This actually works without the negatives of the OP solution.
It doesn’t involve mucking around in the registry, Plus Plex thinks everything is normal so there are no issues with updates, reinstallations or any of that because to everything, including the Operating System, the folders are still in their original location, just when they open that door they don’t realize they are stepping onto a different island
But a few special things to consider. It has to be a local internal drive, & it still has to be an NTFS partition
1.) 1st Using the tray close Plex Server
- (If you don’t do this you’ll have “Still Open In Other Apps” error when moving)
2.) Go into services & end the Plex Update Service
3.) Move the Plex Media Server folder to the new location
- [[[MUST be local drive, not a USB or Networked drive]]]
- [[[[MUST be NTFS File System]]]]
4.) You need to be sure the directory no longer exists in the original location
- “C:\Users\YOUR USERNAME\AppData\Local\Plex Media Server”
- there must NOT be a “Plex Media Server” folder in the “Local” directory
5.) Use the Junction command for mkLink
- (mklink /J “C:\FAKE DIRECTORY” “P:\REAL LOCATION”)
- [If the location has any spaces in the name you need to use ""s]
6.) You need to do this for EACH user
I do this to move the Plex directory to a common area so no matter what user is logged in it uses the same server
- - - The Names Have Been Changed To Protect The Innocent - - -
(mklink /J “C:\Users\ME\AppData\Local\Plex Media Server” “P:\Plex\Plex Media Server”)
(mklink /J “C:\Users\USER1\AppData\Local\Plex Media Server” “P:\Plex\Plex Media Server”)
(mklink /J “C:\Users\USER2\AppData\Local\Plex Media Server” “P:\Plex\Plex Media Server”)
(mklink /J “C:\Users\GUEST\AppData\Local\Plex Media Server” “P:\Plex\Plex Media Server”)
I have verified that it works just fine when I use my P: drive as it is an internal drive. I’ve heard from people that USB drives sometimes work, but also that they sometimes cause problems if the USB is unplugged or not loaded before windows starts or if you put anything else on the drive while the system is off. But those aren’t personal experiences so take that with a grain of Himalayan Pink Salt.
This may work with the Directory command “/D” for mkLink, but I prefer the Junction command for this. The Junction command doesn’t allow relative links, the Directory command does, but I’d rather do it for each user & have the control of it where I can be sure, but that’s just me
