Conversion failed. the transcoder process crashed

Plex Media Server
1

Server Version#: 1.22.1.4228 (Currently, but the issue has been happening for several versions)
Player Version#: Multiple

I’ve searched all over and I can’t find a solution to this problem. I’ve also tried debugging the problem myself as much as possible with no luck. I have been using plex for years with little or no problems, but a few months ago I started getting the error “conversion failed. the transcoder process crashed” almost every time I watch a video. Sometimes I will get the error multiple times in the same video. If I rewatch the same video the error may happen in a different part or even not happen at all. Furthermore, when I try to investigate the logs or the event viewer in windows the crash seems to have some slightly different variations.

Server:
CPU: Ryzen 3600
GPU: Radeon rx5700xt
OS: windows 10 Pro 10.0.19042 Build 19042

Client: Multiple: I have used it with an android TV, android phone, a separate laptop, and the local web client on the server itself, it crashes on all of them. (So it’s not a client issue)

I have reset windows twice since this issue started and the issue has continued. My most recent windows refresh was yesterday. (Before the refresh I briefly switched to Jellyfin, but after refreshing I thought I’d give plex another try)

Here are the 3 most recent Windows Event viewer events which happen to show the 3 different variations of the problem I’ve noticed.
The 2 most recent ones were actually from 2 streams I performed at the same time, but the two streams crashed at separate times.

01/04/2021 19:58:12:

Faulting application name: Plex Transcoder.exe, version: 0.0.0.0, time stamp: 0x00000000
Faulting module name: unknown, version: 0.0.0.0, time stamp: 0x00000000
Exception code: 0xc0000005
Fault offset: 0xffffffff
Faulting process ID: 0x2a00
Faulting application start time: 0x01d726e30641a60e
Faulting application path: C:\Program Files (x86)\Plex\Plex Media Server\Plex Transcoder.exe
Faulting module path: unknown
Report ID: fa536c62-93a7-4df8-bd45-853f52ef979b
Faulting package full name: 
Faulting package-relative application ID:

01/04/2021 19:54:22:

Faulting application name: Plex Transcoder.exe, version: 0.0.0.0, time stamp: 0x00000000
Faulting module name: libx264_encoder.dll, version: 0.0.0.0, time stamp: 0x00000000
Exception code: 0xc0000005
Fault offset: 0x000200bc
Faulting process ID: 0x2780
Faulting application start time: 0x01d726e1f0b10bd7
Faulting application path: C:\Program Files (x86)\Plex\Plex Media Server\Plex Transcoder.exe
Faulting module path: \\?\C:\Users\razzl\AppData\Local\Plex Media Server\Codecs\73e06c8-3759-windows-x86\libx264_encoder.dll
Report ID: f243564a-a19d-4367-ac76-3cd9d85fa74c
Faulting package full name: 
Faulting package-relative application ID:

01/04/2021 18:42:05:

Faulting application name: Plex Transcoder.exe, version: 0.0.0.0, time stamp: 0x00000000
Faulting module name: h264_decoder.dll, version: 0.0.0.0, time stamp: 0x00000000
Exception code: 0xc0000005
Fault offset: 0x00012555
Faulting process ID: 0x21a8
Faulting application start time: 0x01d726d94c78253c
Faulting application path: C:\Program Files (x86)\Plex\Plex Media Server\Plex Transcoder.exe
Faulting module path: \\?\C:\Users\razzl\AppData\Local\Plex Media Server\Codecs\73e06c8-3759-windows-x86\h264_decoder.dll
Report ID: e9db0917-ec1e-4174-b2ec-6c390fddaa5f
Faulting package full name: 
Faulting package-relative application ID:

There do not seem to be anything the Crash Reports folder except for some empty folders.

I’d greatly appreciate any help I can get with this.

2

I spent a lot more time debugging over the weekend and I think I might have the problem under control for now. I think this issue might really be be an issue with my PC rather than Plex.

My suspicions were that the issue might have been either with windows or with my C drive. Previously I did my windows windows reinstalls with the setting that preserves data, but I suspect that maybe that reset was flawed.

I changed my boot drive and did a completely new install of windows to it. Also this time I’m only going to install applications when I need them as opposed to installing all my usual applications in one go, that way if one of them is causing a conflict it will be easier to narrow it down.

3

I spoke too soon. I just had the transcoder crash again at the start of a video.
I have very little software on the PC now, after a full windows reset.

4

New update: I think the issue may either be my CPU or CPU drivers.
After a lot of searching I’ve found a suggestion to disable SMT to resolve some stability issues on Ryzen CPUs. Since I’ve done that I’ve played a few videos without transcoder crashes.

I don’t know for sure if this has fixed the issue yet because sometimes I seem to get lucky with no transcoder crashes for a few videos.
But it’s lookign more and more likely that I have a hardware problem, and not a plex problem, so i think this can be considered closed while I spend more time investigating my hardware.

5

One final update. I ended up buying a new CPU. Since changing the CPU I haven’t had any problems. So the issue was my CPU.

6

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