# Move Plex Media Server to New Computer **URL:** \ **Category:** Plex Media Server\ **Tags:** server-windows\ **Created:** [December 10, 2020, 3:47am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/move-plex-media-server-to-new-computer/663677 "2020-12-10T03:47:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![precedence](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c6cbf5/32.png) [@precedence](https://forums.plex.tv/u/precedence)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2020, 3:47am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/move-plex-media-server-to-new-computer/663677/1 "2020-12-10T03:47:26Z")
Hi. I recently migrated my Plex Media Server from one windows machine to another following the steps here ([https://support.plex.tv/articles/201370363-move-an-install-to-another-system/](https://support.plex.tv/articles/201370363-move-an-install-to-another-system/)). After transferring the files to the Plex Media Server directory, and adding the registry keys, I rebooted, launched the media server and then signed in. However, I do not see my libraries for me to edit the new directory locations of the libraries. I see the contents in the Plex Media Server directory including all the metadata in the MetaData folder. So I’m not sure what to do. I have a huge library. And had to spend better than 8 hours going through the library fixing the matches and identifying played movies after switching (new install, not migration) from a QNAP NAS to a dedicated windows machine. Would prefer not to start from scratch again. Can anyone tell me why I’m not seeing libraries? I appreciate the help. ---
**Author:** ![anon18523487](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/49beb7/32.png) [@anon18523487](https://forums.plex.tv/u/anon18523487)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2020, 6:47am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/move-plex-media-server-to-new-computer/663677/2 "2020-12-10T06:47:31Z")
Those instructions assume everything on the new setup is the same as the old one, including the Windows use name and all drive configurations. If anything is different you will need to make some changes. First thing to look is in your registry. Fine the key “LocalAppDataPath”. Make sure this is the correct path for your new setup including the drive letter and username. ---
**Author:** ![precedence](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c6cbf5/32.png) [@precedence](https://forums.plex.tv/u/precedence)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2020, 2:25pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/move-plex-media-server-to-new-computer/663677/3 "2020-12-10T14:25:53Z")
@anon18523487 Thanks fro the reply. I checked that key and it is correct. The username is the same between both systems and so is the drive path. Any other thoughts? ---
**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:** [December 10, 2020, 3:49pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/move-plex-media-server-to-new-computer/663677/4 "2020-12-10T15:49:32Z")
If you created your backup copy while the old server was still running, your primary database file is likely corrupted. Try reverting to one of the backups or copy it again from the old hard drive. [https://support.plex.tv/articles/202485658-restore-a-database-backed-up-via-scheduled-tasks/](https://support.plex.tv/articles/202485658-restore-a-database-backed-up-via-scheduled-tasks/) ---
**Author:** ![anon18523487](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/49beb7/32.png) [@anon18523487](https://forums.plex.tv/u/anon18523487)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2020, 9:47pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/move-plex-media-server-to-new-computer/663677/5 "2020-12-10T21:47:30Z")
Can you manually zip up your logs folder and send that over? ---
**Author:** ![precedence](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c6cbf5/32.png) [@precedence](https://forums.plex.tv/u/precedence)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2020, 11:48pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/move-plex-media-server-to-new-computer/663677/6 "2020-12-10T23:48:02Z")
@OttoKerner Thank you for the recommendation. That helped a lot! I recopied the database and now I can see libraries. But not there’s a new issue. I can see all of the media, but the artwork metadata is missing (only dark grey boxes show). But the other data like who stars in the movie, rating, etc. is visible. I copied the metadata over as well. So I’m not sure why it’s not populating. Also, I confirmed the libraries are pointing to the correct storage location. In fact, when I attempt to play a movie, it plays with no problem. I scanned the library (took 2-3 hours), but this did not fix it. Seems like only the coverart is missing. I’m afraid to redownload all the metadata. I had to fix a lot of mismatched media last time which was very time-consuming. @anon18523487 Should I still zip and send over? Thank you all again for your help. ---
**Author:** ![precedence](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c6cbf5/32.png) [@precedence](https://forums.plex.tv/u/precedence)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2020, 11:53pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/move-plex-media-server-to-new-computer/663677/7 "2020-12-10T23:53:38Z")
By the way, I did not copy the Cache folder over to save time. Could this be the issue? ---
**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:** [December 11, 2020, 12:29am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/move-plex-media-server-to-new-computer/663677/8 "2020-12-11T00:29:17Z")
> [@precedence](#): > > did not copy the Cache folder over to save time. Could this be the issue? Yes, if you erase that folder, you will usually lose artwork. You will have to Refresh Metadata of all libraries then and let the Plex Butler loose at night: [https://support.plex.tv/articles/201553286-scheduled-tasks/](https://support.plex.tv/articles/201553286-scheduled-tasks/) ---
**Author:** ![precedence](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c6cbf5/32.png) [@precedence](https://forums.plex.tv/u/precedence)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2020, 4:38am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/move-plex-media-server-to-new-computer/663677/9 "2020-12-12T04:38:23Z")
Thank you all for the feedback. I had 30+GB of content that I copied over and apparently, not all of it copied. So I had a lot of missing metadata files. Once I ran the copy again, it copied over the rest. So all is working now. Making sure all data was copied was key, especially if you have a 4000+ library. It took hours to copy from the source computer. Cheers! ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/plex/original/3X/2/a/2acb9765406f63293d357b4ec509ec39aa28f2ad.png) [@system](https://forums.plex.tv/u/system)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2021, 4:38am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/move-plex-media-server-to-new-computer/663677/10 "2021-03-12T04:38:24Z")
This topic was automatically closed 90 days after the last reply. New replies are no longer allowed.