One media server but two computers hosting

Plex Media Server
1

Server Version#:1.22.0.4163
Player Version#:

Recently got a new iMac and was migrating apps, etc. My Plex Media Server (PMS) is installed on the old iMac and just started running the PMS on my new Mac. The new Mac PMS recognized libraries but as hosted on the old computer and would not open any song/movie, from the lbirary. In settings, new computer was “green” for active, the other displayed the triangle with “!” listed as ‘nearby’. when I turned the PMS OFF on the old computer, the new computer suddenly gave yellow triangles and did not recognize any library. SOLUTIONS? Do I have to make all new libraries again for the new with the old computer off!? an easier solution?

2

Sounds like you copied all the settings incl. machine IDs and server names from the original server. Therefore Plex sees them as the same server… causing the conflicts you describe.

Try stopping the server on the new iMac, then open PMS configuration file and remove the existing machine identifier references (there’s multiple entries!)… preferably also the name of the server. After saving and restarting the server be better.
If you want to play it safe, make a copy/backup of the configuration file before editing.

~/Library/Preferences/com.plexapp.plexmediaserver.plist
3

tom80H - thank you for answering so quickly. Yes, it appears somehow I did. I’m pretty new at this. I couldn’t find where the machine IDs and the server names were/are to change them. And, yes, I think it sees it as the same server.

I did eliminate the “plist” that you suggested before doing a clean install of the PMS. but, then, got only the Plex TV library and it wanted to walk me through the “wizard” again to make new libraries. How would I get past that - after I trash the “plist” again.

I guess better question is this: how do I preserve the same library structure (labels, collections, etc.) from my OLD PMS on my OLD computer and transfer them to my NEW Mac, so that when I do a clean install of PMS on the NEW Mac, these libraries and labels will be preserved as before. (All files in libraries are on external drives so their pathways are identical…just anew server app on a new computer will be different.)

thanks in advance

I appreciate your answer and patience if you can offer a detailed “how to…”

4

you can edit that .plist file using Text Edit…
find the lines with a <key> attribute containing the term MachineIdentifier (e.g. AnonymousMachineIdentifier, MachineIdentifier, ProcessedMachineIdentifier). Delete those lines and the subsequent line with the value of that parameter (<string>...</string>).

Similarly you can change the value of the parameter <key>FriendlyName</key> (-> <string>[your server’s friendly name]</string>)

Edit:
If you already deleted the file… open your Plex Media Server from Safari on that Mac using http://127.0.0.1:32400/web – by deleting the file you’ve removed the server from your account. Therefore it’s not showing in your apps or using http://app.plex.tv/desktop. By opening locally (127.0.0.1…) you can link the server to your account and should be good to go.

5

I’m WAY too lazy to edit .plist files with TextEdit.

Besides, they’re mostly binary now, and you’re not supposed to edit them by hand any more. :slight_smile: @tom80H must be an oldschool dude.

1 Like
6

OK - I like the “edit” idea…let’s see if I got it right. I launched the 127.0.0.1…on safari, and yes, nothing appears. So I had to launch the PMS app, and, of course, empty folders. If I go to the website for PMS, and log in, and select settings, it launches my page. I don’t understand “by opening locally” unless I have the PMS app launched as well. And, “link the server to your account” - not sure how that is done. I think I totally screwed this up.

7
  1. Run the Plex Media Server app on your Mac
  2. Open http://127.0.0.1:32400/web in Safari on that Mac
  3. Login if requested (you probably already are signed in)

What do you get to see on that page? Are your libraries showing under “More” in the main navigation?
When you open Settings > [Server Name] > General – can you sign-in / link the server to your account?

8
  1. yes 2. yes 3. I do have to log in - which on my old Mac I did not have to. I do not see the original libraries from my old computer under “more”

Also, under settings/servername/ I have no “general”. general" comes under Plex web, and on that page I cannot sign in or link to any server account…only boxes to tic. nothing about server is mentioned.

9

Can you:

  1. stop/quit the Plex Media Server
  2. delete ~/Library/Preferences/com.plexapp.plexmediaserver.plist again and empty your Mac’s trash
  3. start the Plex Media Server
  4. re-open http://127.0.0.1:32400/web in your browser

For future reference… if you had not already previously deleted the file, there’s a more granular approach to restore a server after you got yourself locked out

10

Thanks Tom80H - I appreciate the help!

11

This topic was automatically closed 90 days after the last reply. New replies are no longer allowed.