in my support circle. It's very rare.

Every laptop I've had in the last 5 years has battery protection built in anyway. I'm running 2 laptops from 2019 that have it.

Though you do make a good point, something to figure out if your laptop does this. And to keep an eye on the batteries anyway (like check battery health quarterly), and replace if it gets down significantly (I replace mine at 70% health).

[–] HelloRoot@lemy.lol 2 points 5 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago)

My personal experience with laptop batteries was not as nice as yours, but neither should be blindly trusted.

Not sure if there is some science on it anywhere but this random search result article https://www.pcmag.com/how-to/help-my-laptop-battery-is-swollen-now-what says:

most common cause of a swollen battery is overcharging. Keeping your battery at a high state of charge can stress it out, allowing it to degrade faster. “In an application where you have a system plugged in 24/7, after a number of years your likelihood of getting a swollen battery increases,” says Phil Jakes, principal engineer and director of strategic technology at Lenovo. “The other thing that drives it is heat. Batteries don’t like to be hot, and there’s a chemical process that gets kicked off when a battery gets over 100 degrees.”

Don’t keep your device plugged in all the time. Batteries are cyclical and have to discharge and recharge to work effectively.

Keep your devices in cool, dry environments. Hot and humid weather conditions put more strain on batteries and can shorten their operating life over time.

When shopping for a new battery, buy from reputable manufacturers. It's generally better to buy a replacement from the original laptop maker than the cheapest compatible option from a third party.

Replace your battery—if you can—if you see its capacity drop too low. Manufacturers test their computer batteries to last up to three to four years, while an iPhone battery is meant to retain up to 80% of its original capacity at 500 charge cycles. If you start to see any warning signs, replace it sooner rather than later.

[–] dan00@lemm.ee 1 points 6 days ago

Not really a question, just if anyone knows a good trusted guide I can follow to do this or if you have tips and tricks.

As much as i like to mess around with computer and electronics, i don’t have time for this. I need something that i set up quickly and works well, that’s it.