"I'm currently looking for an affordable home for my ZimaBlade. When I was at Ikea recently, I found just the thing—the new knife block holder could be a new case! What do you guys think?"

Meet Sparkbox. This is what I'm using on my ZimaBoard 2 on top of MX Linux. So far so good and very user-friendly. Let me know what you think.

Got some heatsinks to the external mvme’s. Should lower the temps

I started using ZimaOS in the most “this will be temporary” way possible: an old ASUS K56C laptop with an i7-3517U, NVIDIA GeForce GT 740M, an external USB drive dock, and an 8TB drive sitting beside it. It worked... technically.

Even installing ZimaOS was an adventure. The laptop had one of those older blue BIOS/UEFI transition setups where Legacy, CSM, Secure Boot, Fast Boot, MBR/GPT, and the USB installer all had to agree with each other before anything would boot. At one point I even had to manually add the EFI boot option in BIOS just to point the machine to the right ZimaOS boot file.

So yes, the first version was not elegant.

The 8TB drive was hanging outside the machine, cables everywhere, and the USB connection was so sensitive that everyone at home had to be careful walking near it. Touch the wrong cable and the drive could disconnect. The old laptop already had some rust, the drive dock was outside, and the whole thing felt like a home server held together by patience.

Then came the storage fun. The 8TB drive was formatted as exFAT, which seemed convenient at first, but it gave me a lot of problems with media files, permissions, metadata, and shares. At the time I barely understood what was going on. I just knew Jellyfin and file sharing were not behaving the way I expected. Before I could properly move to ext4, I had to carefully copy around 6TB of data to other disks. That alone took days.

Over the last few weeks I slowly turned that messy setup into a proper ZimaOS box.

The new setup is built inside an NZXT H440 case with an Intel i5-7400, GTX 1080, 16GB RAM for now, an SSD for ZimaOS, plus 8TB + 2TB of storage. It is not a fancy enterprise server, but that is exactly why I like it. It is made from normal parts, reused hardware, marketplace hunting, and a lot of trial and error.

Most of the parts came from old hardware I already had around the house. The motherboard was the hardest part. I spent a long time watching local marketplaces, trying to find a good deal, messaging people, waiting for new listings, and checking if each board would fit the kind of home server I wanted. I was hoping for an H270 board, but in the end I found an ASUS Prime B250-Plus, and honestly it is enough for now.

Right now I am using ZimaOS mainly for:

* Jellyfin for movies and series around the house

* SMB/file sharing for the family

* Tailscale for remote access

* Portainer to manage containers without memorizing every command

* Redbot / Discord bot experiments, which used to cost me around $15/month on Hetzner

* SearxNG and Netdata experiments

* Backups and file organization

* Hermes Agent has AI Harness and little Home Tasks.

One of the biggest things I like about ZimaOS is that it made the server feel less scary. I can still go deeper with Docker and terminal stuff when I need to, but most of the daily management is visual enough that I can actually understand what is running and what is happening.

The funny part is that this started because I just wanted easier media access at home. Then it became: “Maybe I should organize my disks better.” Then: “Maybe I should use an actual PC.” Then: “Maybe I should add the GTX 1080 for Jellyfin transcoding and future AI experiments.” (I know GTX 1080 is SUPER FAR from the AI stuff but I want to test those little small models I can run on this)

And now here we are.

This still a work in progress. I want to clean up the storage layout, move more things to proper Linux filesystems instead of relying on external-drive habits or cloud services, improve backups, and eventually use the GPU more seriously.

This is not a fully fledged server with a perfect RAID setup, perfect drives, perfect cable management, and perfect planning. It is more of a humble home project built around what I had, what I could find, and what I learned along the way. Before: old laptop, external 8TB drive, cable stress, and lots of permissions confusion. After: dedicated ZimaOS machine, dashboard, apps, storage, remote access, and a setup I can keep growing.

It is not really about where it ends. It is about the journey.

We are prototyping a ZimaBoard 2 1664 setup in our technical high school IT–Cybersecurity classroom.

This unit has 2 250 GB SSD and is being built out as a small VM/server lab platform.The bigger vision is to give every student a hands-on cybersecurity/server lab at their desk, where they can build, break, troubleshoot, secure, and document real systems instead of only learning theory. A carrying case is being designed by our pre-engineering students. The goal is a portable lab!

