Upgrading media server to Win11 - pro, cons

[klettermann]

I'm running an enterprise grade media server on win10. Server is a wildly overspec'd HP DL380 G7. So, with Win10 going away I'm considering just ignoring it and carrying on. This unit is connected to the Internet but really doesn't do anything except be a network media server and Plex server. No web browsing, no downloading, no email.

To be clear, this thing is old - pathetic graphics, no sound card, etc etc and getting it to run Win10 wasn't straightforward. I'd expect the upgrade to be worse. Still, for my purposes it's just fine. So, is there really any reason to upgrade? Please, let's stay away from how this thing make no sense anyway It doesn't, I just like it. Thanks for any comments and cheers,

 

[amirm]

I just upgraded my desktop to Win11. It was a bit of a struggle to set the bias right to enable the secure boot and such. Once there, I was surprised how smooth it went and how nothing has broken. So if it is possible to upgrade, I would. Might as well stay current.

 

[Guddu]

I'm running an enterprise grade media server on win10. Server is a wildly overspec'd HP DL380 G7. So, with Win10 going away I'm considering just ignoring it and carrying on. This unit is connected to the Internet but really doesn't do anything except be a network media server and Plex server. No web browsing, no downloading, no email.

To be clear, this thing is old - pathetic graphics, no sound card, etc etc and getting it to run Win10 wasn't straightforward. I'd expect the upgrade to be worse. Still, for my purposes it's just fine. So, is there really any reason to upgrade? Please, let's stay away from how this thing make no sense anyway It doesn't, I just like it. Thanks for any comments and cheers,

It’s cpu may not be supported by default, so you may need to disable those restrictions and features like TPM. etc. You can try Win11 compatibility tool to see if it’s compatible as it is.
You can use rufus to disable those limitations while burning downloaded Win11 image to usb drive.

 

[Neccros]

I'm running an enterprise grade media server on win10. Server is a wildly overspec'd HP DL380 G7. So, with Win10 going away I'm considering just ignoring it and carrying on. This unit is connected to the Internet but really doesn't do anything except be a network media server and Plex server. No web browsing, no downloading, no email.

To be clear, this thing is old - pathetic graphics, no sound card, etc etc and getting it to run Win10 wasn't straightforward. I'd expect the upgrade to be worse. Still, for my purposes it's just fine. So, is there really any reason to upgrade? Please, let's stay away from how this thing make no sense anyway It doesn't, I just like it. Thanks for any comments and cheers,

I'd run Win 11 LTSC tbh... Running it on a laptop as a test

 

[PjV]

what is an “enterprise grade media server”? If you only need to make shares available, put a linux distro with Samba on it.

Edit: typo

 

[BeeKay]

Windows 10 will be out of support by October, which should be enough motivation if security is important.

 

[fatoldgit]

If as you say "No web browsing, no downloading, no email" AND you have no open ports visible to the web then basically zero risk with regard to security (esp if you have the firewall up).

I see no downside as the alternative (W11) is the installation of an always moving, never stable, never tested, poor quality, fat and bloated OS that will cause you issues.

In fact W10 has headed that way with the forced install of co-pilot and other stupid "features" that no one wants.

I just moved my brother-in-law to Linux from W10 for his streaming service gateway PC cause all the crap MS was adding to W10 made it slow, kept dropping wifi where it never did before and kept nagging to move to W11.

So stay on W10 in my opinion (or better...move to Linux!!!!)

Peter

 

[Berwhale]

Crikey a G7! I would replace it with something more modern and power efficient. You are likely to recover the cost in power savings alone in a couple years (in the UK at least).

If you don't need multiple TB of storage, i'd go for one of the cheap Intel N100/N150 NVMe solutions like this... https://www.gmktec.com/products/intel-twin-lake-n150-dual-system-4-bay-nas-mini-pc-nucbox-g9

If you are still wedded to HDDs (or need the capacity), then something like the Topton R1 Pro is a good bet (these units are available under many different brands on AliExpress)... https://www.toptonpc.com/product/topton-2-bay-nas-r1-pro-12th-gen-intel-n100-mini-pc/

 

[AnalogSteph]

Crikey a G7! I would replace it with something more modern and power efficient. You are likely to recover the cost in power savings alone in a couple years (in the UK at least).

No kidding. Depending on what's in the thing, idle power may range from 60-80 W on the low end to 120-150 W on the higher end. A dual socket 1366 platform isn't exactly the definition of a power miser. At the very least I'd enable some sort of sensible standby timeout and WoL.

A replacement doesn't even have to be new new. Intel made great strides in power efficiency in the following years. Something from 2016/17 would mean major progress. Just better stay away from their Atom-derived SoCs from the time (*cough* LPC clock bug *cough*).

 

[FreakyKiwi]

Yikes, a G7 must be 15 years old.

Grab an N100 based mini PC and you'll have more performance with the modern decode/encode support and save a small fortune on electricity.

