For HDDs the best way is to think of them like shoes or tires. They will eventually fail, but they also may fail prematurely. I always recommend having a spare drive ready.

You don’t want hardware raid. Some options you can research:

• Mdadm - Linux software raid
• ZFS - Combo raid and filesystem
• Btrfs - A filesystem that can also do raid things

Some OS options to consider:

• Debian - good if you want to learn to do everything yourself
• Truenas Scale - Comercial NAS OS. I bit of work to get started, but very stable once going.
• Unraid - Enthusiast focused NAS OS. Not as stable as Truenas, but easier to get started and a lot of community support.

There are probably other software/OS’s to consider, but those are the ones I have any experience with. I personally use ZFS on Truenas with a lot of help from this YouTube channel. https://youtube.com/@lawrencesystems?si=O1Z4BuEjogjdsslF

There are mod packs that add a lot of content and progression. As much as I like Minecraft, vanilla gets boring fast. Check out curseforge if you want to check it out.

If you want to get things working then never “tinker” with things, maybe it’s not worth it. But if you want to learn and be able to try new things it is really helpful. Having a new VM not breaking existing VMs reduces risk when trying something new.

I think GPU passthrough has improved since you have used it. Some command line prep work is still necessary, but the passthrough config is done in the GUI.

Syncthing is a better fit for your use case. As much as I appreciate having my Nextcloud setup, it can also be a pain in the ass some times.

I would also make sure you have a Proxmox install USB ready to go just in case.

Hell even if all they did was commit to supporting Proton that would go a long way.

The part you are missing is that they are making content that aligns with the majority of their audience. Most people will put in a similar level of effort. Most people don’t care, they just want it to work with the least effort possible.

I can’t give you specifics but generally what is likely necessary:

1. Backup anything important. You will be doing things that risk loosing data.
2. Make a bootable USB with a live Linux.
3. Look up instructions on resizing partitions.
4. Boot into the live Linux from the USB
5. Resize your existing Proxmox partition

I am running Plex with an Intel A40 in Ubuntu server. Worked well for me as Ubuntu had the drivers baked in before they made there way into a Debian release.

In general checkout LearnLinuxTV on YouTube. Lots of good guides.

Dude, your waist effort. They are a troll with the goal of stirring up shit. Talking to them accomplishes nothing of value.

I have found a couple things help me pretty reliably. Listen to something calming and repetitive like white noise or rain sounds. Then have a mundane thing to think about and focus on. I will visualize starting with a cube of wood and slowly cutting the edges and corners of to make a sphere. Or imagine I am cleaning a flow with methodic sweeping and mopping.

Good call. How are you? Have you had enough water today?

Are you certain? They could be making clothing with divisive messages.

/Jk

Other people have suggested good info to gain nuisanced knowledge. I recommend starting with a simple fact. With enough time and/or the right conditions all storage will fail. Design your setup with redundancy. I personally had to replace 2x 12tb drives this year. I have raidz3 (3 parity drives) and a hot spare. So I just bought cheap replacements from a reputable seller on eBay and consider it part of the cost of self hosting.

Just put them in a separate library and only share it with people that ask for it.

My guess is the motherboard manufacturers could get away with this in the past without any issues. But Intel is pushing chips so close to redline out of the box that now it causes problems.

A lot of the people who are drawn to Linux want to be able to tinker with things. For your use case you would probably be perfectly happy with installing Ubuntu, getting the apps you need, then not messing with it.