{"id":181,"date":"2026-08-10T05:09:01","date_gmt":"2026-08-10T05:09:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/192.168.125.8\/?p=181"},"modified":"2026-08-10T05:09:01","modified_gmt":"2026-08-10T05:09:01","slug":"how-to-install-and-setup-truenas-scale-for-beginners","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.claudiasteward.com\/?p=181","title":{"rendered":"How to Install and Setup TrueNAS SCALE for Beginners"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Introduction<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u200bHi y\u2019all, I\u2019ll be documenting my process for setting up my TrueNAS server, its services, my issues, and the solutions along the way. You know the drill\u2014these things don\u2019t make themselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u200bI\u2019ll be using AI to help me structure and write the steps, but the whole thing is\u00a0<strong>proven to work by me<\/strong>. In fact,\u00a0<strong>this website is literally running on the server<\/strong>\u00a0I\u2019m documenting.\u00a0Say hi!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u200bThis is the first guide for my setup. I personally didn\u2019t encounter any issues with the TrueNAS installation. The web interface used to manage the system is&nbsp;<strong>highly descriptive<\/strong>, so many things are&nbsp;<strong>easy to figure out<\/strong>&nbsp;just by reading the menu descriptions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u200bI would say TrueNAS is very close to Proxmox but with&nbsp;<strong>extra security steps<\/strong>, and maybe because it\u2019s SCALE, it\u2019s also&nbsp;<strong>more restrictive<\/strong>. I could have used Proxmox for all this, but at this point, there\u2019s no turning back.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u200bSome Personal Notes<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>\u200bI have the system running on a\u00a0<strong>500GB SSD<\/strong>, which leaves me some room for installing apps on the system itself.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u200bMy\u00a0<strong>Pool and Datasets use capital letters<\/strong>. I know the guide recommends against this since the system is case-sensitive, but I\u2019ve been able to browse and see them without any issues.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u200b<strong>I do not use balenaEtcher<\/strong>\u00a0at all. I haven\u2019t 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).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u200bYou\u00a0<strong>absolutely need an Ethernet connection<\/strong>\u00a0to your switch or router; TrueNAS will not work on a wireless network.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u200bI have 6x1TB HDDs (very thankful for the person who helped me get identical ones). They are\u00a0<strong>running in my motherboard\u2019s RAID mode, but that is totally unnecessary<\/strong>\u00a0since TrueNAS takes care of your disk arrangement (via ZFS), so you don\u2019t have to stress about it or what kind of motherboard you have.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u200bRequirements<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>\u200b<strong>Dedicated Server:<\/strong>\u00a0A computer to become the TrueNAS server.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u200b<strong>OS Drive:<\/strong>\u00a0A separate,\u00a0<strong>small SSD (16GB+ is fine)<\/strong>\u00a0is highly recommended for the TrueNAS operating system.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u200b<strong>Data Drives:<\/strong>\u00a0At least\u00a0<strong>two matching drives<\/strong>\u00a0(HDDs or SSDs) for your first storage pool.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u200b<strong>Installer USB:<\/strong>\u00a0A blank USB drive (8GB or larger).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u200b<strong>Network:<\/strong>\u00a0An\u00a0<strong>Ethernet cable<\/strong>\u00a0to connect your server directly to your router.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u200b<strong>Setup Tools:<\/strong>\u00a0A separate computer (like your laptop) to create the installer, plus a\u00a0<strong>monitor and keyboard<\/strong>\u00a0for the server (for installation only).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u200bCreate the Bootable TrueNAS Installer<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>\u200bOn your main computer, go to the TrueNAS website and download the latest\u00a0<strong>TrueNAS SCALE .iso file<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u200bDownload and install a flashing tool like\u00a0<strong>balenaEtcher or Rufus<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u200bOpen the tool,\u00a0<strong>select the TrueNAS SCALE .iso file<\/strong>\u00a0you downloaded, and\u00a0<strong>select your blank USB drive<\/strong>\u00a0as the target.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u200bClick\u00a0<strong>\u201cFlash\u201d or \u201cStart\u201d<\/strong>\u00a0to create the installer.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u200bInstall the TrueNAS Operating System<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>\u200bPlug the\u00a0<strong>installer USB, a monitor, and a keyboard<\/strong>\u00a0into your server machine.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u200bTurn on the server and immediately press the key to\u00a0<strong>enter your BIOS<\/strong>\u00a0(common keys are\u00a0<strong>DELETE, F2, F10, or F12<\/strong>).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u200bIn the BIOS, find the\u00a0<strong>Boot Order<\/strong>\u00a0settings. Change the order to\u00a0<strong>make your USB drive the first boot device<\/strong>. You may also need to\u00a0<strong>disable Secure Boot<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u200b<strong>Save your changes and exit<\/strong>\u00a0the BIOS. The server will restart and boot from the USB drive.