# File Name Corruption **URL:** \ **Category:** Metadata & Adding Files\ **Tags:** server-windows\ **Created:** [September 4, 2022, 2:47pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/file-name-corruption/809361 "2022-09-04T14:47:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![onethumb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/e0b2c6/32.png) [@onethumb](https://forums.plex.tv/u/onethumb)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2022, 2:47pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/file-name-corruption/809361/1 "2022-09-04T14:47:39Z")
Server Version#: 1.28.2.6151-914ddd2b3 Player Version#: (All… macOS, tvOS, iOS, Amazon Firestick) Nothing to log really… I have been seeing file names corrupted after upload. All players see it. On the server, you can sometimes see the file name has been actually changed (FileNameRegular → WBEGF~1, etc.). Do a search on the odd file name and it’s not physically on the server but the original file is. Delete it, force library scan, wait for it to go away, add it back in, scan again, comes back with the bad info. ---
**Author:** ![onethumb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/e0b2c6/32.png) [@onethumb](https://forums.plex.tv/u/onethumb)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2022, 2:48pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/file-name-corruption/809361/2 "2022-09-04T14:48:25Z")
These odd names are only in the Plex db and not the actual file names. ![Screen Shot 2022-09-04 at 9.32.36 AM](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/plex/original/4X/4/4/a/44a509d91373256c4f30acd1f673d179bab79f00.png) ![Screen Shot 2022-09-04 at 9.33.13 AM](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/plex/original/4X/1/7/b/17b614753e50c1ee4aef3e7c220ddc8fee25b7a4.png) ![Screen Shot 2022-09-04 at 9.37.19 AM](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/plex/original/4X/1/5/0/15092f99de0ae9d96cb0646b60cd1f52e3f05853.png) ---
**Author:** ![tom80H](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/tom80h/32/19753_2.png) [@tom80H](https://forums.plex.tv/u/tom80H)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2022, 3:36pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/file-name-corruption/809361/3 "2022-09-04T15:36:19Z")
Sounds like you have enabled the `prefer local metadata` option and got some files with very bad embedded metadata… it’s not necessarily corrupted; just somebody decided to put that garbage into the files. ---
**Author:** ![dbirch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f19dbf/32.png) [@dbirch](https://forums.plex.tv/u/dbirch)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2022, 3:42pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/file-name-corruption/809361/4 "2022-09-04T15:42:41Z")
You are blurring out the file path but that shows that the underlying file has the same name. If you provided the full path (you can censer `C:\Users\` ) it might help ---
**Author:** ![dane22](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/dane22/32/4389_2.png) [@dane22](https://forums.plex.tv/u/dane22)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2022, 10:54pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/file-name-corruption/809361/5 "2022-09-04T22:54:05Z")
I bet your medias are located on a NAS So please share more details here, since what I could digest from the `VERY LIMITED INFO YOU PROVIDED` is that you access a share on a NAS, and it presents it’s filenames as windows short names (8.3) ---
**Author:** ![onethumb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/e0b2c6/32.png) [@onethumb](https://forums.plex.tv/u/onethumb)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2022, 11:35am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/file-name-corruption/809361/8 "2022-09-05T11:35:08Z")
I did find 1 instance like that (local metadata) and changed it back. Thanks. Yes it’s a NAS. No it’s not an 8.3 Windows file name. It (DSM) supports long file names as well as text cases and (some) special characters. The path is nothing but s:/[shared path]/filename in the Plex edit screen. If you search the NAS for that file name, sometimes (rarely) it really has been changed to that but usually you just can’t find it because the original name is still out there. BUT if you hit play on the mixed-up file “poster” in Plex, it still plays. So even though nothing in the Plex Edit screens reflect the real file name, clearly Plex has it mapped to the original file in some way. ---
**Author:** ![tom80H](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/tom80h/32/19753_2.png) [@tom80H](https://forums.plex.tv/u/tom80H)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2022, 12:57pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/file-name-corruption/809361/9 "2022-09-05T12:57:19Z")
How exactly are you sharing your media from the Syno? The problem dane22 had described is not limited to 8.3 Windows/DOS based file systems but can impact certain file transfer protocols if the two endpoints fail to communicate properly. I suppose it’s not Plex that’s mismatching your file names but that’s how they show up on your server’s host system? ---
