Use an old Mac as a file server
Store and send files from a central hub using the devices you already have
THESE DAYS, MANY people are going increasingly digital. What were once huge collections of DVDs, CDs and video games in physical cases can now be ripped to a Mac and served up over the internet to anyone in your house. But to do this, you need a file server.
This is a perfect role for an old Mac. File servers have very low system requirements, and even old– school Macs usually have more than enough power to serve your files throughout your house. This method is probably better suited to an old desktop Mac like a Mac mini rather than a MacBook – you need your file server to be turned on pretty much 24 hours a day, which will take a toll on battery life. A desktop Mac need not worry about this and will likely have more ports too.
Firstly, you need to install a clean version of macOS using Recovery mode. Then open System Prefs, click Sharing, and give your Mac a useful name (like File Server Mac). Select the checkbox next to File Sharing and add any relevant folders to the Shared Folders section. You can enable sharing with a Windows PC by clicking Options.
SHARING OPTIONS
Select the checkbox next to Media Sharing to allow people to access media in apps like Music or TV. Turn on Home Sharing, and “Share media with guests” if you like. There are other options that you might want to turn on, such as Printer Sharing and Screen Sharing.
That’s it for sharing options, but we’re not quite finished yet. If you are on macOS Catalina or earlier, open System Preferences and click Energy Saver. Here, move the slider under “Computer sleep” all the way to the right, where it says Never. Also, deselect the checkbox next to “Put hard disks to sleep where possible.” On macOS Big Sur, there’s no option to disable computer sleep. Instead, an app like Amphetamine will prevent your Mac from going to sleep, meaning your files are always available.
To connect to your new server, simply open Finder, then click the server in the sidebar and connect.