@Anyware… very nice! I like the part that says less than 10 similar reports. Maybe they should get a link to this thread!
Ha! Indeed. FWIW, there is a link to this thread and our Plex-related issues in the report.
how do you adjust network paths to connect over smb?
@famdani That was only because a lot of us had switched to AFP or NFS before we had the nsmb.conf file available. So that step can be skipped if you never switched off SMB in the first place.
I rarely read these forums, but I ran into this problem as well..
- Intel i7 Mac Mini I upgraded to Sequoia 15.3.2 last week.
- PMS Version 1.41.5.9522
- SMB shared Movies folder (I use a QNAP NAS not a Synology)
- more than 2000 folders, all following standard naming format.
- I use an applescript file for drive mounting on startup rather than AutoMounter.
could easily reproduce the problem. if I ran a manual scan, after completion under 1000 movies would show up, half had trashcans. if i went into Library > Edit > Add Folders, it would rescan and find everything.
can confirm the /etc/nsmb.conf file trick worked for me.
my settings:
[default]
# Disable packet signing
signing_required=yes
# Use NTFS streams if supported
streams=yes
# Turn off SMB notifications
notify_off=yes
# Disable NetBIOS (https://support.apple.com/en-us/102050)
port445=no_netbios
# Negotiate SMB version(s) (https://support.apple.com/en-us/102050)
# 6 == 0110 SMB 2/3 should be enabled
# 4 == 0100 SMB 3 should be enabled
protocol_vers_map=6
# Soft mount by default
soft=yes
# Disable directory caching
dir_cache_off=yes
# Limit caching
dir_cache_max_cnt=0
# Prefer wired connection, if available (https://support.apple.com/en-us/102010)
mc_prefer_wired=yes
# Disable SMB multichannel support (https://support.apple.com/en-us/102010)
mc_on=no
thanks for finding a solution!
2 Likes
Thanks for the feedback, @alkivar! It’s always useful to hear how these workarounds apply in different scenarios (like QNAP).
so i applied the file as outlined above. worked fine for a week or so .
but today , it wants the delete the entire library. as in i see a garbage can on every file today. anyone else similar issue?
If it’s showing every file as deleted, I wonder if you lost the connection. Are you running AutoMounter?
Automounter has been updated for those who are running it.
2 Likes
Just quick note that the release notes for macOS Sequoia 15.5 RC contain this tidbit…
Finder 
Resolved Issues
- Fixed: Network shares containing large amounts of data are incorrectly enumerated. (148408379)
I have not tested the betas or RC (for now I’m still sticking with AFP as per my last post) but if anybody hasn’t modified their nsmb.conf it might be worthwhile testing a stock config post-15.5 update… 
3 Likes
Hello. I’m a Mac Mini M4 15.4.1 user with a Synology NAS shared folder mounted using SMB, and having the same issue with MacOS/Plex not seeing all of the 1000+ files in my movies directory. After reading this entire thread and seeing all the various troubleshooting efforts, I tried this method.
I created a new file located here: /etc/nsmb.conf
I only added these two lines:
dir_cache_off=yes
mc_on=no
After rebooting and rescanning with Plex, all files were seen (for about 48 hours).
Upon a subsequent re-scan, I’m back under 1000 movies in Plex again. When I look at the directory in finder on Mac, I see 1000 files exactly. When I look at it on Plex it’s showing 927 movies (discrepancy between 1000 and 927 might be subtitles and folders- not clear). When I look at the shared folder on Synology web UI I see all 2769 files.
FWIW I also have a Windows box w/ same Synology NAS mounted using SMB, also running PMS and it has zero issues with the same movies path/Windows Explorer count/Plex count. IMO this seems like a MacOS issue…
Next step; I might adding everything to the /etc/nsmb.conf file:
Thanks to @Anyware and all the others for all the tips and tricks, troubleshooting and guidance so far…
Found these Apple support docs that reference the potential issue and it’s aforementioned potential fixes in this thread:
From terminal (as admin) used these commands:
echo “[default]” | sudo tee -a /etc/nsmb.conf
echo “dir_cache_max_cnt=0” | sudo tee -a /etc/nsmb.conf
echo “mc_prefer_wired=yes” | sudo tee -a /etc/nsmb.conf
…to create this file: /etc/nsmb.conf
…with these contents:
[default]
dir_cache_max_cnt=0
mc_prefer_wired=yes
Afterwards, I unmounted all my Synology SMB mounted shares, then rebooted my Mac. Remounted Synology shares, opened Synology/Movies folder in Finder everything all files present. Re-scanned Movies in Plex, everything is present…for now. Hope it remains stable!
Edit: before doing all this, I removed the previously manually created /etc/nsmb.conf file
My previous attempts at fixes did NOT resolve the problem. Reverting back to stock by removing the /etc/nsmb.conf file and updating to 15.5 now…fingers crossed!
1 Like
lol please let this be the end of this long saga… 
this was 3 days ago so I’d think someone would’ve been here jumping for joy already if this fixed the problem.
I’ve been running my “thrashing” script this afternoon after updating to Sequoia 15.5. Sadly, without the nsmb.conf file, the script fails reliably. With the nsmb.conf file in place, it does not fail. So while something may have improved, I don’t think this solves our issue.
That said, it can be a tough issue to diagnose and reproduce, so I’ll be curious to hear from someone who has actual success (or not) with their Plex libraries.
@Anyware… thats disappointing to hear, but I had little hope they actually fixed this issue anyway. Guess I’m keeping that script in place.
That being said… I’ve been giving Emby a better shot the last few months. I’ve been running both Plex and Emby for years, but I was too diehard Plex to give Emby a real shot. Anyway, there’s a lot I like about it, but some things I don’t. But the one thing I noticed is how much faster everything all media loads, both internally and externally. I’m pretty sure this is because Emby is configured to directly connect to SMB, rather than relying on macOS to manage those connections. I really wish Plex would implement that, but I understand thats a huge implementation. Plus, given Plex’s push to monetize, I can’t really see them putting in dev time to overhaul personal media paths.
1 Like
i did this and it worked this morning. then i come home again this afternoon and the library reverted back and is not showing 300 movies. Is that because the mac Mini M1 turned off the screen? i have it set to never put the disks to sleep
The two items that seem to work well in combination:
- AutoMounter: AutoMounter
- The full
nsmb.conffile: macOS SMB Configuration to Prevent Directory Caching Issues · GitHub
I removed the conf file and rebooted the mac after upgrading to 15.5. It has been more than 24h now and the files numbers are stable without dropping to 1000. Seems 15.5 solved the issue? Let’s see how it goes after a few days.
promising. keep us updated.
