From hardware to reliable service
Build Your Home Server
Test-backed setup decisions for Windows, Docker, storage, networking, media and unattended recovery.
Windows Mini PC Home Server Roadmap
The complete stage-by-stage roadmap: hardware checks, BIOS power states, Docker services, measured stability, Wake-on-LAN and data safety, with every step linked to our own evidence.
EQi12 as a Windows Home Server
The complete build: WOL, AC recovery, Docker startup, 12.57-hour monitoring, backup restoration and deployment limits.
EQi12 BIOS Settings for a Home Server
Virtualization, VT-d, Secure Boot, TPM, S3 sleep, State After G3 and a safe evidence-first configuration process.
Jellyfin with Intel QSV on Windows
Set up the native Windows path, force a controlled transcode and prove QSV from the FFmpeg log.
Docker Desktop Auto-Start
Separate Windows, login, WSL2, Docker, Compose, health checks and persistent data across reboot.
Docker Compose Stack
Generate an Nginx, PostgreSQL and Redis Compose file, deploy it, add health checks and make it survive reboots.
Docker Backup and Restore Drill
Verify a stack with pg_dump, Redis DUMP/RESTORE and config export, with measured recovery times and one byte-level trap.
Realtek Wake-on-LAN on Windows
Map the physical adapter, configure BIOS and driver controls, disable Fast Startup and test S5 and S3 separately.
Dual-Ethernet: Choose the WOL Port
Two jacks means two Realtek instances and two MACs. Map the ports, verify WOL per port with five-cycle tests and standardize on the one that passes.
Automatic Recovery after AC Power Loss
Configure State After G3, run three controlled cycles and time service recovery rather than only POST.
Mini PC Home Server Buying Guide
What actually matters when buying a mini PC home server: CPU, RAM, storage, network and real power draw, with measured data.
Install Ubuntu 26.04 LTS on the EQi12
Verified Linux install walkthrough: official ISO + SHA-256 check, Rufus 4.15 USB, UEFI boot and hardware detection, all photographed.
Proxmox on a Mini PC (EQi12)
Measured limits before you install: confirmed VT-x/VT-d, the 16GB memory budget, single-NVMe risk and the 39MiB/s USB port trap.
Verify Your Home Server Is Stable
A three-layer proof method — 12.57-hour soak test, event log audit, five reboot cycles — with real zero-failure numbers from the EQi12.
Windows Home Server Port Audit
Every listening TCP socket and all 169 enabled inbound firewall rules on our EQi12, measured and grouped, with the two PowerShell commands to reproduce it on your machine.