Please help.....My Media Server is gone

Plex Media Server NAS & Devices
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Server Version#:4.137.1
Player Version#:
<If providing server logs please do NOT turn on verbose logging, only debug logging should be enabled>

Hello, I really hope someone can help me (and for your information, English is not my native language so sometimes I find it hard to understand the technical terms).

I don’t know the reason for 100%, but this is what happened.

Yesterday I activated 2-steps-verification in my Plex settings and after that Plex showed me that my Media Server was off-line. So I disabled the 2-steps-verification and hoped that that would resolve to be able to get to my Media Server again. But that wasn’t the case.

I have my PMS installed on a Nvidia Shield TV Pro and my movies/music is on several external hard discs (one of them a WD MyCloud).

When I now log in into my Plex account it shows that the server is offline. When I look at the settings it shows nothing (blanc) under the Media Server setting. When I check the Shield via Windows Explorer I see these files still present:

  • com.plexapp.plugins.library.blobs.db-2024-08-30 (65Mb large)
  • com.plexapp.plugins.library.db-2024-08-30 (133Mb large)

When I look into the app-settings of the Shield it shows that the Plex Media Server is present (and storage about 5 Gigabytes). But when I open that I get back into my Plex-account but there isn’t a PMS available.

Can somebody please help me getting my PMS back again. I have spend a lot of hours creating libraries with specific names and album/movie covers so I really would like to get it back.

Thanks in advance.

1 Like
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Did you in the process of enabling 2FA opt to sign out devices? This will also sign out the server and you’ll have to re-claim it. One option to do that is to connect to the server locally, using the bundled web app via the server‘s local IP from within the same subnet. The server should be visible/accessible there: Settings > [Server Name] > General → sign the server in with your account

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Hello Tom, thanks for your reply, much appreciated.

I don’t recall signing out devices. I logged into my Plex Account (via my webbrowser) and there was an option to activate 2-step-authication. I enabled that, but don’t recall there was an option.

You have to help me a bit as my technical knowledge is very poor… what do you mean with “Connect to the server locally” ? Because I think at this moment I don’t have a server. When I log into my Plex account on the Nvidia Shield and go to the settings in that Plex Account I see all the options,…except the Plex Media Server, there is nothing there. Whilst first there was an option to Enable/Disable the server (I think) and there was a second option (If I recall correctly that was an option to change the Internal Memory or something like that).

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Point a web browser at the IP address of the Shield. For example, if the IP address is 10.1.2.3, use http://10.1.2.3:32400/web.

The IP address is visible in the Plex client app settings. It is overlaid in the lower right corner of the screen. You may need to turn on logging in the Advanced settings for it to appear. The IP address is also displayed in the Shield settings.

This is an ongoing problem that Plex has been unable to fix. There are multiple threads in the forum on the topic.

One recent post suggested setting a PIN on your Plex account in Plex Home settings: https://app.plex.tv/desktop/#!/settings/plex-home. Or, if a PIN exists, remove it, then force quit and restart the Plex client app (link).

Others have taken steps such as sideloading older versions of Plex Media Server, factory resetting the Shield, or reinstalling the Shield OS.

It is unclear if any of those steps are a lasting solution or if the problem will reappear. Hopefully Plex will figure out the root cause and resolve the problem.

Links to some of the other threads on the topic:

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image
image975×513 44.3 KB

I think he mean this side in web app.
But where here I can restart the server, when it is down?

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@FordGuy61 , going to do it step for step if you don’t mind.

You write: Point a web browser at the IP address of the Shield. For example, if the IP address is 10.1.2.3, use http://10.1.2.3:32400/web .

I turned on my PC and with the Explorer I can access the Nvidia Shield.
I turned on my TV and the Nvidia Shield and looked for the IP-adress, which is : //192.168.178.206

But when I go to my computer and type that IP-adress into the browser I get the screen:

Site can not be reached. 192.168.178.206 has refused the connection.

For extra information I want to share this screen. These are the settings whenever I log into my Plex account on the Nvidia Shield. As you can see, there is nothing underneath PLEX MEDIA SERVER. And I’m 100% sure that previous there were 2 options there (as mentioned above).

The second screen is from the Nvidia Shield settings where, in the System Apps, you can see that there is a mention of a Plex Media Server.

The third image is from my computer whenever I log into my Plex Account.

plex-media-server
plex-media-server866×577 108 KB

plex-systeem-app
plex-systeem-app613×816 76.8 KB

plex-web
plex-web1008×496 34.5 KB

(edit) I have removed the pin, rebooted the Shield/Force closed the Plex App. Restarted both but no luck, no PMS.

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I do not run Plex Media Server on my Shield, so have no direct experience with the problem. The best I can do is refer you to the other threads where some have been able to get PMS running again. Hopefully Plex can figure out what is happening and fix the problem, as it is affecting many who run PMS on a Shield.

1 Like
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Then you have to write:
http://192.168.178.206:32400/web

What it show you, when you open the Wrench (Settings) in the upper right corner.

You can do “updates verwijderen”
then you have the old server and maybe it show you the server setup in the old PMS Version and you can do start the (old) server.

After that, dont install the buggy server 1.40.5.8921 again.
Stop auto install in Playstore and use the last working PMS Version 1.40.4.8679.
You get the apk from apkmirror

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That’s mine. It was apparently a permissions issue with my profile (missing crown on the profile picture). @bernardoghazi fixed it (thank you!), but ~2 months later PMS broke again and the options/settings underneath “Settings > Plex Media Server” disappeared (different from my original, rarer issue, where the entire “Plex Media Server” row including the “Plex Media Server” heading disappeared). Reinstalled PMS, issue persisted. Removed PIN, options/settings reappeared but PMS stopped after changing storage location. Restarted Shield, PMS resumed but options/settings disappeared again. Reconfigured PIN, options/settings reappeared.