I run mine with Home Assistant (HassOS on bare metal) and the "Jellyfin NAS" add-on.
Otherwise you could install Windows if you really need a desktop interface.

Storage is provided by a couple of QNAP NASes.

 

[restorer-john]

I've made the decision to kill Windows altogether in my life going forward. It's been a very long journey with Microsoft, right from MS Basic cards in Apple IIs in the early 1980s, MSDOS on 5 1/4", 3 1/2', in ROM, right through to all the Windows editions. Never have I felt so abused, manipulated and bent over a barrel than I have since Win11. W10 was bad enough, but W11 is a step too far. Two newish machines with W11 are absolute dogs after a year or two. So much so, I was going to donate them to my local church op-shop. Updates are a disaster. Telemetry is out of hand and basically takes a machine and turns it into a MS botnet for the first 15 minutes everytime you start it up.

So, wiped the entire SSD on one of the newish laptops (phew- be gone Windows 11!), installed Linux Mint and the entire machine is so fast I cannot believe it. Always loved the various Linux/Ubuntu flavours, but Cinnamon or Xfce make W11 look like the complete sh#tshow it is.

As long as I can get my various windows apps for hardware to work (that will be fun, but a worthwhile challenge), it's the end of the road for Microsoft. And if not, I'll just use a legacy MS machine- there's tons of them in my house.

I've just bought a brand new iMac 24" M4 for my father, which will replace his 24" HP W10 AIO and that kills MS OSs at their place too. Enough is enough.

 

[Chr1]

Apologies if slightly off topic. Does anyone know what the possible timescale might be for switching over to Win 11 via Rufus? I still have one Win 10 machine which is incompatible with Win 11, which I was hoping to keep as is for another month or so, before using Rufus to switch.
Just worried that there's a chance that Microsoft might change something such that using Rufus is no longer an option...

 

[audio_tony]

Server is a wildly overspec'd HP DL380 G7. So, with Win10 going away I'm considering just ignoring it and carrying on. This unit is connected to the Internet but really doesn't do anything except be a network media server and Plex server.

Sounds like a perfect candidate for Linux.

You can actually run Plex on a headless (no desktop) Linux server which also frees up resources.

 

[Chr1]

Surely these extremely power hungry old machines are the last things you should be using for a server though? You will save the cost of a cheap second hand low power mini PC pretty quickly via lower energy bills. My 2c.

 

[aagstn]

I ran a Plex server on Windows 11 for a bit and it was not a pleasant experience. Windows will crash or run an update and reboot the whole PC without telling you so your shows don't get recorded.

I moved Plex to a Mac mini M4 and it is solved my issues. Stable and can even handle AV1 decoding. Mac is a bit pricey though when you add storage through a Thunderbolt dock to overcome the skimpy 256GB built in. I would say Linux on a small N100 or N150 PC would be a good option and affordable for a media server.

 

[Beershaun]

I have two questions to better understand your needs and level of tinker interest.

What are your cost constraints and interest in diy? I bought a Synology NAS to replace my 2009 vintage Mac pro and it's excellent as a Plex media server, backup system for my home computers and file storage unit for all my files instead of on my PC. I'd recommend that as a replacement if those are your type of uses. It has a very nice OS and a solid app store along with the ability to run a VM or containerized apps through its container manager software.

 

[Salt]

Apologies if slightly off topic. Does anyone know what the possible timescale might be for switching over to Win 11 via Rufus? I still have one Win 10 machine which is incompatible with Win 11, which I was hoping to keep as is for another month or so, before using Rufus to switch.
Just worried that there's a chance that Microsoft might change something such that using Rufus is no longer an option...

Have a look here:
https://www.tomshardware.com/how-to/bypass-windows-11-tpm-requirement

 

[Chr1]

Thanks. Yes, I've used Rufus to update three of my Beelink MiniPCs already. All running fine on Windows 11. I still have a higher spec one, which I use as my main PC and server on Windows 10.
My concern is that Microsoft may decide or find a way to prevent updating via Rufus before I decide to actually do this.
Probably just paranoia on my part. Should probably just do it now though...

 

[Salt]

Thanks. Yes, I've used Rufus to update three of my Beelink MiniPCs already. All running fine on Windows 11. I still have a higher spec one, which I use as my main PC and server on Windows 10.
My concern is that Microsoft may decide or find a way to prevent updating via Rufus before I decide to actually do this.
Probably just paranoia on my part. Should probably just do it now though...

Consider a change to Linux and running win within a Virtual Mashine (if 'Win Only' is absolutely necessary and can't be substituted via WINE or a Linux program ).

 

[DVDdoug]

Whenever I upgrade my OS I get a new hard drive and then clone the old one so if anything goes wrong I can just revert to the old hard drive. I don't think I've ever had to do that but it makes the whole process less stressful.

...I've got a "back burner" project of converting an old computer to Linux. I haven't started and I have very little Linux experience but I bought a new 4TB SSD and a Linux book.