Go with “another drive”. The junction thing will probably not work.
I’m interested to hear if you can make it work though.
you keep going in circles, nothing will change the fact that it just aint gonna work on your pooled drive.
bite the bullet and add an internal or external ssd just for plex data.
2 Likes
I just wanted to add something based on a problem I ran into and how I got around it;
While checking the box for “Empty trash automatically” seemed crucial, I hadn’t clicked save on the web interface before decommissioning that server.
Instead of firing it back up, ticking that box and copying everything over again, I found the difference was a registry value created in the same place as mentioned above (HKEY_USERS.DEFAULT\SOFTWARE\Plex, Inc.\Plex Media Server)
By adding the DWORD ‘autoEmptyTrash’ with a value of 0, it worked!!
Maybe this might help someone else who missed that step and save some time, this seems to be the registry key that is added when you tick that box on the web interface
Start menu*
This did not work for me. I used P:\plex\ rather than the C drive and made all the registry editions that was suggested. My plex no longer had the libraries so I had to input that again…None of the metadata was showing…not sure if it was picking up the P drive…So I am just going back to my old C drive PMS folder and think about trying it when I have time. I usually dont like to experiment when I have PMS the way I want it because it takes all day to copy the PMS folder from C drive to P drive. At any rate, I try it again in a few months.
Did you verify that:
- there is a folder named
Plex Media Serverinside ofP:\plex\ - the drive P: is formatted with NTFS
- the Windows user account under which Plex Server is running has full access permissions to this folder and all its files and subfolders
- if you copied the
Plex Media Serverfolder after the server has crashed or while the server was still running, then the primary database file may have been corrupted. You can try going back to one of the backup copies: https://support.plex.tv/articles/202485658-restore-a-database-backed-up-via-scheduled-tasks/
Unfortunately, this didn’t work for me either. Fresh install of Plex and tried changing the location following the guide.
After that, if I would navigate to %LOCALAPPDATA%\Plex Media Server it points back to the default/original location before I attempted changing it. 
Maybe this no longer works with the latest version?
@OttoKerner I check off everything on your list too (minus the last bullet. I made sure it was stopped.)
Oh, wait! Just in case others try the same thing I think I know why this happens. It’s because my system/computer Local AppData location points to that! But I just noticed the files update in the new location I specified in Registry Editor. Thanks!
%LOCALAPPDATA% is a Windows “environment variable”. It will always point to the same folder.
The above procedure is not able to change it.
It only does tell Plex to look elsewhere for its data.
1 Like
Dear Wolf from Cologne, it’s also worth noting that in addition to the update service automatically starting after a reboot, Plex itself automatically restarts as well. Cheers!
When I add the LocalAppDataPath registry key plex media server won’t open giving me an ERROR popup.
Then describe please what is actually written in the pop-up window.
Do also please go back to the registry key and post what you actually inserted in there.
Literally “ERROR”, this appears when I launch PlexMediaServer exe.
Here is the registry edit:
I’m not sure if this is of any use anyway because the only reason I tried it was that my Plex installation has recently broken and it was transferred from an old Windows machine to a new Windows machine. However, the transfer was initially working so I don’t expect this to be the issue.
Please view my issue here.
Thanks @OttoKerner
Oh dear. You have set the data folder location to C:\Program Files (x86)\Plex
This will never work. Everything under C:\Program Files* is not writable to regular apps.
Data folder and program folder are different things and should be kept separate.
If you want the data folder to stay on drive C: , simply remove the key LocalAppDataPath altogether. Plex will then fall back to the default location.
If you want the data folder to be in a different folder, create one specifically for this purpose. Never mingle data and program folders.
1 Like
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
1 Like
1 thing I should probably add
If you are doing what I do & want it to be the same server for every user it DOES require a little registry use, but not 1 subject to the big problems with registry editing because you are not typing anything yourself.
7.) From original user account go into regedit (Do NOT “Run As Administrator” just as regular user) & click OK on the UAC
- Goto {HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Plex, Inc.\Plex Media Server} (Or just [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Plex, Inc.] if you prefer)
- Right Click on the [Plex Media Server] “Folder” & Select [Export]
- Save it to a location you can access from every account
- Login as each user that you want to share the same server
- Open the saved “.reg” file & allow it to import
Now whoever is logged in will use the same Plex Server, I know this thread isn’t about that, but since I mentioned it I figured it doesn’t hurt to include the last step, but that’s ONLY for those wanting THAT function, it’s unnecessary for just moving the folder
1 Like
12 posts were split to a new topic: Release space on my Windows hard drive
Thanks for the guide. Could you please explain “Always use a folder. Don’t point Plex to “naked” drive letters.”? Is this specific to Plex?
A Naked Drive Letter would be having a drive, say P:\ as your library folder. This is bad for a number of reasons, but a big one that’s easy to explain is that the “Root” of a drive has folders on it that are usually hidden. For example, if you are using an operating system or NAS that employs a Recycling Bin that recycling bin is actually stored on the root of each drive, the things deleted off that drive actually get moved into a folder you can’t see. Other folders are also there, like a System Volume directory, but the Recycling Bin is the biggest problem. Since Plex does not use the system’s file explorer to look at the folders in the library those hidden folders are not hidden from Plex. So say you deleted a file. Plex would think you moved it from 1 folder to another, like, say, you were moving an episode that got put in the wrong show to the correct show. Plex will either scan it when you delete it, but it’s still there, or it will scan it when your next scheduled scan is to occur & you won’t realize it is still there. Worse, every file you delete will have to be scanned every time it does a full scan, or if you have partial scan on changes selected it will do a scan every time you delete anything from that drive in 2 places. That’s why you shouldn’t use a Root Directory or Bare Drive as the location for ANYTHING that another program is pointing to, not just Plex. Some other things that are there would be a paging file that is used by your computer as like a temporary holding place. That file is always changing, & that’s a lot that plex has to scan for no reason
2 Likes
Can you delete C:\Users\ [username]\AppData\Local\Plex Media Server folder once you make this update?
