I have a desktop PC with two SSDs—one with Windows installed and the other currently empty, which I plan to use for Linux as I migrate to it. Additionally, I have two 4TB HDDs I intend to configure for NAS storage.
Since I can’t afford a dedicated NAS setup just yet, I’m considering dedicating a portion of the empty SSD to run a NAS solution like TrueNAS or Proxmox for self-hosting. Ideally, I’d like the NAS portion to operate continuously in the background, while allowing me to boot into either Linux or Windows as usual.
Is it possible to set up the NAS environment this way, so it’s always running and accessible, even as I switch between Linux and Windows on my main system?
As others gave said, the solution is a VM but once setup correctly, you won’t notice.
If Windows is your primary computer, install HyperV, the built in VM manager for Windows. Then create a Linux VM for your NAS.
Once setup, you won’t even notice. HyperV auto saves and reloads the VM whenever you reboot. You don’t even need a window open for the VM, it runs in the background until you run the manager to connect to the VM and see it in a window.
If Linux is your primary OS, do the reverse and put Windows in a Linux VM.
Don’t hassle with Proxmox, etc. That’s for running lots of VM’s and toggling between them.