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u200bThe TrueNAS installer menu will appear.\u00a0<strong>Select\u00a0<\/strong><strong>1. Install\/Upgrade<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u200bA list of all drives in your server will appear. Use the arrow keys and spacebar to\u00a0<strong>select your OS Drive<\/strong>\u00a0(your small SSD).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u200b<strong>CRITICAL:<\/strong>\u00a0Be\u00a0<strong>100% sure you are selecting your intended operating system drive<\/strong>, not one of your large data drives. This process will erase the drive.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u200bSelect\u00a0<strong>Yes<\/strong>\u00a0to proceed.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u200bYou will be asked to\u00a0<strong>create a password for the\u00a0<\/strong><strong>root<\/strong><strong>\u00a0user<\/strong>. This is your master administrator password. Type it in, confirm it, and\u00a0<strong>do not lose it<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u200bThe installation will begin. Once complete, you will be returned to the main menu.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u200b<strong>Select\u00a0<\/strong><strong>5. Reboot System<\/strong>. As the server reboots,\u00a0<strong>remove the installer USB drive<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u200bFind and Access Your Server<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">1. The server will boot into TrueNAS. After a few minutes, the console screen will show a list of services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">2. Look for the line that says:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Web UI is at: http:\/\/192.168.1.XX (your IP will be different).<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">3.&nbsp;<strong>Write down this IP address<\/strong>. You can now&nbsp;<strong>unplug the monitor and keyboard<\/strong>&nbsp;from the server.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">4. Go to your main computer (laptop, etc.) that is on the same Wi-Fi or wired network.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">5. The TrueNAS login screen will appear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Open a web browser (like Firefox or Chrome) and&nbsp;<strong>type that IP address<\/strong>&nbsp;into the address bar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">6.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Log In (Authentication)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>\u200bFor the Username, enter\u00a0<strong>root<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u200bFor the Password, enter\u00a0<strong>the master password<\/strong>\u00a0you created during installation.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u200bClick\u00a0<strong>Sign In<\/strong>. You will land on the main TrueNAS Dashboard.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u200bUnderstand ZFS Storage (The \u201cWhy\u201d)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u200bBefore we click, it\u2019s important to know how TrueNAS stores data.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>\u200b<strong>ZFS:<\/strong>\u00a0This is the advanced filesystem TrueNAS uses. Its main job is to\u00a0<strong>protect your data from errors<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u200b<strong>vdev (Virtual Device):<\/strong>\u00a0This is a\u00a0<strong>group of one or more physical drives<\/strong>. You tell TrueNAS how to group your drives (e.g., in a mirror), and this group becomes a \u201cvdev\u201d.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u200b<strong>Pool:<\/strong>\u00a0A pool is a\u00a0<strong>collection of one or more vdevs<\/strong>. This is the final \u201cstorage tank\u201d that you will use.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u200bOur goal is to&nbsp;<strong>create one \u201cvdev\u201d with our data drives and add it to a new \u201cpool\u201d<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u200bCreate Your First Storage Pool<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>\u200bIn the TrueNAS Dashboard, click on\u00a0<strong>Storage<\/strong>\u00a0in the left-hand menu.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u200bClick the\u00a0<strong>Create Pool<\/strong>\u00a0button.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u200b<strong>Name:<\/strong>\u00a0Give your pool a simple,\u00a0<strong>all-lowercase name<\/strong>, like mainpool.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u200b<strong>Disks:<\/strong>\u00a0In the \u201cAvailable Disks\u201d list,\u00a0<strong>check the boxes for the data drives<\/strong>\u00a0you want to add to this pool (e.g., your two large HDDs).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u200bClick the blue right-arrow button to move them into the\u00a0<strong>Data Vdevs<\/strong>\u00a0box.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u200b<strong>Layout:<\/strong>\u00a0TrueNAS will automatically suggest a layout.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>\u200b<strong>If you used 2 drives:<\/strong>\u00a0It will select\u00a0<strong>Mirror<\/strong>. This is perfect. It means if one drive fails, your data is safe on the other. You get the capacity of one drive.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u200b<strong>If you used 3+ drives:<\/strong>\u00a0It will suggest\u00a0<strong>RAID-Z1<\/strong>. This is also good. It means one drive can fail, and your data is still safe.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u200bClick\u00a0<strong>Create<\/strong>. A final warning will appear, confirming that all data on these drives will be erased.