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Set/Remove a/the PIN.

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He tried.

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I also have no PMS (settings) if I restart the Shield after setting/removing a/the PIN. I must set/remove a/the PIN again after restarting the Shield.

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Well, I think I have made up my mind. I love Plex but I hate Plex on the Nvidia Shield. This is the 4th time that I have problems and every time I have to rebuild my libraries which cost me a lot, and I mean A LOT, of time.

So I think it’s better to look for a way to use Plex on a device which makes it easy to make a backup which can be replaced in a normal easy way whenever I have to use it.

I think Plex is great, I think the Nvidia Shield is great (because it plays everything), so if anybody knows a way or a device which I can use as a Plex Media Server and play my files with the Nvidia Shield, thanks in advance for your advice.

At least, I hope there is a device where you can backup your Plex libraries and put them back in an easy way whenever there is a problem, or whenever I have to factory-reset the Nvidia Shield.

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Hi VanZet,
I just always make sure that all files are already on the hard drive so that they are recognized and assigned correctly.
If I add something new and it is recognized incorrectly, I edit the file until it is recognized correctly.
This means I can delete my media libraries and have them recreated at any time.

I love my Nvidia Shield TV Pro 2019 and my Plex Media Server on it.

If you want, you can Backup and Restore your Database!
https://support.plex.tv/articles/201539237-backing-up-plex-media-server-data/
https://support.plex.tv/articles/202915258-where-is-the-plex-media-server-data-directory-located/
https://support.plex.tv/articles/moving-server-data-storage-location-on-nvidia-shield/

With the Nvidia Shield you have the advantage of having servers and players on one device, meaning that films can be played in direct play without a LAN and almost never have to be transcoded.

If you want a different server, it may have to trancode and cannot play one or another file in Direct Play.
Therefore, the best server is still the Windows or Linux server, with a strong processor and a good graphics card that can transcode 4K HDR with TrueHD Atmos Sound or DTS:X.

The currently best NAS devices are Synology and Qnap.
Synology acts similarly to Apple and Qnap acts like Android.

If you want to add additional hard drives via USB, both providers do not offer support.
However, Qnap has its own extensions that are only connected via USB.
Synology, on the other hand, offers extensions via SATA connection.

The basic devices are available with 2-6 hard drive slots; with Synology you can tell from the first number how many hard drives this can be expanded to.

The DS224+ has 2 slots and cannot be expanded, for example.
The DS723+ has 2 slots, but can be expanded to 7 slots with the DX517.

With the TL-D800C, Qnap has an expansion of 8 hard drives via USB connection. I therefore assume that external USB hard drives can be used via a hub without any problems.

As a basic device I would use the TS-264 from Qnap.

Ultimately, you are in good hands with your Nvidia Shield.

And VanZet, here the Pin has help and solved the problem.

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Hello @City-Cobra , thanks for your advice, and of course, there was a reason for me to start the Plex on the Nvidia Shield, because it’s great. But everytime there is an issue, it means that I have to rebuild all my libraries manually again which, in my case, costs me 100’s of hours ( I know, there is an easy way, but I have renamed my files in a way that I like them and Plex has difficulties with that. And the fact that I have created 100’s of custom covers which I have to add manually to all the movies and music).

The strange thing is, that i THINK I have backuped ALL of the library files and other files, but I just can find a way to put them back. Here under an overview of all the files and folders I have backupped on my Computer.

plex-backups
plex-backups876×498 185 KB

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No Problem, restore it.

https://www.reddit.com/r/PleX/comments/p7qke6/restoring_database_backup_of_nvidia_shield_plex/
https://support.plex.tv/articles/202485658-restore-a-database-backed-up-via-scheduled-tasks/

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@VanZet

The Shield is a great Plex client. It is an average Plex server.

It is not a stretch to say that most people migrate to different servers as they continue to use Plex.

I started out running Plex Media Server on a Shield, migrated to running Plex on a NAS, and now run PMS on an Ubuntu based PC with the NAS holding the media. I still use the Shield (2015 model) as my primary Plex client. It direct plays everything I throw at it. If it died I would quickly order another.

If you do move PMS off the Shield, budget for a Plex Pass. It will let you take advantage of hardware accelerated transcoding. You may not need it for local playback, but it will help if you stream video remotely to yourself or others.

If you choose to run PMS on a NAS, choose a model with an Intel CPU with integrated graphics. Synology makes models with the Celeron J4125 CPU. QNAP makes NAS with many different Intel CPUs, from Celerons to i7.

Many NAS have ARM or AMD CPUs which do not support hardware accelerated transcoding. Such NAS will have less transcoding capability than PMS on the Shield.

If it is within the budget, consider a NAS with room for at least four drives. This will let you use RAID to protect against drive failure and still have room for future growth.

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@FordGuy61 , thank you for your very clear answer and information. I will keep this definitely in mind.

But due to the post of @City-Cobra, I have given it one more try. I followed the steps in the Reddit-post and…well what can I say…this worked. Not 100%, but I am a happy man now.

I followed the Reddit-post and had to change it a bit ( I have a USB-stick in my Nvidia Shield which I had to format and change the internal storage to user accesable storage) but after rebooting the Nvidia and waiting for some time,…today I opened Plex and wow…wow…almost everyting is back to what it was. Amazing.

Al the names are there, the only thing missing are the posters. I have made a lot of custom posters for my movies and music, but none of them are showing. Of course it would be totally perfect if all my posters would be there as well, but I am happy with the fact that all the names are the same as I used to have them.

Thank you all for you help. And if someone knows why the posters are not showing and even knows if (and how) it’s possible to bring those back,…yes than,…I am perfectly happy.

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