Unlock the Power of Jellyfin Turing Your Old PC into a Jellyfin Media Server

1) What you’ll need (quick preflight)

• Old laptop with Windows 10 or Windows 11 (64-bit), wired or Wi-Fi.
• Media folders ready (e.g., D:\Media\Movies, D:\Media\TV, etc.).
• (Optional) A GPU/IGPU if you want hardware-accelerated transcoding.
• Local admin rights on the machine.

Tip: Keep the laptop from sleeping while plugged in (so the server stays up).

2) Download Jellyfin for Windows

1. Go to the official Jellyfin Windows download page and grab the Windows installer (.exe).

3) Run the installer (tray app recommended)

1. Double-click the installer and walk through the prompts.
2. Install mode: leave default (tray app). The Windows docs note that installing as a service is not recommended for typical setups; only use it if you truly need it to run before login.
3. When Windows asks about Firewall access, allow Jellyfin on Private networks. Double click the Jellyfin desktop Icon after Install.

• Once the Installer is finished, Double-click the Jellyfin Server Icon

• Click Allow. This will create a firewall exception so that you can access your Jellyfin server on the network.

4.) First launch & setup wizard

• To Find Your Jellyfin Server Address free on Windows. OPEN COMMAND PROMPT!

• Copy your Local IP address. Note: Yours will be something like 192.168.x.x
• Open Your Internet Browser
• Type http://your_local_IP:8096 using your IP address from above.

• Create a Username and Password. This is your Admin Account for the Jellyfin Server.

• Now we are going to add media to the Jellyfin server. Click Add media and choose the location of your media. For this tutorial I just used the Videos Folder on Windows.

• Now it is important to select the correct content type. With that in mind you should keep Movies in a separate folder from your TV Shows. This will help with Jellyfin properly categorize your content and find appropriate metadata.

• Then Disable remote access.

Click Finish!!!

5) Adding User(s)

• Lets create a regular user account. You can create an individual account for each person in your house.
• Click the Hamburger Menu and Click Dashboard.

• Click Users and then click the Plus Symbol +

• Create a username and password and enable all Libraries.

6) Access Jellyfin on your devices and Smart TV.

• With your Jellyfin server up and running you can now access you content on other devices on the network.

1) On a Smart TV (Android TV / Google TV / Fire TV)

1. Open the app store on your TV (Google Play Store on Android TV / Google TV, or Amazon Appstore on Fire TV).
2. Search for “Jellyfin”.
3. Install the Jellyfin for Android TV app.
4. Launch the app and enter your server address:
   • Local network: http://<server-ip>:8096
   • If you set up remote access: https://yourdomain.com
5. Log in with your Jellyfin username and password.
6. Start browsing your libraries and streaming.

2) On a Tablet or Phone (Android / iOS)

1. Open the Google Play Store (Android) or App Store (iOS).
2. Search for “Jellyfin”.
3. Download and install the Jellyfin app.
4. Open the app → Tap Add Server.
5. Enter your server’s address:
   • Local: http://<server-ip>:8096
   • Remote (if configured): https://yourdomain.com
6. Log in with your Jellyfin account.
7. Tap on your libraries to start streaming.

3) Alternative: Use a Web Browser

If your device doesn’t support the app:

• Open a browser (Chrome, Safari, Edge, etc.).
• Go to: http://<server-ip>:8096.
• Sign in and stream directly.

Wrap-up

Congratulations you have setup your Jellyfin server. I hope this guide helped.