Software & Apps

Setting up a private game server (Minecraft/Palworld) on an old spare PC

by RebootTips

The Private Server Imperative

Lately, my kids and their friends have been deep into Minecraft and, more recently, Palworld. Like many parents, I found myself getting requests for a dedicated server – one where their progress wouldn’t disappear, where they had control over the rules, and where they weren’t sharing bandwidth with a hundred strangers. The usual hosted solutions felt a bit spendy for what it was, and honestly, I like the control of having it myself. So, I looked over at that old desktop PC sitting in the corner, gathering dust, and thought, “Why not?”

Why the ‘Old PC’ Approach Makes Sense

When you’re looking at running a game server, the immediate impulse for many is to rent a virtual private server (VPS) or a dedicated game host. And for some scenarios, that’s fine. But I’ve found that for a small group of friends or family, leveraging old hardware just makes more practical sense. First, there’s the cost: you already own the hardware, so it’s free. Second, you get dedicated resources. No noisy neighbors hogging CPU cycles or network bandwidth. You control everything from the operating system up to the game configuration. For Minecraft or Palworld, which aren’t necessarily super CPU-intensive but benefit from consistent RAM and disk I/O, an older i5 or i7 with 8-16GB of RAM and an SSD can often outperform a budget shared host.

It’s also a great learning experience. You get to dig into Linux, network configuration, and system management without the pressure of a production environment. Plus, it gives new life to electronics that would otherwise just become e-waste. It’s a win-win.

Setting Up Your Game Server

Hardware & Software Prep

  1. Scrub the PC: Dust it out. Make sure the fans are clear. Overheating is a silent killer for old hardware.
  2. Storage: If you have an old spinning hard drive (HDD), swap it for a solid-state drive (SSD) if possible. Even a cheap 120GB SSD for the OS and game files will make a massive difference in server responsiveness and load times.
  3. RAM: Aim for at least 8GB. 16GB is better, especially if you plan to run other services or if the game server itself starts expanding with many players or mods.
  4. Network: Use a wired Ethernet connection. Seriously. Wi-Fi might seem convenient, but stability and latency are crucial for a good server experience.
  5. Operating System: I always recommend a lightweight Linux distribution for servers. My go-to is Ubuntu Server LTS (Long Term Support). It’s stable, well-documented, and doesn’t waste resources on a graphical desktop environment. Download the ISO and use something like Rufus or Ventoy to create a bootable USB drive.

OS Installation & Initial Setup

  1. Install Ubuntu Server: Boot from your USB. Choose the minimal install option and make sure to select the “Install OpenSSH server” option. This allows you to manage the server remotely without needing a monitor or keyboard hooked up all the time.
  2. Initial Updates: Once installed, log in via SSH (using PuTTY on Windows or a terminal on Linux/macOS). First thing I do is always: 
    sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y

    This ensures everything is up to date.

  3. Static IP Address: Configure a static IP for your server on your local network. This makes port forwarding and remote access much more reliable. How you do this depends on your `netplan` configuration, but generally, you’ll edit a file in `/etc/netplan/` (e.g., `00-installer-config.yaml`). After editing, apply with `sudo netplan apply`.
  4. Create a Game User: Don’t run your game server as root. Create a dedicated user: 
    sudo adduser gameserversudo usermod -aG sudo gameserver

    Then, switch to this user: `su – gameserver`. This principle of least privilege is just good practice.

Game Server Specifics

From here, the paths diverge a bit for Minecraft and Palworld.

For Minecraft (Java Edition)

  1. Install Java: Minecraft Java servers need Java. I usually install OpenJDK: 
    sudo apt install openjdk-17-jre-headless -y

    (Check current Minecraft version requirements; 17 or 21 are common now.)

  2. Download Server JAR: Create a directory for your server, navigate into it, and download the latest server JAR from the official Minecraft website. 
    mkdir minecraftcd minecraftwget https://piston-data.mojang.com/v1/objects/some-long-hash/server.jar

    (Replace the URL with the actual current one.)

