Written 27 Aug 2026. This is a how-to, not a product card. Buy links are not tagged yet.

See how big the leftover box disk already is

Before you buy a tiny computer or a NAS, check how big the leftover box disk already is.

The leftover box already has a disk. This note is that disk's total size, before you shop for an N100 or a file box. Free room when photos stop copying is a different look: see if the leftover box still has room. A USB stick for the weekly copy is see if the USB backup disk showed up. You do not need a new mini this morning because the leftover laptop is old.

Skip until SSH works

If ping fails and SSH hangs, start with is the leftover box still on? If you have never logged in from the couch, that is SSH from the couch. Prefer this look after the leftover box is doing real work, before you shop: start with what you already have. This note assumes you can log in from the couch.

What this is

A look, not a shopping trip. You are reading how big the leftover box disk already is, so you know whether house ad block and a thin file share fit. You are not buying a bigger internal drive tonight. You are not buying an N100, an N150, a Protectli, or a NAS this morning.

Ask how big the leftover disk is

SSH in from the couch, then ask:

lsblk -d -o NAME,SIZE,TYPE

Point at a line whose TYPE is disk. The SIZE column is how big that leftover disk already is. Skip loop and ram lines if they show up. 128G is a leftover laptop. Fine for Pi-hole plus a thin house share. 256G or 500G is comfortable. Do not buy a mini PC or a NAS because SIZE said 128G.

Optional disk name, and the OS folder size

If you want the leftover disk's own name next to the size:

lsblk -d -o NAME,SIZE,TYPE,MODEL

The last column is the disk name, when the leftover box knows it. Keep this light. Do not shop from a model string. Do not wipe anything tonight.

Optional filesystem size, if you want the leftover OS folder instead of the whole disk:

df -h /

Point at the Size column, not Use%. Size is how big the leftover OS disk looks. Use% is how full it is, and that look is see if the leftover box still has room. Keep this light. Do not install extra tools for this look.

If the leftover disk is small

128G still runs the first lab if you keep the stack thin. House ad block barely uses any of it. A thin house share is fine. A movie library will fill a leftover laptop. If photos are already failing, check see if the leftover box still has room and clear old package downloads when the leftover disk is tight before you shop. A second copy on a USB disk you already have is a backup of the leftover-box folder. A later leftover-next mini is a tiny computer you can leave on, when the leftover box is actually in the way. A real file box is later: a first file box (NAS). Skip buying one this morning because SIZE said 128G.

What next

Free room when copies fail stays see if the leftover box still has room. The USB stick look stays see if the USB backup disk showed up. Total memory size stays see how much memory the leftover box already has. Worker count stays see how many workers the leftover box already has. The leftover computer name stays see what leftover computer you already have. Overflow memory on the leftover disk is see if the leftover box already has extra memory on disk. The leftover-first rule stays start with what you already have. The later buy is a tiny computer you can leave on, when you actually need it.

Skip

• Skip if SSH fails. That is is the leftover box still on? or SSH from the couch.
• Skip buying an N100 or a NAS because lsblk SIZE printed 128G.
• Skip filling a leftover laptop with a movie library, then blaming the leftover box.
• Skip wiping or partitioning the leftover disk tonight.
• Skip a new internal drive this weekend.
• Skip Proxmox tonight. That is what a VM is, and when you do not need one.