Written 23 Aug 2026. This is a how-to, not a product card. Buy links are not tagged yet.

Your first weekend with the leftover box

Install the OS, give the box a name, plug it into the wall, and make sure you can reach it from the couch. That is a home lab.

This is a weekend, not a shopping trip. You already have the box. You already picked an OS, or you can pick one on what OS to put on the leftover box. The job is to get it on, named, and reachable.

1. Backup anything you care about

Copy off photos, school papers, or a game save you still want. If the leftover box is empty, skip this step.

2. Make a USB installer

Download the Ubuntu Server or Debian ISO from the official site. Write it to a USB stick with balenaEtcher or Ventoy. An 8 GB stick is enough. You probably already have one.

3. Boot the leftover box from the USB

Most PCs: tap F12 or F10 at power-on and pick the stick. Install to the internal disk. One disk is fine. Take the defaults.

4. Give it a name and a user

Pick a name you will remember: lab, closet, office. Create a user. Do not skip the SSH server checkbox if Ubuntu Server offers it. SSH is a way to type commands on that box from your normal computer, over the network.

5. Plug ethernet if the box has a port

Wi-Fi works, but ethernet is calmer for a box you leave on.

6. Find its address

Look on your router’s device list, or on the box itself (hostname -I, or the installer summary). You do not need a fancy static IP yet.

7. Connect from the couch

From your normal computer, connect. Windows: Windows Terminal or PowerShell, ssh you@that-address. Mac or Linux: Terminal, same command. The first time it will ask to trust the box. Say yes.

8. Update

On Debian or Ubuntu, run sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade. Reboot if it asks.

9. Leave it on

That is the lab. Do not buy a rack, a switch, or a NAS this weekend.

What next

Later, put a small useful thing on this same box. The ad-block one is the first useful thing on the leftover box. A file share can wait a week. Not a shopping trip.

Skip

Skip Kubernetes, Docker Swarm, buying a new mini PC, a 10G card, and a UPS until the box has been on a week.