Introduction: How to Make a 6TB NAS for About $300, Easy Anyone Can Do!

By www.facebook.com/groups/10726494
About: I'm a teenage guy who loves Computers, Soldering, PVC Pipe, Eletronics, and just building stuff when I am board. My life. https://youtu.be/WtgOJBw_Lzk

Link to the video if it dosent work on your device

Hi i'm Justin and in this instructables I will show you how to make a NAS a.k.a. Network Attached Storage, it's like an external hard drive, but everyone on your network can use it at the same time, and its more advanced.

The video goes into more detail so if you have any questions it might help out.

Tools needed

Normally all you need is a phillips screwdriver and an antistatic strap to protect the parts. That's it!

The parts that you will need are

1X CPU

1X Motherboard

8+GB RAM

1X computer case

Hard Drive(s)

1X power supply

1X USB drive -- For the Operating System (OS)

The parts I used

1X Asrock QC5000-itx Motherboard/CPU combo --- Low power/heat

1X 8GB stick of Falcon RAM

1X iStarUSA ATX server case

1X iStarUSA power supply

3X 2TB Seagate hard drives

1X 32GB USB stick -- For the Operating System (OS)

Here is a link to the parts I would recommend, less the USB stick -- http://bit.ly/1TTWOEE

Step 1: Prep the Motherboard

Ok so the first step is to get the motherboard ready. Because the CPU and cooler are already installed all you need to do here is install the RAM. Doing this is simple, first check the motherboard manual to see what RAM slots to use then align the slot in the RAM with the slot in the socket, slide it in, and press on each side until you hear a click.

Step 2: Now Add the Hard Drives and Prep the Case!

The process of adding the hard drives varies by case/manufacturer, but for the most part you either slide them in and put in screws or you put them in a drive tray and slide that in, check with your case manual.

To prep the case you will need to add the backplate a.k.a. the piece of metal that makes it so that there is only holes where there needs to be. To do this remove it from any packaging, make sure it is facing the right way, align it from the INSIDE, and push it into place it is held in with friction and the force of the motherboard only.

Now you need to make sure that the little brass screws or "standoffs" are in the right place to align themselves with the holes in the motherboard so that you can screw the motherboard into them. Check to make sure they are in the right place and then make sure there are no extras that could short out the motherboard. It's easy!

Step 3: Install the Motherboard

Now its time to put the motherboard into the case! To do this hold the motherboard by the CPU heatsink or back connectors, just try your best not to hold it by the board itself as you could shok it and damage it. Remember that you should be wearing an antistatic strap also. Hold the motherboard above its place and start with the rear connectors, align them in and then set it into place the rest of the way. Start with the screw in the bottom right corner to help hold the motherboard in place, then add all of the rest of the screws.

Step 4: Connect the Case Wires for Power Reset Etc.

Now you need to add the wires for the case. Some people think that this will be a hard step, but it is one of the easiest! What you need to do is look in your motherboard manual to see where to put in the plugs. The buttons for power, reset, etc. can go in either way, but the LED's must go in in the correct orientation as marked by a plus or positive. Don't worry if you mess this up, it wont harm anything, it might just not turn on, or an LED might not light up, but once you put it in in the right way it will be fine. In this type of build it is optional but you may want to plug in USB, Audio, or any other front connectors.

Step 5: Putting in the Final Cables

Now it's time to attach the power and data cables, for power to the motherboard normally there will be a 24 pin connector (the big rectangular one) and also a 4 pin connector that need to be plugged in, check your manual for more details. now you will need to connect the SATA data cables between the motherboard and hard drives. They should be put in with the fastest devices in the lowest number ports SSD's then hard drives then disk drives. they will just slot in, just remember that if they don't pull out there might be a clip on it that you need to press on. Now connect the power cords to the hard drives, they go in the same way as the data cables, they are just wider, just slot them in.

Step 6: Press the Power Button and Make Sure That It Turns On

Press the power button and if you did everything correctly it will turn on, if not the first things to check are to see if the power cord is plugged in, if the switch on the power supply is on, and then is the connector pluged into the motherboard properly.

Next you will need to install/setup FreeNAS. If you want an instructable showing how to do that let me know in the comments.