I don’t even know if I’m posting this in the right place. Plex recently auto-updated to version 1.3.3.3148-b38628e, and the app on my Roku updated from Plex Classic to just Plex. Up until then, I had no issues, but now Plex can’t see the drive where the files are, and I have no idea how to make it do so. If I try to play something on the Plex server it tells me to check that the necessary file exists and the drive is mounted. I can access all of my drives and files through Windows, no problem. I’ve removed and re-installed Plex, I’ve unplugged and re-installed the external drive. Does anyone have any suggestions for a fix for someone who is not a computer programmer? Thanks.
Call up the Plex media info of one of your movies.
Take a note at what drive letter and folder name Plex is expecting the video file to live.
Now go into your Windows file explorer and look which drive letter your external drive now has. Do also check if the folder name has been changed.
If it is a different letter, you must restore the old one.
If the folder name has been changed, restore it to its old name.
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Hi, Otto. Thanks for the response. The Drive Letter and folder name on the movie’s media info in Plex matches the drive letter and folder name on the external drive. None of that has been changed. If I go into edit library and try to add a new folder in Plex, the drive that the movies are on doesn’t come up, though it’s listed already in the library folder on Plex. One of the other drives on the external drive, which isn’t public, shows up when I try to do this, just not the one that has the movies on it.
I don’t understand what you mean with ‘public’.
Are you using different user account on your Windows machine?
Is the media storage plugged into the same computer where Plex Server runs on?
No, I don’t use different user accounts on the Windows machine. Yes, the storage is plugged into the same computer that Plex runs on. By ‘public’ I mean that the drive doesn’t require a password to access it.
Is this some kind of special drive which requires extra software to access it?
No, you can access the drives right through Windows Explorer.
Yes, but did you have to install a special software when you got it new? Or did it work right away when you plugged it in the first time?
Can you make a screen shot of the ‘Add Folders’ dialog where the drive is missing?
I did install Seagate software when I got the drive, but I haven’t used it to put anything on any of the drives in a few years now.
Attached is a screenshot. There should be an X and a Z Drive there (I don’t really care about the Z Drive, since there’s nothing on it that I would use on Plex).
Are you running Plex under a different Windows user account? As a service?
No, I run everything on the PC under the same Windows user account. I never switch it. My Plex account has a different User name than my PC, but it’s been that way from the beginning.
What happens if you do this:
Open the folder on your external drive with the regular Windows file explorer.
Go to the top into the address bar and copy its content e.g. X:\movies
now open the ‘Add Folders’ dialog of your library and insert the copied drive and folder path into the top bar:
The x drive and movies folder does show up as already being in the library but I’ll give this a try. Should I delete the folder that’s already on plex or just paste this in in addition?
@banner731 said:
The x drive and movies folder does show up as already being in the library but I’ll give this a try. Should I delete the folder that’s already on plex or just paste this in in addition?
May I see a screenshot?
Here you go.
I tried copying the address and pasting it in the dialog box, but after I hit Add, nothing happened. It just went back to the Edit Library dialog. I did not delete the library that was already there first.
I have no idea.
Your USB drive must still use something other than a standard method to provide access.
Is the drive physically attached directly to the computer via USB or eSATA or do you access it over your network (example: backup drive plugged into router or NAS of some sort?)
Also when you reference X: and Z:, are those two separately formatted partitions on the same physical drive?
Yes, it’s physically attached to the PC via USB. Yes, X and Z are separate partitions on the same physical drive.
This might sound dumb, but have you tried to connect the USB drive on a different port?