  3. Run Once & EULA: The first time you run the server, it’ll fail and generate an `eula.txt` file. 
    java -Xmx4G -Xms2G -jar server.jar nogui

    You’ll see an error about EULA. Edit `eula.txt` and change `eula=false` to `eula=true`. This is a classic one I messed up early on. I’d kick off the server, close my SSH session, and come back later wondering why it never started. Turns out, I forgot to accept the EULA. Just a silly oversight, but it happens.

  4. Persistent Server: Use Screen or Tmux to keep your server running after you disconnect from SSH. 
    sudo apt install screen -yscreen -S minecraft-serverjava -Xmx4G -Xms2G -jar server.jar nogui

    Then, you can detach from the screen session with Ctrl+A, D. To re-attach, `screen -r minecraft-server`.

For Palworld

  1. Install SteamCMD: Palworld uses SteamCMD to download its dedicated server. 
    sudo add-apt-repository multiversesudo apt updatesudo apt install steamcmd -y
  2. Download Palworld Server: Create a directory, and use SteamCMD to download the server files. 
    mkdir palworldcd palworldsteamcmd +login anonymous +app_update 2394010 validate +quit

    The `2394010` is the App ID for Palworld Dedicated Server.

  3. Persistent Server: Palworld ships with a `PalServer.sh` script. Again, use `screen` or `tmux`. 
    screen -S palworld-server./PalServer.sh

    You might need to make it executable first: `chmod +x PalServer.sh`.

Network Configuration & Firewall

  1. Firewall (UFW): Enable the firewall and allow necessary ports. 
    sudo ufw enablesudo ufw allow sshsudo ufw allow 25565/tcp # For Minecraftsudo ufw allow 8211/udp # For Palworldsudo ufw allow 27015/udp # Palworld query portsudo ufw allow 27016/tcp # Palworld RCON (if enabled)sudo ufw status verbose
  2. Router Port Forwarding: This is critical for friends outside your home network to connect. Log into your router’s admin interface (usually via a web browser, check your router’s manual for its IP and default credentials). Find the “Port Forwarding” section.
    • For Minecraft: Forward TCP port 25565 to your server’s static IP.
    • For Palworld: Forward UDP ports 8211, 27015 (and TCP 27016 if you plan on using RCON for admin commands) to your server’s static IP.

    If your ISP assigns you a dynamic public IP (most home connections do), consider setting up a Dynamic DNS (DDNS) service like DuckDNS or No-IP. This gives you a hostname (e.g., `mygameserver.duckdns.org`) that always points to your home’s current public IP.

Usual problems

I’ve seen these trip up folks regularly:

  • Double NAT: If your router is connected to another router (e.g., an ISP-provided modem/router combo and then your own Wi-Fi router), you might have a “Double NAT” situation. This means you need to port forward on *both* devices, or put one into bridge mode. It’s a pain to troubleshoot without seeing the network diagram.
  • ISP Blocking Ports: Some ISPs block common server ports (like 80, 443, 25565, etc.) for residential connections. If after forwarding, it still doesn’t work, check with your ISP. Sometimes you can use an alternate port, but that requires clients to specify it.
  • Running Without Screen/Tmux: A classic. You SSH in, start the server, everything looks great. You close your SSH terminal, and the server dies. That’s why `screen` or `tmux` is essential for backgrounding processes.
  • Not Enough RAM/Slow Storage: Especially with Palworld, which is still in early access, or heavily modded Minecraft, insufficient RAM or an old HDD will cause significant lag and crashes. Check `htop` or `top` regularly.
  • Forgetting Backups: Your server, your data. Set up a simple cron job to `rsync` your server files to an external drive or another machine periodically. Don’t learn this lesson the hard way.

Using an old PC for a game server is a rewarding project that gives you complete control and saves you money in the long run.

Related Posts