Be careful with “like new” claims. I’ve had people in the past pull that with me, and the drive had 8 years of time on it.
If possible, serverpartdeals.com has an excellent range of used drives. Stick with the manufacturer refurbished. They come with a good warranty and so far have been rock solid for me (5 year timeframe).
I have a trillium sync server setup, and connect to my network using a VM. The web interface works well enough for what I need it to do. I really wish there was an app for my phone, though.
Determination, patience, a willingness to learn anything you need to.
If you have those, in time, you will be able to get your lab up and running. I started mine with a minimal knowledge of Linux (I could install it from a USB and poke around). Now it’s the center of my families digital life.
Building a new, bigger, storage server using TrueNAS scale. I’ve been on CORE forever and it works well. Running out of space, though, and might as well upgrade the OS too.
If you are going someplace sensitive, leave your actual phone at home. If you need a phone during that time, pickup a prepaid burner. It sounds extreme, but there are extreme people out there with extreme views about what you should and shouldn’t be doing. Protect yourself.
My launch day 60GB PS3 is still trucking along. Every few years I open it up, clean it out, and reapply thermal paste. It now has an SSD in it, and runs like a champ.
A Bill Paxton reference is a good reference.