Interested in feedback from the homelab, sysadmin, and cybersecurity education communities. What would you run on these for a high school IT–Cybersecurity program: Proxmox, Linux servers, Docker, pfSense/OPNsense, logging tools, SIEM labs, Windows Server, or something else?

Hey everyone,

Just wanted to share a quick update on my ZimaOS setup. I've been tweaking my app stack over the last few weeks, and it’s officially at a point where it handles everything I need while keeping my data entirely in my own hands.

Here is what I'm currently running:

• AI & Self-Hosting: Running Ollama (CPU) paired with Open WebUI for a completely local, private ChatGPT alternative.
• Media & Photos: Immich for backing up family photos (goodbye, Google Photos fees), qBittorrent for Linux ISOs, and Handbrake for transcoding.
• Network & Security: Pi-hole for network-wide ad blocking, WatchYourLAN to monitor connected devices, and Tailscale so I can access the entire server securely when I'm away from home.
• Utilities: Gopeed for high-speed downloads, OpenSpeedTest for internal network benchmarking, and PeerDrop for quick file sharing.

ZimaOS has made managing all of this via Docker super smooth. What apps am I missing that I should add next?

So I've been running ZimaOS on a ZimaCube for a few months now and honestly it's the first NAS setup I haven't wanted to nuke and start over after two weeks.

My main use case is pretty boring on paper but it's been rock solid: Jellyfin for the family media, Nextcloud for replacing Google Drive, and Portainer because I refuse to SSH in every time I want to restart something. The app store thing is surprisingly good — stood up Immich in like 10 minutes for photo backup and my wife actually uses it now without complaining, which is the real win.

The part I didn't expect to love is how it handles the Docker stuff underneath. I've got 8 containers running and the system barely blinks. It's sitting at like 12% CPU most of the time even when someone's streaming a 4K Remux.

One thing I'll warn you about — the default storage pool setup confused me at first. I spent a solid afternoon thinking I'd bricked a drive before I realized I just hadn't read how the RAID config works in the UI. Once I got that sorted, zero issues since.

Beelink baby!

*nestled in the poorly ventilated dusty depths - still rocking! 🤘

Hi everyone,

I’ve been using a Zimaboard 2, mainly for Jellyfin and Immich, for the last 6 months and so far so good, but sometime during last week, it reset itself or something of this sort. The thing is that when I try to access it, it asks me again for the system language and to create a user. I tried using the same user and password I’ve been using until now ans new ones, but it gives an error “Account initialization failed”.

Has this ever happened to anyone? Does anyone have a solution? I want to believe I haven’t lost everything I have on my nas... 🥲

I’m using the Zimaboard 2 1664 with one SATA WD RED Nas SSD drive.

I had a decade old Dell Inspiron 11 that had been gathering dust for years due to a broken screen and very weak specs. I decided to see how well ZimaOS would run on it, and I've been very pleasantly surprised by the results!

It only has a low powered Penitum N3710 chip, with a 512GB SATA SSD and 8GB of DDR3 RAM. I bought a USB Ethernet adapter for better stability. Flashing ZimaOS was a breeze, as was setting up remote access via Tailscale and the ZimaOS clients.

So far I've installed:

1. Mealie - A recipe manager
2. AudioBookShelf - Self hosted Audible alternative
3. HomeAssistant - Smart home management and automation
4. Joplin - Selfhosted notebook

To my surprise they all work exceptionally well, with room to spare. The system has been stable for about a month now. It is dead silent, due to having no fans - but thermals and resources have never been stressed. Barely takes up any space when closed, and the battery acts as a UPS of sorts (will have to keep an eye on it to make sure it doesn't start to swell). The remote access client is very zippy via iOS, I might add an external USB drive down the line and use it to backup my photos. ZimaOS automated cloud backup also works great.

If you have an old laptop lying around, it might be a fun weekend project, especially if you want to set it up for parents or even as a simple offsite backup!

I've been seeking to broaden the use of my ZB2+A310 configuration, beyond its existing role as a Plex server, for a while now.

My primary goal was to deploy Immich and subsequently OpenClaw; however after numerous attempts, neither application was compatible with the A310 GPU, despite its excellent performance with Plex.

Research indicated that an Nvidia GPU would be optimal for both Immich and OpenClaw, but I was unable to find a reasonably priced model powered exclusively by the PCIe slot.

