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?
What you’re talking about is a software solution, but the solutions you mention are not standalone software in the way you’re thinking.
Honestly, it sounds like you don’t want a NAS, you just want shared network storage. If that’s the case, make a Fat partition, share it windows, then go configure samba under the Linux side similarly, paying attention to map a user with a matching uid. There will be some wonk happening here and there with file permissions perhaps, but it will work for the most part.
The other options you mentioned are meant to control the entire host, but you may be ready to make that leap yet.
For minimal money, you could also try and get your hands on an older RPi (possibly for free, people just have them laying around), and attach your disks via USB to that, and then you have a basic, but dedicated NAS you can setup the way you like.