**Author:** ![onethumb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/e0b2c6/32.png) [@onethumb](https://forums.plex.tv/u/onethumb)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2022, 2:19pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/file-name-corruption/809361/11 "2022-09-05T14:19:33Z")
Interesting question and I’ll admit to being a little vague on xfer protocols in use. NAS is a Synology, running DSM (current). Server is Wintel (Win10) and maps a drive to the NAS. I know the NAS shows the Plex server connection using Samba (SMB2). It’s been running like this for years (drive upgrades IAW Syn’s approved list along the way) and this is a recent issue. I first thought it was an issue with something on the cusp of failing (drive of the NAS controller itself). All drives pass deep deep SMART tests as well as a monthly “data scrub” within Syn scheduler. All logs and stats show healthy drives at normal op temps. So I came here when I saw nothing seemed to be changing the file name itself but some way the Plex plugged in an odd name while some way keeping a connection that played the un-renamed file. Sure seems to be at the Plex level. ---
**Author:** ![dbirch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f19dbf/32.png) [@dbirch](https://forums.plex.tv/u/dbirch)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2022, 2:37pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/file-name-corruption/809361/12 "2022-09-05T14:37:46Z")
In windows if you go to the file path `\\fileserver\movies\Movies` (same computer that has plex on it) what does it show for file names? Without the [server logs,](https://support.plex.tv/articles/200250417-plex-media-server-log-files/) and given censored file paths its difficult to troubleshoot. ---
**Author:** ![dane22](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/dane22/32/4389_2.png) [@dane22](https://forums.plex.tv/u/dane22)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2022, 2:59pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/file-name-corruption/809361/13 "2022-09-05T14:59:39Z")
And adding here… When you look at the filesystem on your NAS directly, does any filenames or paths contain any of the following characters: `> : " / \ | ? *` ---
**Author:** ![onethumb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/e0b2c6/32.png) [@onethumb](https://forums.plex.tv/u/onethumb)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2022, 1:50pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/file-name-corruption/809361/14 "2022-09-06T13:50:43Z")
Path is x:\folder\folder\file.ext Each folder is without spaces or special characters (only upper, lower, numerals). Logs: Since I don’t know when it will happen, just enable and leave running until it does? NAS \NAS\Data\Movies\File.name [mapped to X] Local c:\ProgramFiles\Plex\Plex[lots of files and folders] I’m trying folks but with the recent concerns about system compromises, I suspect you can at least understand. So… just enable logs and wait? ---
**Author:** ![dane22](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/dane22/32/4389_2.png) [@dane22](https://forums.plex.tv/u/dane22)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2022, 2:37pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/file-name-corruption/809361/15 "2022-09-06T14:37:44Z")
> [@onethumb](#): > > So… just enable logs and wait? Try and do a [Plex Dance](https://forums.plex.tv/t/the-plex-dance/197064) on a media, then zip the logs and upload Edit: And how does it look in File Explore, when you look at your X drive? ---
**Author:** ![onethumb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/e0b2c6/32.png) [@onethumb](https://forums.plex.tv/u/onethumb)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2022, 3:17pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/file-name-corruption/809361/16 "2022-09-06T15:17:42Z")
I can do the PD! Thanks. As mentioned somewhere above, the direct file (file expolrer) USUALLY looks normal. On rare occasions the target file name has also been renamed… say 1 in 20. ---
**Author:** ![dane22](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/dane22/32/4389_2.png) [@dane22](https://forums.plex.tv/u/dane22)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2022, 3:21pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/file-name-corruption/809361/17 "2022-09-06T15:21:06Z")
> [@onethumb](#): > > USUALLY Above indicates, that you are not faced with a Plex problem, but a problem between your Windows and Synology! Not a Synology guy, but regardless, look here: > **[A file or folder name is displayed as something like 12HWA0~8 when accessed...](https://kb.synology.com/en-me/DSM/tutorial/file_or_folder_name_displayed_as_12HWA0_8#VQb7RGGosK)** > > Synology Knowledge Center offers comprehensive support, providing answers to frequently asked questions, troubleshooting steps, software tutorials, and all the technical documentation you may need. ---
**Author:** ![onethumb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/e0b2c6/32.png) [@onethumb](https://forums.plex.tv/u/onethumb)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2022, 4:15pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/file-name-corruption/809361/18 "2022-09-06T16:15:34Z")
That was about where I was after getting to this point. I’ll do that “dance” but my next step was to check Syn. Just the trouble shooting, eliminating possibilities process. Thanks everyone for all the help. ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/plex/original/3X/2/a/2acb9765406f63293d357b4ec509ec39aa28f2ad.png) [@system](https://forums.plex.tv/u/system)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2022, 4:15pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/file-name-corruption/809361/19 "2022-12-05T16:15:43Z")
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