Metadata Scanning stops working after sometime (only reboot) resolves

Server Version#: 1.18.1.1973
Player Version#: 4.10.1

Hello,

Everyday my server is failing to match and download metadata for newly added content. The only thing I have found that will fix it temporarily is a restart. This solves the problem for roughly 15 mins to and hour. I have uninstalled, reinstalled, cleared caches… I have attempted to look through the logs but have not been able to identify the error that is occurring when the scanner crashes.

Please assist.

Can you please reproduce this (with Logging set to DEBUG on, VERBOSE off)
then download the logs and attach them?

Same here every new contents are not associated. I tought it was only me. Manually association doesnt work.

Plex Media Server Logs_2019-11-02_00-38-03.zip (6.1 MB)

@igowas Same here manually matching does not force metadata download, and eventually greys out the option to refresh metadata.

The most recent file with this issue is Lord of War. I have not restarted yet either so the logs should have it.

Honestly this is by no means an isolated incident. I thought i did something wrong. Manual placement of files does not work. automatic placement with a signal to re-scan does not work. Power went out yesterday, Now i cannot connect to any of my libraries at all. Might have to see if i can figure out how to downgrade a few updates.

Per my request above, Please provide logs. Without them, I can do nothing.

@plex.cnahome

Your logs show errors:

Nov 02, 2019 00:37:49.317 [0x7fc1c27fc700] ERROR - Couldn't copy file "/home/plex/metadata/Plex Media Server/Metadata/Albums/0/59665286b30eb099188a02b7a900c747036772a.bundle/Uploads/posters/com.plexapp.agents.localmedia_7ab5f2a960186ac8fc2b9cb6b9779924e5aad65a" to "/home/plex/metadata/Plex Media Server/Metadata/Albums/1/a621477f56f13c67288b9c3864cf9d44da67fde.bundle/Uploads/posters/com.plexapp.agents.localmedia_7ab5f2a960186ac8fc2b9cb6b9779924e5aad65a": File exists

Which username is PMS running as?

First time i have this much trouble with a Docker. As soon as i figure out how to get the log i will post it. The log its allowing me to read is throwing a Critical: libusb_init failed

I can’t help with Docker. Sorry. I don’t use it. I have, time and time again, found it to be more trouble than it’s worth.

I do recommend searching and posting in the server-docker threads.

Will do. The Linux version of the plex should not be any different for a docker. Just a different way of implementing it.

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The containerization is the problem.
It’s the nature of docker.

I can rehost a native app PMS to another system as quickly as I make a tarball.

Plex.cnahome.

The error I found above implies a permission problem.

I presume you created a systemd override.conf file?

Yes I did, and Plex owns the metadata directory

please clarify.

  1. You have the metadata in your Linux username’s home directory
  2. PMS runs as user plex:plex in there?

Yes, and the user in the override.conf file is plex and a manual group. Which owns the folder: See screenshot. Also I have not had any issues with this until last week. Setup has not changed.

There is a copy owned by root, because I did a backup before reinstalling plex to see if that would fix the issue

When running this way, because of how some distros are, running mixed mode in your home directory can be a real problem.

I always recommend keeping the home directory sacred and creating that secondary group should you need to access it.

I don’t see why you do need to access the metadata as there’s nothing in there of relevance to a user with the possible exception of adding plug-ins .

If I may suggest? Please consider /home/plexdata , user plex, group whatever-you-like, adding both users to that group.

Here’s my quick how-to if it helps.

Regarding what I’m seeing in your files is PMS telling me that it’s trying to create metadata and can’t because there is already existing metadata. It’s erroring and making it stop (an impossible situation is occurring).

When’s the last you empties the trash and “Clean Bundles” (which would remove those old metadata diretories which are no longer in the database ) ?

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I appreciate your suggestion, and will keep it in my pocket moving forward if I can find a legitimate reason why what I have is causing problems. The file permissions are correct as a restart fixes the issue. If the problem is that its trying to create a file that already exists would point me to try and figure out why plex is trying to do that, and why it doesnt have built in way to handle it.

With that said I have cleared bundles, emptied trash, and optimized… Along with manually uninstalling PLEX 100%, and reinstalling. The only thing I have not done is forced a removal and refresh of all metadata… REALLY want to avoid that.