Give old Windows 10 PCs a second life! Turn Old Windows 10 PCs into Useful Linux Servers

Hi folks,

This might not be for everyone, but it’s turning out to be a great setup for me — so I wanted to pass it along.

I had two older (10–11-year-old) Windows 10 PCs:

• A Lenovo ThinkCentre workstation — a real beast — now running Ubuntu Server LTS.
• A Dell desktop — now running Linux Mint Cinnamon, which feels familiar to anyone used to Windows but is faster and easier to navigate.

This solution fit my needs perfectly, and maybe it could help you too. I’ll explain it like I would to a friend:

• Don’t toss aging Windows 10 machines — turn them into secure Linux Mint Cinnamon + Ubuntu Server systems.
• Install Ubuntu Server LTS for the backend, manage it with Cockpit (no desktop GUI needed), and harden it using Fail2Ban + UFW.
• Run Docker containers for Appsmith, NocoDB, and PostgreSQL; share files through Samba; and automate backups with rsync.
• Keep only two open ports — 22 (SSH) and 9090 (Cockpit) — for a quiet, efficient NAS and app host that costs nothing and just works.

Trying to force a GUI onto Ubuntu Server LTS is like getting a root canal — you can do it, but you won’t enjoy it!