Server Version#: 1.41.9.9961
Player Version#: Windows player current July 15th 2025
I’m sure most all of you have run into the issue where you click to start a video that shows one thumbnail and it starts playing a whole different video pointing to a file with a different name. Is it a matter of the number of folders and corresponding files? And how to most easily fix that problem when it happens? When I run into this I always do a “get info” on the thumbnail and see that somehow it’s been associated with more than one file, one of which is the one that actually gets played. Also, it makes it so the other files associated with it don’t even show up among videos available to be played, which doubles the annoyance. The last time this happened there were two unrelated files made unavailable apart from the one that appeared to be available but wasn’t.
How to prevent this from happening? Restrict the size of the library? Make all folders and video files within have identical names? If there’s a jpg file in the folder as well, does that present a problem?
WIthout knowing anything about why or how you actually organize them. put each file in their own folder ( like a movie library) and name them differently.
That’s just the thing, all of the video files have their own folders and have unique names. Or does the algorithm only read the first 12 characters of file names or something (I strongly suspect that the search function only reads so many characters BTW based on experience).
I suspect it has to do with the “agent” stuff I don’t fully understand. I’ve picked Personal Media for this library because as I understand it that’s enough to have the filenames be the deciding factor.
BTW what the heck is the difference between the Personal Media agent and the Plex Personal Media one?
Can you describe how they are actually named and organized and what folders you actually added to the library settings. often things get merged incorrectly for movies due to the folders added to library settings.
Plex Personal Media is the new one that is defaulted when a new library of that type is created. The old one is written in Python which will be removed in the not too distant future ( but I don’t have an ETA)
Thanks for the explanation about the agent types. Would it help to try to change the agent to Plex Personal Media at this point?
Not sure what you mean by “folders added to library settings.” I add folders containing video files and sometimes a .jpg to particular library folders, thus \Libraryfolder\Video_1\Video_1.mp4 or .mkv or .avi whatever.
(It’s not actually personal media and I don’t want to get into specifics as to file names but I can assure you they are distinct from one another. I can try using another Agent but the reason I picked Personal Media was to not have to mess with file names so much.)
What if I removed both folders and respective contents from the library, told Plex to update libraries, then popped them back in and updated libraries again? Or I can edit the database, find the specific entries and delete them. I’ve done that in the past. In fact sometimes I think it would be best to uninstall Plex entirely, delete the database, reinstall and point it to my various folders again and let it churn for a while.
The issue that provoked my OP is I’ve got two different files which, when I delete one of them and its folder from the library, then put it back in, is immediately reassociated with the other file, so the one I deleted and reintroduced can’t show its own thumbnail/poster. It’s maddening. I’m going to try that one more time but shut down Plex before reintroducing the file.
I edited my post above your last reply giving the basic arrangement of all my libraries but what I’ll do is post obfuscated file names that have the exact same structure as these original problem files and the same number of characters.
In the past I’ve solved similar problems by simply putting the stubborn folder with video that won’t show up in one library in a different library, and it does the trick.
Steps I took that solved my immediate problem of one item in the library “claiming” another and thus making it unavailable: I solved it by quitting out of the server on the hosting machine, yanking the two folders and their respective files from the library in question, starting the server again, telling it to update libraries, then adding the folders back and telling Plex to update libraries again. Before all that I also went into the database cache, examined the items last updated today and saw that one folder had no content so I deleted it.
If you edit the library or create a library one of the setting that you need to set for that library is telling it the path(s) to the folder your media is in.
In the example you gave of
This is tagged windows so I am hoping you have something like E:\LibraryFolder and not E:\Library folder\Video_1 as the latter often causes what you described.
Ah, thanks for the explanation about settings. I wasn’t thinking of them as settings but I guess they are.
So spaces in folder paths are not good, check. In the path to the library in question there were none. The folder name was two words but they were joined by an underscore, so in your example it would be E:\Library_folder\Video_1.mp4.
I will check my other library paths to see if they have spaces, though.
Does it make a difference if there’s another folder between the root level of a disk and the library folder, as long as the path has no spaces?
The space was just a typo of mine. I meant that only the root folder E:Libraryfolder should be there. It should not include the subfolder Video1 that includes the video
(But generally yeah if you can avoid spaces in folder names it makes things simpler. Spaces in file names are fine)
I am talking about the library setting. Edit the library and look at the settings. There are three sections of settings
General (Where you name the library)
Add Folders ( Where you tell it what folder you media is in)
Advanced (the agent settings)
I am talking about number 2 Add Folders. The individual subfolders that the files are in should not be there. Only the root folder above that. There could be multiple root folders but including the file subfolders is what usually causes the issue you described.
Just to be extra sure I’m understanding: under #2 I understand there should never be anything but the folder with the name of the library as the last thing mentioned (it never occurred to me to do otherwise).. But as I understand it you’re telling me no folders between that library folder and the files to be played.
But on top of all that, only the disk root level should contain the library folder(s)? Or by
are you referring to the “root level” of the library folder in question? When I hear “root” I think disks, C:, D: E: etc.
The root folder of the library. Not the root folder of the media storage volume/drive.
The root folder of the library is that folder which you added on the “Add Folders” tab in the properties of the library.
