Migrating from Plex Media Server Windows to Synology without loss?

[RobaFresca]

Hi. I decided to give up my Windows 2019 Server and run a Synology DS1821+ instead.
On the Windows-Server is running (always newest) Plex Media Server with many custom meta data and covers. Is there a way to bring all database, settings and content files such as custom covers and settings from Windows to Plex for Synology ? Name of the folders and IP will be the same.
Thx to everyone who can help me…

[tom80H]

It’s possible; the exact procedure will vary depending on what version of DSM you have installed (mainly DSM 5/6 vs. 7).

Here’s the link to the instructions on how to move your Windows setup to a DSM 5/6 NAS

Synology FAQ - Questions, Answers, and a few How-To's

FAQ 18: Moving PMS from Mac/Windows to Synology Note: This method mimmicks the “DSM 7 ‘migration’”. It is done this way to maximize automation and ensure a successful import. Make certain to turn off / disable the following in Plex Settings > Server > Library before stopping PMS. a. Scan my library automatically b. Run a partial scan when changes are detected c. Scan my library periodically d. Empty trash automatically after every scan Stop PMS on the source (Mac/Windows) machin…

[RobaFresca]

Thx a lot for your help, buddies !
Unfortunately i am stuck after installing PLEX (beta only) on DSM 7.
There is NO shared Plex folder at all and NO plex user.
What did i miss ?

[ChuckPa]

@RobaFresca

Please confirm for me ?

1. You originally did a fresh (new / first-time ) installation of Plex on your NAS and you happened to use the beta package ?

2. If correct, have no fear.

3. Installing PMS (downloaded from Plex.tv) will clean up from the beta package for you. You only need be patient with it as it works.

Have you had opportunity to read what’s changed in DSM 7 ?

The first document:

DSM 7 - Plex Media Server - Release Info & Migration instructions

Plex Media Server for Synology DSM 7 - Release This document is to share changes made with DSM 7 and resolve any unforeseen issues before you attempt migrating to DSM 7 for Plex use YOU ARE URGED TO READ THIS THREAD COMPLETELY BEFORE PROCEEDING OR ASKING QUESTIONS DO NOT INSTALL Synology BETA software UNLESS INSTRUCTED. This thread is a LIVING document. Expect it to change. Synology’s DiskStation Manager (DSM) has undergone significant changes in version 7.0. Many of those changes affected …

Updated location change to make the “PlexMediaServer” shared folder visible.

DSM 7 - Finalized Configuration (PMS 1.24.2.4973) - Release information

DSM 7 - Finalized Configuration (Packaging 2.0) - Release Information See below for updates Since DSM 7.0-41890 finalized, I’ve had time to digest everyone’s input as well as review what we ultimately ended up with in DSM 7.0 Looking at all the issues faced, there was one overriding problem which could not be solved – Plex’s data was not accessible from the GUI or other Synology tools such as Hyper Backup. An important issue for most was the data area could not be moved. It took some t…

[RobaFresca]

Well, i use Plex for many years but it’s my first time install it on a Synology NAS. My former DS412+ didn’t perform strong enough with I-Atom and just 1G RAM to install PMS. So PMS was always runing on one of my Windows-workstations in my network and the last 2y on a Windows 2019 Server. I was just used to get anything on the NAS by p-center and never used ext. packages before. Now it is a DS1821+/16G RAM and enough for PMS. However, following your advice i installed now the act. version from the hp and i have the PMS folder available. Thx again ! Later on i will report if i succeeded or not.

[RobaFresca]

Sorry Dudes but it just doesn’t work. I followed the instructions, set up plex server with settings as shown, shut it down, extracted the .zip from the old server, checked and set access rights, deleted the pure windows stuff and even changed ip address to the one of my old server. shared folders are named equal and have identic file-structure. But when i restarted Plex on the new server it was showing nothing, no old libraries, just nothing like freshly set up. no idea what to do just delete anything and start from scratch again…

[ChuckPa]

1. Don’t panic.

2. If it just started up without barking about ownership of the Plex share by user PlexMediaServer – then migration did not engage.

3. Confirm migration didn’t engage by looking in the Plex shared folder. If it started, “Migration.log” will exist.

Please report your findings.

[RobaFresca]

1. I won’t
2. It just started like new, no complaints about anything
3. No Migration.log at all

I still have the working old server so i won’t lose anything yet.

[ChuckPa]

@RobaFresca

. I followed the instructions, set up plex server with settings as shown, shut it down, extracted the .zip from the old server,

Ok, I see what occurred. It’s using the default (pre-migration) which it setup a sa NEW server.

1. Uninstall the package – ERASE option. (to erase the empty DSM 7 system)
2. Reinstall the same package again.
3. Migration will engage

[RobaFresca]

So…i just deletet all and started over again, following your instructions slowly and line for line. (btw. i am a sysadmin with 25y of IT-experience!)
But: Still the same ! Plex Server shows 5 times with the same server name on dashboard (seems plex.tv saves avery single try…) and still empty media libraries. I have no more time to try and try and try…i just gonna give up, use another product which is easy to migrate, do the costumizing from scratch and that’s it. Since i used Plex first, it NEVER worked moving/migrating to another machine and that’s poor…
Thx anyway for your friendly help.

[ChuckPa]

If you now Control-F5 (force browser reload)

You will see 2.

I cleaned up those which were save to remove.

You can delete the other in Settings - Authorized Devices - Server sometime tomorrow when the distinction betwen the current and most recent is easier.

I don’t understand why you’ve had so much difficulty. there are countless success stories where it worked the first time; including one which had 480GB of metadata to move.

The challenge is understanding Linux and then adding Synology’s flavor on top of that

[RobaFresca]

Sorry, didn’t see ur response in time.
I just tried to set up the smallest media library, shot down the server and unzip now the the whole 150 GB library from the old server again to see what happens that way.
If this still doesn’t work i’ll give you a try with pleasure to try urself from scratch. Just tell me where to send you login data for the NAS.

[RobaFresca]

Some questions:
If i completely try again from scratch, wouldn’t it make sense not to start the server after installation and wait instead the library is copied and cleaned completely first ? In my understanding this makes sense.

Should i clean up my account on plex.tv somehow before trying ?

On the windows server PMS were running on the system partition with WS2019 but the AppCache/PMS was located in one of my storage volumes. Could this make the difference ?