2 Plex Media server folders / 2 Metadata folders, which do I backup?

[lalumart_hotmail.com]

Server Version#: 1.41.2.9200 (Windows 10 pro)

Hi,

My backup drive died on me, so I had to replace it. I was configuring my backup application to back up my Plex Metadata and to my surprise, a new Plex Folder was in the main Plex folder (#PlexMediaServer). Take a look at the pics.

I Don’t know if this is normal or not, but I want to back up the good metadata folder and I’m not sure which folder is the right one.

Also, once I have the right one, is it safe to delete the second one.

Thanks!

[OttoKerner]

The red encircled folder is non-default.
Inspect your Windows registry. Look out for the key and its content which is mentioned here: [HowTo] An extended guide on how to move the Plex data folder on Windows

If the key does not exist at all, then the default location of the plex data folder is used. You can probably remove the folder with the #.

Did you experiment with backup and restore of the plex data folder in the past?
Did you use 3rd-party apps or scripts to do that?

[lalumart_hotmail.com]

Thanks, you are right. I had no custom registry key, so I just deleted the one with the #. Weird how that extra folder just appeared out of nowhere.

Now that I look at my last backup, well…it wasn’t backing up anything lol. Just to show you right !! It was set up like this for about 5 years, same pc, same backup drive. I should check up on things more often haha.

Thanks again!

[OttoKerner]

For a successful and complete backup, you need to stop Plex server. Otherwise you’ll end up with a damaged primary database file in your backup.
This script is attempting to solve this problem: PSA: Script to back up and restore Plex app data on a Windows system