My grandson set up plex for me, but he is no longer with us.
I copied files from my old ext. hdd & when I try to watch files from the new hdd I get this message: The file associated with this item is not accessible by the server. Please verify that the file exists & the necessary drive is attached. It shows the files but then the message. What do I have to do. Sorry not to be technical but I am 77.
Very likely this is what happened:
The old external hard drive had a certain âdrive letterâ (e.g. E:) assigned to it.
Plex was told to look at this drive letter and find the media files on it.
Your new external hard drive now has a different drive letter (e.g. G:).
You have two options.
If you kept the same subfolder/directory names and file names as they had on your old drive, Iâd try and assign the old drive letter to the new hard drive.
You can find out the old drive letter by editing your library,
go to the âAdd Foldersâ tab and look at the drive letters and folders which are listed there.
Unplug the old drive.
Here is how to change a drive letter on Windows https://www.windowscentral.com/how-assign-permanent-drive-letter-windows-10
Pro: it will trick Plex into believing that nothing has changed. Everything will work as it did before.
Con: changing drive letters is a bit more involved
Determine the drive letter which is currently assigned to your new external drive. Windows file explorer will tell you this information (Win+E)
Then Edit your library(s),
go to the âAdd foldersâ tab
and remove the link to the old drive letter
then add a new link to the new drive letter
Pro: is easier
Con: Plex is prone to âforgetâ the media items completely, and will subsequently add them as if they were new.
Which will make them appear all as âRecently Addedâ on the front page of Plex.
It will also make Plex forget all manual adjustments and corrections to the metadata, which may have been made after they have been added the first time around.
Hi Otto
Thanks for the reply. I did first option. Changed the drive letter no problem when I try to play a file I get the same error message. I will stick with the old drive now that I have changed the drive letter back. If that drive fails I have a backup copy I can play through the computer on t Samsung 55ins smart tv that doubles up as a monitor.
Thanks again for your help.
Regards
Ken
I forgot: after changing the drive letter, you need to stop the plex server using the task tray Plex icon. Then restart it after a few seconds.
Getting a new pc shortly can I play the media files on the internal HDD instead of an external HDD?
Do you want to move the Plex server to the new machine? Because this requires to move not only the media files themselves, but also the data which Plex server is creating: https://support.plex.tv/articles/201370363-move-an-install-to-another-system/
(Unless you are OK with the loss of all usage data and metadata which have been generated so far.)
Hi Otto
Thanks for he reply. Would it be easier just to start again from scatch.?
It all depends on how comfortable you are with going into the innards of Windows.
If accessing the Windows registry is scary to you, you probably want to start over on the new machine.
Thanks again. I think I will do that, it will be safer.
If there is anything to optimize about your media organization, now would be the perfect opportunity to do so: https://support.plex.tv/articles/categories/your-media/
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