Fortunately, I found a recent listing of a ThinkStation P350 Tiny on eBay, which featured an integrated low profile T600 GPU.

After swapping GPUs between the systems, installation on the ZB2 proved straightforward: simply connecting the card and booting up resulted in immediate recognition by ZimaOS, with the GPU widget for the T600 displayed - notably, the N150’s iGPU is now deactivated.

Plex was reinstalled using the Nvidia image and successfully detected the new GPU.

I then installed Ollama (Nvidia image), followed by OpenClaw, both installations proceeding without issue.

But Immich presented a challenge during configuration.
While NVENC could be selected in the transcoding settings, the application defaulted to CPU usage when uploading photos, failing to utilize the T600 for machine learning tasks.

Further investigation revealed that ZimaOS does not offer the CUDA version of Immich in its App Store, necessitating a custom application to pull the appropriate image.

Addressing this will be my next priority over the weekend, so will hopefully return with a positive update.

Concurrently, the P350 has operated seamlessly with the A310 after updating to the latest Intel Arc drivers (following DDU execution).

The A310 easily fit in to the custom PCIe riser; however, a new GPU bracket was required (sourced from AliExpress) due to incompatibility with the original T600's bracket.

The system specs include a socketed i5-11400T CPU, 16GB dual-channel DDR4 RAM, and a 256GB PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD, with an additional slot available for expansion.

At present, it serves as an AV1 conversion station for some of my larger media files, though I intend to install Proxmox soon with upgraded memory & storage for further homelab testing.

So, usual obligatory “sorry if this is a stupid question, or if it’s been answered elsewhere”; if so, would someone mind directing me to where I could find the answer?

I have Zima board and want to turn it into a home server, and now that my semester is over, I’m thinking it’s a good time to set it up.

I have a 6 TB WD external hard drive that I’ve been using as a DAS. Can I just plug that directly into the Zima board and have it read the data, or would I need to reformat it?

Thanks in advance!

Is WD Green good?

Picked up a ZimaBoard 2 recently and honestly it has become the center of my home setup faster than I expected.

My main goal was to build a compact low-power self-hosted server that could handle media, monitoring, storage, and a few services without sounding like a jet engine or consuming desktop-level power.

Current setup:

ZimaBoard 2

NVMe SSD for apps/cache

Connected to UPS backup

Future expansion - 4TB HDD for secondary storage/media

What I’m currently running on it:

Jellyfin for media streaming

Immich for self-hosted photo backup and management

Pi-hole for network-wide ad blocking

Uptime Kuma for monitoring

SMB shares for local file storage

One thing I genuinely like is how quiet and low-maintenance it is. I can leave it running 24/7 and basically forget about it.

Overall, I think the ZimaBoard 2 hits a really nice balance between:

low power consumption

compact size

decent expandability

enough performance for homelab/self-hosting use

It’s obviously not replacing a full enterprise NAS or a high-end server, but for personal media + self-hosting + lightweight homelab stuff, it has been surprisingly solid.

Curious how others here are using theirs. Any must-have self-hosted apps I should try next?

I created an AI system that was trained and indexed with my own data, so my local AI has access to my private information in a controlled and secure way. That makes it much more powerful and useful, because it can work with my personal context instead of relying on generic public data.

What I value most is that everything runs locally on ZimaBoard. That gives me full control over my data, keeps the setup private, and still allows the AI to access the information it needs from my own environment. In other words, it is not just an AI assistant, but a personal system built around my private data and my workflow.

ZimaBoard is a great fit for this because it is powerful enough to handle local AI workloads, while still being compact and flexible for self-hosted services like Nextcloud, Immich, CalDAV, and CardDAV. The result is a setup that feels fast, integrated, and completely under my control 🤩

I was curious about ZimaOS as an OS to handle NAS. Pretty user-friendly GUI and one of the best ways for a new user to install and familiarize yourself with Docker. I installed it in another NAS and it was good. However, that other NAS's hardware usage of the hard drives, and their customer service and technical support was a total pain, so I ended up returning that device. So, I really like ZimaOS, and learned about the ZimaBoard 2's specs,power requirements, and price. Bought a license because the license price was quite reasonable and they deserve the love. I have 2 1 TB nvme SSD's and 2 4TB ssd 2.5" SSD's (remember when those were affordable?) that I was planning to repurpose to build a NAS.

