How I Turned an Old Samsung NC110 Netbook into a Web Server and Development Environment

A while back, I found my wife’s old Samsung NC110 netbook buried in a box. It hadn’t been touched in years, still running Windows Vista Home, locked behind a forgotten password. I couldn’t get in, and even if I could, what could I really do with a machine that had only 2GB of RAM? It didn’t seem like it had much use left in it.

But I decided to give it a shot anyway. I had maxed out the RAM years ago, so I upgraded the hard drive to a 250GB SSD. The netbook booted faster, but running Windows 11 or 8 on this thing was never going to happen, and going back to Vista wasn’t an option either.

So, I started looking into Linux distros that could handle the netbook’s limited specs. After trying a few, an old version of Lubuntu 32-bit turned out to be the best fit. It recognized all the hardware, including Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. Still, the tiny, outdated display made it feel like it wasn’t good for much beyond basic web browsing.

I was about to give up when I thought, “Why not try turning it into a server?” I asked ChatGPT for advice, and that’s when the idea clicked. I wanted to see if the latest Ubuntu Server version could run on it. Turns out, it could. So, I had to give it a try.

Setting Up Ubuntu Server

I had been running Ubuntu Server in a virtual machine before, mostly for testing WordPress, Node.js apps, and React projects. I figured, why not try running it directly on the Samsung NC110?

Since I wouldn’t need the display, I could use SSH to connect from my macOS terminal or even my iPad. After downloading Ubuntu Server 24.04.1, I used balenaEtcher to flash the image onto a USB drive and booted the netbook from it. The installation went smoothly, though I had to pay attention to the keyboard settings because the netbook uses a Latin American keyboard.

Once the system was up, I connected the netbook to the internet using LAN and started updating everything. ChatGPT helped me set up the Wi-Fi, which took a little time, but I got it working. No need for extra cables on my desk.

Turning the Netbook into a Web Server and Development Environment

With Ubuntu Server up and running, the next step was getting the necessary tools installed.

1. LEMP Stack (Linux, Nginx, MariaDB, PHP):
   I went with Nginx over Apache because it’s lighter and more efficient, which is especially important for older hardware. Setting up MariaDB and PHP completed the basic web server stack.

2. Node.js Development Environment:
   I installed NVM to manage different versions of Node.js. Then I cloned my GitHub repositories and started testing my apps. One of my backend services resizes images and uploads them to a cloud storage. Running that on a netbook this old was a challenge, but after tweaking some libraries, it worked. Surprisingly, the React apps ran smoothly too.

3. PM2 for Process Management:
   I didn’t want to manually start my apps every time I needed to test something. PM2 came in handy for keeping the apps running in the background, automatically restarting them if they crashed, and logging everything for easy debugging.

4. Code Server:
   To make development smoother, I installed Code Server, which runs VS Code on the netbook, letting me edit files from any device connected to the network. Now, I could code directly on the netbook without needing its screen.

Customizing the Setup

With the basic setup in place, I added a few more tools to make the server more practical:

• UFW (Uncomplicated Firewall) to control which ports were open, ensuring the server was only accessible where I needed it to be.
• VSFTPD to handle file uploads and downloads between the netbook and other devices.
• Cockpit to monitor the hardware, manage updates, and keep an eye on logs.

Why Do All This?

You might wonder why I didn’t just grab a new Raspberry Pi or use a cloud server. But part of the reason was that the netbook was already there, just collecting dust. I wanted to see if I could still squeeze some use out of it. And there’s something satisfying about repurposing old hardware. It feels like a challenge worth tackling.

Plus, working with older hardware forces you to be more thoughtful about resource management. You can’t just throw every tool and service on it like you would on a more modern machine. You have to keep things lean, which in turn teaches you how to make better use of resources.

The End Result

I’ve turned this old Samsung NC110 into a functional web server and development environment. It’s limited, sure, but for running small apps and testing projects, it gets the job done. For now, that’s all I need.

Eventually, I’ll probably replace it with something more powerful, like a proper server or a cloud setup. But for now, this little netbook is holding its own. It might be old, but it’s still got some life in it.