Tech Vault

Turn a spare computer into a home server with ZimaOS

Install ZimaOS from a USB stick, then add apps like Jellyfin, Immich and Crafty with a click. Everything after this guide happens in your browser.

45 minutesEasyNo terminal neededChecked 9 November 2026

What you’re about to build

ZimaOS is a free system made for home servers. Once it’s installed, the spare computer sits next to your router, and you manage it from a web page on any other device. It has an App Store, so installing Jellyfin, Immich, AdGuard Home or a Minecraft panel is a search and a click. Most of the guides on this site start from here.

What the computer needs

  • A normal 64-bit Intel or AMD computer: an old laptop, desktop or mini PC. A Raspberry Pi won’t do; it uses a different kind of chip.
  • At least 25 GB on the disk you install to. Any modern disk is far bigger.
  • The free version covers up to 4 disks and 3 user accounts. A one-off paid licence lifts those limits, and most homes never need it.

1. Make the USB stick

On your everyday computer:

  1. Go to the ZimaOS download page and download ZimaOS USB Creator.
  2. Plug in the USB stick and open USB Creator.
  3. Choose ZimaOS and click Next.
  4. Choose your USB stick. Leave Exclude system drives ticked, so you can’t pick the wrong disk by accident. Click Next.
  5. Click Write, then Erase and write. When it’s done, click Finish and take the stick out.

If USB Creator doesn’t run on your computer, balenaEtcher does the same job. Download the file ending in _installer.img from ZimaOS’s releases page, then in Etcher choose Flash from file, Select target and Flash!

2. Get the spare computer ready to start from USB

ZimaOS needs two settings in the computer’s firmware (its BIOS). Turn the computer on and press the setup key straight away. It’s usually Delete, F2, F10 or F1, and the screen often says which.

  1. Find Boot settings and make sure UEFI boot is on.
  2. Find Secure Boot and turn it off.
  3. Save and exit.

Every maker lays these screens out differently. If you can’t find a setting, search the web for your computer’s model and “secure boot”.

3. Install ZimaOS

  1. Plug the USB stick and the network cable into the spare computer.
  2. Turn it on and open the boot menu, usually with F12, F11 or Esc as it starts. Choose the USB stick.
  3. The ZimaOS installer appears. Choose Start, then Continue.
  4. Choose the disk to install on, then Continue, then Erase and install.
  5. When it’s finished, take out the USB stick and choose Restart.

4. Open the dashboard

When the computer restarts, its screen shows the address of its dashboard, something like http://192.168.1.50.

  1. On your everyday computer or phone, type that address into a browser.
  2. Create your account. This is the ZimaOS admin, so give it a strong password and save it in your password manager.
  3. You’re looking at your server’s dashboard. From now on you can unplug the screen and keyboard from the spare computer; everything happens here.

5. Install your first app

  1. In the dashboard, open the App Store.
  2. Search for an app, such as Jellyfin, and install it.
  3. When it’s ready, its icon appears on the dashboard. Click it to open the app.

That’s the pattern for nearly every app on this site. Good first apps: AdGuard Home to block ads for the whole house, Jellyfin for your films, Immich for your phone’s photos, and Tailscale to reach it all from anywhere.

Check it worked

From your phone, on your home Wi-Fi, open the dashboard address. If the dashboard loads, the server is up and reachable from every device in the house.

If it breaks

The computer starts Windows instead of the installer. It didn’t boot from the USB stick. Use the boot menu key as it starts, and check Secure Boot is off.

The installer can’t see a disk. Some computers set their disk to a mode called RAID or Intel RST. Look in the BIOS storage settings for AHCI and switch to it.

The dashboard address doesn’t load. Check the server has a network cable plugged in and that your other device is on the same home network. The address on the server’s screen is the one to use.