How to Run a Tower As NAS
Network Attached Storage, or NAS, devices are increasingly popular both due to their ease of use and the growing need for small networks, such as those found in homes and small businesses, to have centralized storage for everyone to access. While there are many standalone NAS devices available on the market, you can run a tower computer as a NAS device by installing an operating system designed exclusively to serve files on the network without a keyboard, mouse or monitor connected to the computer.
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Instructions
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Back up any important data on the computer before proceeding. This procedure repurposes the computer from general usage to exclusively serving files over the network.
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Obtain an operating system designed for NAS operations, such as FreeNAS, OpenFiler or NexentaStor. Download one of these operating systems as an ISO image, then burn it to a CD.
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Connect the computer to the network with an Ethernet cable, if it is not already connected.
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Insert the operating system CD into the disc drive and restart the computer.
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Press the boot manager hotkey to select the CD drive. Common hotkeys are "Esc," "F8," "F10" and "F12." Check you system's documentation to find the appropriate hotkey.
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Install the operating system by following the on-screen instructions. After the installation is complete, disconnect the keyboard, mouse and monitor if you wish.
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Log in to the NAS tower's Web interface from a different computer on the network. Open a Web browser and enter the NAS tower's IP address into the browser's address bar. This allows you to further configure the NAS settings, if necessary.
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Tips & Warnings
This process erases all existing data from the computer system.
