How to Install and Setup TrueNAS SCALE for Beginners

Introduction

Hi y’all, I’ll be documenting my process for setting up my TrueNAS server, its services, my issues, and the solutions along the way. You know the drill—these things don’t make themselves.

I’ll be using AI to help me structure and write the steps, but the whole thing is proven to work by me. In fact, this website is literally running on the server I’m documenting. Say hi!

This is the first guide for my setup. I personally didn’t encounter any issues with the TrueNAS installation. The web interface used to manage the system is highly descriptive, so many things are easy to figure out just by reading the menu descriptions.

I would say TrueNAS is very close to Proxmox but with extra security steps, and maybe because it’s SCALE, it’s also more restrictive. I could have used Proxmox for all this, but at this point, there’s no turning back.

Some Personal Notes

I have the system running on a 500GB SSD, which leaves me some room for installing apps on the system itself.
My Pool and Datasets use capital letters. I know the guide recommends against this since the system is case-sensitive, but I’ve been able to browse and see them without any issues.
I do not use balenaEtcher at all. I haven’t had a single installer created with it work for me. I use Rufus, Ventoy, and the Chrome OS Recovery Tool (in the case of Chrome OS Flex).
You absolutely need an Ethernet connection to your switch or router; TrueNAS will not work on a wireless network.
I have 6x1TB HDDs (very thankful for the person who helped me get identical ones). They are running in my motherboard’s RAID mode, but that is totally unnecessary since TrueNAS takes care of your disk arrangement (via ZFS), so you don’t have to stress about it or what kind of motherboard you have.

Requirements

Dedicated Server: A computer to become the TrueNAS server.
OS Drive: A separate, small SSD (16GB+ is fine) is highly recommended for the TrueNAS operating system.
Data Drives: At least two matching drives (HDDs or SSDs) for your first storage pool.
Installer USB: A blank USB drive (8GB or larger).
Network: An Ethernet cable to connect your server directly to your router.
Setup Tools: A separate computer (like your laptop) to create the installer, plus a monitor and keyboard for the server (for installation only).

Create the Bootable TrueNAS Installer

On your main computer, go to the TrueNAS website and download the latest TrueNAS SCALE .iso file.
Download and install a flashing tool like balenaEtcher or Rufus.
Open the tool, select the TrueNAS SCALE .iso file you downloaded, and select your blank USB drive as the target.
Click “Flash” or “Start” to create the installer.

Install the TrueNAS Operating System

Plug the installer USB, a monitor, and a keyboard into your server machine.
Turn on the server and immediately press the key to enter your BIOS (common keys are DELETE, F2, F10, or F12).
In the BIOS, find the Boot Order settings. Change the order to make your USB drive the first boot device. You may also need to disable Secure Boot.
Save your changes and exit the BIOS. The server will restart and boot from the USB drive.
The TrueNAS installer menu will appear. Select 1. Install/Upgrade.
A list of all drives in your server will appear. Use the arrow keys and spacebar to select your OS Drive (your small SSD).
CRITICAL: Be 100% sure you are selecting your intended operating system drive, not one of your large data drives. This process will erase the drive.
Select Yes to proceed.
You will be asked to create a password for the root user. This is your master administrator password. Type it in, confirm it, and do not lose it.
The installation will begin. Once complete, you will be returned to the main menu.
Select 5. Reboot System. As the server reboots, remove the installer USB drive.

Find and Access Your Server

1. The server will boot into TrueNAS. After a few minutes, the console screen will show a list of services.

2. Look for the line that says:

The Web UI is at: http://192.168.1.XX (your IP will be different).

3. Write down this IP address. You can now unplug the monitor and keyboard from the server.

4. Go to your main computer (laptop, etc.) that is on the same Wi-Fi or wired network.

5. The TrueNAS login screen will appear.

Open a web browser (like Firefox or Chrome) and type that IP address into the address bar.

Log In (Authentication)

For the Username, enter root.
For the Password, enter the master password you created during installation.
Click Sign In. You will land on the main TrueNAS Dashboard.

Understand ZFS Storage (The “Why”)

Before we click, it’s important to know how TrueNAS stores data.

ZFS: This is the advanced filesystem TrueNAS uses. Its main job is to protect your data from errors.
vdev (Virtual Device): This is a group of one or more physical drives. You tell TrueNAS how to group your drives (e.g., in a mirror), and this group becomes a “vdev”.
Pool: A pool is a collection of one or more vdevs. This is the final “storage tank” that you will use.

Our goal is to create one “vdev” with our data drives and add it to a new “pool”.

Create Your First Storage Pool

In the TrueNAS Dashboard, click on Storage in the left-hand menu.
Click the Create Pool button.
Name: Give your pool a simple, all-lowercase name, like mainpool.
Disks: In the “Available Disks” list, check the boxes for the data drives you want to add to this pool (e.g., your two large HDDs).
Click the blue right-arrow button to move them into the Data Vdevs box.
Layout: TrueNAS will automatically suggest a layout.
- If you used 2 drives: It will select Mirror. This is perfect. It means if one drive fails, your data is safe on the other. You get the capacity of one drive.
- If you used 3+ drives: It will suggest RAID-Z1. This is also good. It means one drive can fail, and your data is still safe.
Click Create. A final warning will appear, confirming that all data on these drives will be erased.
Click Confirm and then Create Pool.

Create Your “Apps” Dataset

Your pool is now ready, but we need to create a special, dedicated place to store all of our application’s configuration data (like your Nginx and WordPress settings).

Go to the Datasets section in the left-hand menu.
You will see your new mainpool at the top. Click the three-dot menu (⋮) next to it and select Add Dataset.
A configuration screen will appear. You only need to change one thing:
- Name: apps
Click Save.

You are now 100% ready. You have a new, secure storage pool (mainpool) and a specific dataset inside it (mainpool/apps) where you will tell all your future applications to store their data.

Common Issues & Troubleshooting

Problem: The installer USB won’t boot.
- Solution: Your BIOS is likely in “Secure Boot” mode. Re-enter the BIOS and disable Secure Boot. Then, ensure the USB drive is at the top of the boot order.
Problem: My drives don’t show up in the installer or on the “Create Pool” screen.
- Solution: Check your physical SATA and power cables. If you are using a server-grade (HBA) card, it may be in the wrong mode (like “RAID”). It needs to be in “IT” or “passthrough” mode for TrueNAS to see the drives.
Problem: I can’t connect to the IP address in my browser.
- Solution: Check that your computer is on the same network. Ensure the Ethernet cable is securely plugged into both the server and the router.
Problem: My root password isn’t working.
- Solution: Your keyboard layout might have been different during installation. If you can’t get in, you will have to reinstall and set the password again.
Problem: I get a “Disk is incorrectly formatted with Data Integrity Feature (DIF)” error when creating a pool.
- Solution: This can happen with used enterprise drives. You will need to use the TrueNAS Shell to find the disk name (e.g., sda) and manually wipe it: wipefs -a /dev/sda. This is a destructive command; be 100% sure you have the right disk.
Problem: I named my pool with capital letters (e.g., MainPool) and now my apps or shares are having problems.
- Solution: ZFS is case-sensitive and it’s a strong convention to use all-lowercase names. You will need to destroy the pool and recreate it with a name like mainpool. Do this before you put any data on it

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