# Lost all my custom metadata **URL:** \ **Category:** Plex Media Server\ **Tags:** server-windows\ **Created:** [June 19, 2021, 11:09pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/lost-all-my-custom-metadata/723536 "2021-06-19T23:09:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![thinksinc](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/thinksinc/32/249251_2.png) [@thinksinc](https://forums.plex.tv/u/thinksinc)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2021, 11:09pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/lost-all-my-custom-metadata/723536/1 "2021-06-19T23:09:10Z")
Woke up the other day to discover that I seem to have lost all the custom metadata in my Plex library, so now my Library looks like a mess. I spent countless hours tediously perfecting my 2,100+ title library, particularly with using Sorting Titles and custom Posters. I run Server updates regularly, but otherwise have made no material changes to my setup at all. My server runs on a Windows 10 laptop connected via Ethernet to my network. I tried following the steps to Repair a Corrupt Database from Plex’s support library to no avail. Any idea what could have caused or, more importantly, how to fix it? Unfortunately I also discovered that System Restore Points on my machine had somehow gotten turned off, so I’m unable to go back in time to a known-good state. ---
**Author:** ![axemanuk666](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/axemanuk666/32/126759_2.png) [@axemanuk666](https://forums.plex.tv/u/axemanuk666)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2021, 11:31pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/lost-all-my-custom-metadata/723536/2 "2021-06-19T23:31:44Z")
Hi @thinksinc - I can’t necessarily help you with how it happened. It sounds to me like you may have an infection on the machine, based on the fact that System Restore has been turned off. That’s a classic Ransomware trick. However as to getting running again… Do you backup your Plex program data location?? Here… \> … %LocalAppData%\Plex Media Server ---
**Author:** ![OttoKerner](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/ottokerner/32/10079_2.png) [@OttoKerner](https://forums.plex.tv/u/OttoKerner)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2021, 5:08am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/lost-all-my-custom-metadata/723536/3 "2021-06-21T05:08:34Z")
> **[Restore a Database Backed Up via 'Scheduled Tasks' | Plex Support](https://support.plex.tv/articles/202485658-restore-a-database-backed-up-via-scheduled-tasks/)** > > One of the many Scheduled Tasks that a Plex Media Server performs is to make regular backups of the core... ---
**Author:** ![thinksinc](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/thinksinc/32/249251_2.png) [@thinksinc](https://forums.plex.tv/u/thinksinc)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2021, 7:20am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/lost-all-my-custom-metadata/723536/4 "2021-06-21T07:20:25Z")
Have checked my machine for infections, I don’t think it’s that. I rarely go to the web on it, I just run Windows Updates and Plex on it. @OttoKerner I did try restoring the Database from the Scheduled Tasks backups, but it looks like those only go back a few weeks, and apparently my database has been corrupt for a bit longer than that unfortunately. I ended up biting the bullet and spent several hours today fixing hundreds of Sorting Titles and Posters by hand again. I’ll keep a closer watch on my Library and immediately restore from Scheduled Task backups if I ever see anything questionable happening again. ---
**Author:** ![axemanuk666](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/axemanuk666/32/126759_2.png) [@axemanuk666](https://forums.plex.tv/u/axemanuk666)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2021, 7:39am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/lost-all-my-custom-metadata/723536/5 "2021-06-21T07:39:47Z")
Glad you got up and running again. I might suggest that you look into any means possible to start backing up your App data location on a daily basis. Perhaps using the built-in Windows Backup service to an external HD. I learnt some years ago how important it is to backup this location, and I ended up going a little crazy and taking incremental backups every 3 hours! That way I can restore Plex back to many different points in time should I need. ---
**Author:** ![OttoKerner](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/ottokerner/32/10079_2.png) [@OttoKerner](https://forums.plex.tv/u/OttoKerner)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2021, 9:31am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/lost-all-my-custom-metadata/723536/6 "2021-06-21T09:31:10Z")
> [@thinksinc](#): > > fixing hundreds of Sorting Titles and Posters by hand again I recommend you to use local media assets as much as possible. Which means to only use the “Edit” command in Plex as the last resort. - Put your preferred poster as a file beside your videos. - Give Plex additional hints about the identity of the movie/series in the folder name, to reduce manual matching and matching corrections to a minimum: [https://support.plex.tv/articles/naming-and-organizing-your-movie-media-files/](https://support.plex.tv/articles/naming-and-organizing-your-movie-media-files/) · [https://support.plex.tv/articles/naming-and-organizing-your-tv-show-files/](https://support.plex.tv/articles/naming-and-organizing-your-tv-show-files/) - on personal videos, prefer the mp4 container and embed as many as possible metadata directly into the file - for music do also prefer embedding a correct and complete set of meta tags into your files, instead of editing them in Plex [https://support.plex.tv/articles/200220677-local-media-assets-movies/](https://support.plex.tv/articles/200220677-local-media-assets-movies/) [https://support.plex.tv/articles/200220717-local-media-assets-tv-shows/](https://support.plex.tv/articles/200220717-local-media-assets-tv-shows/) ---
**Author:** ![thinksinc](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/thinksinc/32/249251_2.png) [@thinksinc](https://forums.plex.tv/u/thinksinc)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2021, 5:44pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/lost-all-my-custom-metadata/723536/7 "2021-07-30T17:44:50Z")
Well, it happened again. I opened Plex as usual to find that all of my custom Sorting Titles were gone. Since Plex only creates backups going back 1-2 weeks, I didn’t notice the Library was corrupt again until it was too late and all of the backups were of the Library with missing metadata. I’m not spending another full day fixing all of my metadata again since this will likely keep happening, and I don’t know why. Unfortunately I’m going to have to abandon Plex and switch over to something like Infuse. Oh well. ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/plex/original/3X/2/a/2acb9765406f63293d357b4ec509ec39aa28f2ad.png) [@system](https://forums.plex.tv/u/system)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2021, 5:45pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/lost-all-my-custom-metadata/723536/8 "2021-10-28T17:45:20Z")
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