Player won't open

Server Version#: 1.15.8.1198
Player Version#: 2.34.0.983

My client is a 64-bit Windows 10 machine. I downloaded the Plex Media Player (not the Windows Store version) and installed it. But when I try to open the player, nothing happens. I can’t see it, and it doesn’t show up on my task bar. However, in my task manager, under Processes, Plex Media Player.exe is showing up under Background Processes.

I have another machine, and the player works fine on that one. Not sure why it doesn’t on this one.

Make sure to install an updated device driver for your graphics adapter. Download it directly from the manufacturer’s website.

A second thing to try is to locate the plexmediaplayer.conf file
edit it and toggle the setting "useOpenGL" to true/false
PMP must be closed while editing the file!

Hi Otto, Thanks. I have installed the latest driver, and it doesn’t change the outcome. I have done a search for the plexmediaplayer.conf file, but my search in file explorer does not locate that file, and I haven’t been able to find it by poking around on my plexmediaplayer folder or on my local app data folder. So I haven’t figured out how to toggle that setting. Any suggestions on what folder it might be in?

I have set a link for you above.

Are you 100% sure, that your Windows is 64 bit?

Hi Otto,

Definitely 64 bit (I just looked at the System properties to verify).

The link didn’t help – when I go to the file location it references, the only thing there is a “logs” folder. I have verified that my file explorer has option checked to show hidden items as well, so it’s not hidden, but it just doesn’t seem to be there. I have uninstalled and re-installed the media player, but that file isn’t showing up.

Thanks for your help; hopefully I can get this sorted out.

Otto, if this helps: I uninstalled PMP, rebooted, and reinstalled. Before launching, I went to my Local App Data folder, and it does not show a Plex Media Player folder at all. So, I watched the Local App Data folder as I launched, and when I pressed “Launch,” the Plex Media Player folder was created in the Local App Data folder. However, when I open that Plex Media Player folder, it only shows the Log folder, and no conf file.

OK, this means PMP is crashing hard before it has a chance to even create the default plexmediaplayer.conf file.
Wow. Never encountered this one.

Did you try to download a fresh copy of the installer using a different browser or a download manager software?

I just tried downloading using a different browser (I was using Edge, and this time I tried Firefox). Same problem.

Did you inspect the log file of your antivirus software? PMP might get choked by it for some reason.

I’m just using the security built into Windows 10. My event viewer shows “Audit success” for some logons at the time I tried to start Plex, although I confess I do not know what I should be looking for in those logs.

Is this Windows installation “locked down” in some way?
Like, are there additional security measures activated e.g. execute only “approved apps” or something like that?

Nope, it’s an ordinary Windows 10 install.

Did you install PMP on a different drive letter than C: ?

Was the install manual or auto update in PMP ?

You could try SysInternal Process Monitor to see what is accessing and if it is trying to write to a .log file

The logs should go to %LocalAppData%\PlexMediaPlayer\logs

Procmon from https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/downloads/procmon

Suggest you try latest PMP version available from https://www.plex.tv/media-server-downloads/#plex-app
It is 2.35.1.986-29666b14

So kill the running PlexMediaPlayer process.
Install the new version
Launch Procmon.exe to capture all events
Launch PMP
when PMP fails, stop Procmon and save PML file and filter by process name containing PlexMediaPlayer and path containing Logs

Also check Windows Application event log for exceptions - event IDs 1000 and 1001

sa2000, thanks. Here is the information:

  1. It was a manual install of the current version of PMP (the version you mentioned).

  2. I tried the SysInternal Process Monitor. I don’t know if I am providing the correct logs, but here is the text from PlexMediaPlayer.log:

2019-06-15 16:00:38 [ INFO  ] Log.cpp @ 115 - Starting Plex Media Player version: 2.35.1.986-29666b14 build date: 2019-06-12 
2019-06-15 16:00:38 [ INFO  ] Log.cpp @ 116 -   Running on: Windows 10 (10.0) [10.0.17763] arch x86_64 
2019-06-15 16:00:38 [ INFO  ] Log.cpp @ 117 -   Qt Version: 5.9.5 [x86_64-little_endian-llp64] 
2019-06-15 16:00:38 [ DEBUG ] UpdateManager.cpp @ 45 - No Update directory found, exiting 
2019-06-15 16:00:38 [ INFO  ] OpenGLDetect.cpp @ 90 - Trying GLES version 3 
2019-06-15 16:00:38 [ INFO  ] OpenGLDetect.cpp @ 100 - Using GLES version 3 
  1. I ran Process Monitor, and here is the log file it created using the settings you identified:

Logfile.rar (272.5 KB)

  1. I looked at the event log, and there were some 1534 Event IDs, but no 1000 or 1001.

Hopefully I did this correctly. I’m not sure what I’m supposed to make of all this. Thanks for any advice you can offer.

Thanks - so it is not crashing but just not doing much after logging the above lines

The next thing that happens would be setting up a listen to tcp port 32433

Do you have any other program using that port ?

You can get the output from netstat to check

Start / Run: cmd
Right click on “command prompt” and select “Run As Adminstrator”
Then in the opening window, type
netstat -a -b -n > "%LocalAppData%\netstat_2019-Jun-16a.txt"

Then search the output file “netstat_2019-Jun-16a.txt” which is in C:\Users\Kelby\AppData\Local\ for 32433

The filters we used for ProcMon were just to establish if it was writing to a log file - which you have now found

So if it is not a simple port clash issue on 32433 then we need to repeat the test and this time just filter the process name and not have a filter in procmon for path

and let me have the PML again and netstat file and log file
There may also be a pmphelper.log
Please zip the files and attach rather than pasting content

thanks

Thank you.

The netstat file does not show any entry for 32433. Here it is: netstat_2019-Jun-16a.txt (12.9 KB)

Here is the PML with just the process name filtered:
Logfile.rar (1002.1 KB)

Here is the log file: PlexMediaPlayer.log (577 Bytes)

Sorry, somehow I missed the part about zipping. My apologies. I did not see a pmphelper.log in my local app data folder.

Thanks for the procmon and log.
It is not obvious why the Plex Media Player is hanging after launch,

What is Nahimic ? Seeing repeated references to it in the procmon capture. Just wondering if it has a bearing on the issue.

Google says it’s a sound interface driver “enhancement” (included with some motherboards) which produces some psychoacoustic effects.
There are reports about crashes produced by it.
The recommendation is to get rid of it.