Missing movie that was there before

General Discussions
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I was spending some time resolving issues like correcting names of movies so they could be recognized by Plex and I noticed that one of the movies that was in the library was no longer there. I checked the usual things like is the file/folder still on the NAS (yes), is the name still correct (yes), is the release date correct (yes), all the time pressing Scan Library Files when any changes were made. I tried renaming the folder and the file something like ZZZfilename, just so it would be recognized as new content and then changed it back to the original name but it is still missing from the library. It is a sequel and the other movies are still in the database. I bring this up only to point out that the files are accessible to the Plex player on different devices (Win10 Computer and Roku box).

I’m out of ideas and would appreciate any help. Thanks!

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Sort the library for duplicates. Since it is a sequel, Plex may have combined it with the original or Plex may have misidentified it and combined it with some other movie.

If it is combined, you can split it apart then fix match so it will be listed correctly.

If you are using the new Plex Movie agent, you can add the IMDB/TMDB id to the folder and file name. Plex will use the ID to match the movie, download metadata, etc. See Naming and Organizing Your Movie Files for details.

Plex Dance the movie if you change naming or organization.

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Renaming like that won’t trigger Plex to recognize new content. Plex will continue tracking the file despite that type of renaming.

Follow @FordGuy61’s link above to the Plex Dance.

If you’d like naming assistance, please share the names of the folders and files, for this one and the other movies in the series.

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I did the Plex Dance TM by moving all the movie files out of the folder, then did a rescan , “empty trash” and then “cleaned bundles”. At this point should the movies still be visible? If I click on one it says “Unavailable” as I would expect, but I would also expect the movies to be visible as they are no longer in the expected location.

I want to be sure that it is okay to still see them listed before I start moving them back.

Thanks!

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If you have performed the first four steps of the Plex Dance, the movies should NOT be listed in any of your libraries.

The point of the Plex Dance is to completely remove the media and any associated metadata from your Plex Media Server.

Then, when you move the media back, it will be as if you are doing so for the first time.

If the movies are still listed in your server, repeat the scan/empty trash/clean bundles. Perform the steps in that order. Then optimize the database.

The movies should then no longer appear on your system.

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If it’s still unexpectedly present, I wonder if multiple files were matched to that show.

If you view the Media Info, is the path to the file what you would expect?

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Thank you for the last line of your email. It was still pointing to an old test directory. All is well… except for the various versions of Close Encounters. Director’s Version, Special Edition…

Thanks again!

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