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u200bClick\u00a0<strong>Confirm<\/strong>\u00a0and then\u00a0<strong>Create Pool<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u200bCreate Your \u201cApps\u201d Dataset<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u200bYour pool is now ready, but we need to create a&nbsp;<strong>special, dedicated place to store all of our application\u2019s configuration data<\/strong>&nbsp;(like your Nginx and WordPress settings).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>\u200bGo to the\u00a0<strong>Datasets<\/strong>\u00a0section in the left-hand menu.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u200bYou will see your new mainpool at the top. Click the\u00a0<strong>three-dot menu (\u22ee)<\/strong>\u00a0next to it and select\u00a0<strong>Add Dataset<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u200bA configuration screen will appear. You only need to change one thing:\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>\u200b<strong>Name:<\/strong>\u00a0apps<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u200bClick\u00a0<strong>Save<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u200bYou are now 100% ready. You have a new, secure storage pool (mainpool) and a specific dataset inside it (<strong>mainpool\/apps<\/strong>) where you will tell all your future applications to store their data.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u200bCommon Issues &amp; Troubleshooting<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>\u200b<strong>Problem:<\/strong>\u00a0The installer USB won\u2019t boot.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>\u200b<strong>Solution:<\/strong>\u00a0Your BIOS is likely in \u201cSecure Boot\u201d mode. Re-enter the BIOS and\u00a0<strong>disable Secure Boot<\/strong>. Then, ensure the USB drive is at the top of the boot order.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u200b<strong>Problem:<\/strong>\u00a0My drives don\u2019t show up in the installer or on the \u201cCreate Pool\u201d screen.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>\u200b<strong>Solution:<\/strong>\u00a0<strong>Check your physical SATA and power cables<\/strong>. If you are using a server-grade (HBA) card, it may be in the wrong mode (like \u201cRAID\u201d). It needs to be in\u00a0<strong>\u201cIT\u201d or \u201cpassthrough\u201d mode<\/strong>\u00a0for TrueNAS to see the drives.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u200b<strong>Problem:<\/strong>\u00a0I can\u2019t connect to the IP address in my browser.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>\u200b<strong>Solution:<\/strong>\u00a0Check that your computer is on the\u00a0<strong>same network<\/strong>. Ensure the\u00a0<strong>Ethernet cable is securely plugged<\/strong>\u00a0into both the server and the router.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u200b<strong>Problem:<\/strong>\u00a0My root password isn\u2019t working.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>\u200b<strong>Solution:<\/strong>\u00a0Your\u00a0<strong>keyboard layout might have been different<\/strong>\u00a0during installation. If you can\u2019t get in, you will have to\u00a0<strong>reinstall<\/strong>\u00a0and set the password again.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u200b<strong>Problem:<\/strong>\u00a0I get a \u201cDisk is incorrectly formatted with Data Integrity Feature (DIF)\u201d error when creating a pool.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>\u200b<strong>Solution:<\/strong>\u00a0This 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:\u00a0<strong>wipefs -a \/dev\/sda<\/strong>. This is a destructive command; be 100% sure you have the right disk.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u200b<strong>Problem:<\/strong>\u00a0I named my pool with capital letters (e.g., MainPool) and now my apps or shares are having problems.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>\u200b<strong>Solution:<\/strong>\u00a0<strong>ZFS is case-sensitive<\/strong>\u00a0and it\u2019s a strong convention to use all-lowercase names. You will need to\u00a0<strong>destroy the pool and recreate it<\/strong>\u00a0with a name like mainpool. Do this before you put any data on it<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Introduction \u200bHi y\u2019all, I\u2019ll be documenting my process for setting up my TrueNAS server, its services, my issues, and the solutions along the way. You know the drill\u2014these things don\u2019t make themselves. \u200bI\u2019ll be using AI to help me structure and write the steps, but the whole thing is\u00a0proven to work by me. In fact,\u00a0this [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ai_generated_summary":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-181","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-tutorials"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.claudiasteward.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/181","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.claudiasteward.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.claudiasteward.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.claudiasteward.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.claudiasteward.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=181"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.claudiasteward.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/181\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":182,"href":"https:\/\/www.claudiasteward.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/181\/revisions\/182"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.claudiasteward.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=181"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.claudiasteward.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=181"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.claudiasteward.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=181"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}