I need to export a list of files to my desktop

Plex Media Server NAS & Devices
1

Server Version#:4.51.3?
Player Version#: I didnt even know there was a difference

A short while ago I woke up to discover that my Ausustor 5304T NAS had wiped my RAID5 array leaving nothing on my drives. I have lost 14TB worth of films, TV and music and in light of Asustors appalling technical support I now face having to rebuild my collection from scratch.

Within my PLEX ALL of my files are still showing so I have been looking for a way to export the file names to my desktop so I can start working through them.

I have seen plenty of instructions little of which I have understood BUT I have attempted to navigate to PLEX’s location on my computer (which is C:\Program Files\Plex\Plex Media Server) via the command prompt and the Powershell facility BUT both programs are saying that the address isnt recognised.

Now I am at a total loss. Can anybody help me export my lists please?

2

You might want to take a look at the Export Tools component (3rd party app)

3

Your Plex server was/is installed directly on your NAS device.

So you need to access the Plex data folder directly on there.

4

Found it. Looked Great. Especially the Export Tools. Downloaded it. Installed it… wont let me log in using my Plex credentials. Seems like one barrier after another at the moment and a LOT of wasted time.

Do you have any suggestions? I have installed and reinstalled it. Shut the computer down and started it again. Double checked all of my credentials. All seems to fit… just wont let me log in.

5

If you have enabled 2FA on your account, you need to type in the 2FA code from your app directly after the password (into the same field).

6

Thanks for the reply Otto but I think part of the problem is that my NAS isnt showing any files at all on it other than the N360_BACKUP folder, so I wouldnt be able to navigate to the Plex folder on there even if I wanted to.

7

no, Im not using 2FA because I didnt want my partner to struggle with a number of passwords.

8

I am not familiar with this brand of NAS devices, so I don’t know what kind of content might be in that folder.
If the Plex data were on the same storage volume, located on the RAID 5 which got deleted, then I’m afraid any record of your Plex library content is gone now.

10

Im not convinced the libraries are even gone to be honest. In any case I can still navigate my way around my PLEX and look at every single file I have. I just cant play anything because the files cant be found. The fact that they are displayed in the PLEX GUI at all though implies there is a log somewhere. There was one chap who suffered the same failure and the Asustor tech support were able to backdoor his NAS and restore everything. For some reason though I have been assigned a technical support who hasnt been willing to offer any support past ‘yeah that shouldnt have happened’

A function that would allow me to just grab the text off of the GUI would be enough but I cant even do that :frowning:

11

First we need to determine which server you are actually looking at.
Is it really the one on your NAS or is it the old installation which you had on Windows at one time in the past.

What happens if you open this link on your Windows machine? http://127.0.0.1:32400/web

Could you access the Plex XML info of one movie and copy the first ~20 lines and paste them in here?

12

OK I clicked the link on my desktop computer and it couldnt connect.

13

This implies that the plex server is not running on your Windows machine. So all Plex data should still be present on your NAS – otherwise you wouldn’t be able to browse them.

Now you need to find a way to access the folder where those data are stored.
I cannot tell you how, because I have never seen such a device. There might be some information on the internet on how to do that.
Once you’ve managed to access this folder, you can

  • copy the primary Plex database file to your workstation, where you can open it wiht a SQLite manager software
  • install the ExportTools onto the NAS and use these to convert your Plex database into spreadsheet files
14

I dont know if this will make any difference but my Asustor Storage Manager App says that the drives are re-synchronising (which should only take another 1.6 days)

15

You might wanna wait.

The end result will either be that all your media files are back or all your data are finally gone.

But it begs the question why this resync has been triggered. Normally, this only happens

  • after a hard power cut (protect your data by adding a UPS unit)
  • a drive defect (get a replacement hard drive)
  • after a drive has been removed and re-inserted (never do that)
16

The resync is happening because I dismantled the NAS this morning to give it a thorough clean to eliminate that as a potential issue.

The first thing I did the other day when I found the files had disappeared was turn everything off completely and restart everything. The files are still gone and Asustor tech support were clear that if the files were not showing before I turned everything off then turning it back on and resyncing wont help either :frowning:

17

And you didn’t shut the device down properly but yanked just the power cord?
This is a fine recipe for data loss.

18

and for future reference, if you need to export a list of all your files
and you can’t get exporttools to work

Navigate to where your plex DB is stored, make sure you have sqlite3 installed

$ sqlite3 com.plexapp.plugins.library.db

then once you are at the sqlite> prompt

.mode csv
.output file_list.csv
SELECT file from media_parts where file is not null;
CTRL D (to exit)
1 Like
19

I use the power button on the front of the NAS. Is there another way to turn it on and off? I havent seen one.

20

I cannot answer that, because I have no experience with these devices.

I know from other NAS manufacturers that there is a shutdown command in the configuration menu which you usually access with your web browser.

22

Shouldnt my Plex DB be stored on my desktop computers C Drive? Even though Plex is on my NAS it says that it stores all of its own data on the system drive that you are operating from which in my case is my desktop C Drive.

Is Plex DB different from my Plex Media Player? Because its the media player that is showing on my C Drive.