Re:Reusing Old Hardware
by rocky1138 on Friday October 26, 2018 @01:07AM
(#18306914)
I use an old HP laptop/netbook for my personal stuff at home. Running is private git repos, dnsmasq with ad-blocking host, and Syncthing to keep my files handy at all times. I force it into powersave mode using cpufreqd and throttle the CPU to the lowest step. I haven't put a power meter on it, but I can't imagine it's using a ton of wattage. If it fails, there are a few others in my office to take its place.
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I love using old laptops for servers, built in UPS and everything.
I've been advised to remove and recycle the batteries due to safety concerns. Apparently when they are designed, they are not designed to be on 24/7. My laptop's batteries are toast, anyway, so it doesn't make a difference to me.
It's not so much that they can't be used 24/7, but that Li-Ion batteries really don't like staying at 100% charge (nor 0% either for that matter).
If you can configure your laptop to only charge the battery to ~80% or so, you'll extend the battery life significantly. The optimal range for long-term storage is ~40-60% charge.
Older ThinkPads have a driver to limit battery charge range:
Re:Reusing Old Hardware
by lunchables on Friday October 26, 2018 @08:20AM
(#18308545)
What are you using for adblocking? I was thinking about setting up pihole, but I already run bind at home for a private zone and I didnt want to deal with setting up forwarders. Are you integrating adblocking with bind by any chance?
Re:Reusing Old Hardware
by michaelbuckbee on Friday October 26, 2018 @08:39AM
(#18308638)
Checkout - https://github.com/Trellmor/bind-adblock
Which incorporates a number of different adblocking lists.
Re:Reusing Old Hardware
by lunchables on Thursday November 01, 2018 @08:56AM
(#18353413)
Awesome, thanks, I will definitely check this out.