Mods can mark this one closed. The most beneficial tutorial I found was in the following post: [HowTo] An extended guide on how to move the Plex data folder on Windows
I missed the step about updating the registry for PlexUpdateService, but once I re-read the guide, it was an easy fix. Now all is well and new media has been added without issues. I’ve decided to leave all my media files where they are, so that removes the second issue I had mentioned.
Thanks to the guide above, I was able to get my PMS application data moved to my SSD. I was surprised to see that it was 20+ GB of data. Having moved it over, I’ve noticed a significant decrease in the read/write and general data access to my external hard drive. It is a $100 Seagate and I trust it for data storage, but I was concerned that it was being over-used. I do not like the fact that all my media is on the external drive – kids have already knocked it over a time or two. But until I can find a decent 2.5" drive that fits in my SFF HTPC, I will live with it as it is.
Thanks again to those who took the time to help me.