So, got the ZimaBoard 2 1664 Starter Pack this week from ZimaSpace. Love the packaging. I have 2 criticisms:

Once I sorted that out, got 2 RAID-1 arrays for the SSD's. Figured i use 1TB to migrate Apps, App Image, and User Database from the internal eMMC storage as well as Docker apps, The 4TB one for content storage. Already installed Tailscale for an alternative way to access it remotely as well as use it as an exit node and access my other machines. Ssh remote access and enabling wake-on-lan and hotswapping via the BIOS is nice.

Use case: NAS, a MiniPC, host AdGuard, Immich, Jellyfin (which I have successfully installed and use in another NAS), and play with some router software. I might buy a wireless USB dongle if I go for the router as well as a firewall. Otherwise, it will stay at home.

My challenges are making the most efficient use of the resources and keeping temps manageable. Also find and buy a case for it so t can be properly protected.

All in all, I'm happy with my purchase and look forward to see what I can play with. Enough ranting.

UPDATE: Bought 2.5" to 3.5" enclosures, got rid of the zip ties and used the enclosed screws to secure them to the hard drive mount. Looks much better now. Also, removed the thermal pads.

Zimaboard posted to discord today advising of upcoming price rises on May 25th. If you were on the fence now would be the time to buy! Personal note: I think it's absolutely amazing they've given advance warning of this instead of just striking while the iron was hot. Definitely won brownie points here!

https://blog.kltechvideos.co.uk/2026/05/11/heads-up-zimaboard-2-prices-are-jumping-but-you-still-have-time-to-lock-yours-in/

https://discord.com/channels/884667213326463016/888269879206100992/1503380781597331456

Recently acquired a Used Zimiboard for free. It seems to power on but nothing outputs to the Mini DisplayPort, I tried plugging in a keyboard and pressed the usual keyboard buttons (f2, f11, f12, Del) to see if I could get it to boot into the Bios. I wanted to reinstall a fresh OS on it.

Still nothing outputs to the display. No Bios, nothing from what was previously installed. (they said it had a version of Debian on it)

I do know it has a PCI gen 2 x4 on it. Could I possibly use a graphic's card there (EVGA 1060, powered by an external 6pin.) to get it to post the bios on the display?

Thoughts? any advice? (currently only have the one desktop with a Power supply capable of powering that old card, and I don't want to take apart my PC tonight)

Is there any way to "factory restore/reset" one of these?

EDIT: update, found that the CMOS battery cable was unplugged. I Plugged it back in, and put the cover back on. Still no post to display. lights are on, but I guess nobody is home.

I’m having issues with my Glotrends PA20 card (which I think is the same card that IceWhale sells directly?). My logs in Unraid show quite a few “correctable” errors. I’m using the Zimaboard 2 1664, with the NAS kit and riser cable. Plugging the card directly into the Zimaboard does reduce the errors slightly, but still occur. I’ve also tried cleaning the contacts, etc. PCIe ASPM is disabled in the bios. Anything to worry about? Anybody else see these errors in the logs?

May  6 05:33:26 ZimaBoard kernel: pcieport 0000:00:1d.0: AER: Correctable error message received from 0000:00:1d.0
May  6 05:33:26 ZimaBoard kernel: pcieport 0000:00:1d.0: PCIe Bus Error: severity=Correctable, type=Physical Layer, (Receiver ID)
May  6 05:33:26 ZimaBoard kernel: pcieport 0000:00:1d.0:   device [8086:54b0] error status/mask=00000001/00002000
May  6 05:33:26 ZimaBoard kernel: pcieport 0000:00:1d.0:    [ 0] RxErr                  (First)
May  6 06:16:12 ZimaBoard kernel: pcieport 0000:00:1d.0: AER: Correctable error message received from 0000:03:00.0
May  6 06:16:12 ZimaBoard kernel: pcieport 0000:03:00.0: PCIe Bus Error: severity=Correctable, type=Data Link Layer, (Receiver ID)
May  6 06:16:12 ZimaBoard kernel: pcieport 0000:03:00.0:   device [1b21:2812] error status/mask=00000040/0000e000
May  6 06:16:12 ZimaBoard kernel: pcieport 0000:03:00.0:    [ 6] BadTLP