Q:

Starting a home file/media Linux server as a project

I can see this gets asked fairly often, but I've got a bit different of a idea for what I want to do here.
Right now I have a laptop running Windows 8.1 and a Galaxy S5 as my main devices. Both are running a little low on on space, and I'd like to start working with Linux as sort of a hobby-type thing. I figure I could kill two birds with one stone by setting up a home server using Linux to share files to my phone and laptop, possibly with DLNA for my Playstation.
However, I'm a broke college student so I'd like to do this on a budget. I have a somewhat old desktop that can run W7 alright but will need some repairs (I think the PSU is shot). I was thinking of putting Linux on it and starting with a home server, then branching out to possibly game servers/some sort of remote access.
Any suggestions on my best course of action here?

A:

Quick google search gives me this:
http://linuxhomeserverguide.com/initial/Plan.php
Information is a bit old - Ubuntu version from 4+ years ago - but it looks like a good starter.
Expect that learning the basics are going to take some time.
As a side note, try something like the Ubuntu XFCE edition, since the (default) Unity version is a bit resource-hungry comparatively.
http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/xubuntu/releases/trusty/release/

