My plex server exists on a Windows 10 PC, Intel 6700k
The other day I began a likely long overdue server update due to no longer being compatible with the Plex Android app, but had no other issues. I let it run for a bit, but ultimately had to restart the computer, and in retrospect it had probably not completed updating.
Every time I tried to start the server, the icon would appear in the tray, then disappear as soon as I hovered over it. Navigating via browser showed that the server was not running.
After trying various other fixes, I ultimately decided I’d back up the localapps data elsewhere and do an entirely fresh install of Plex Media Server just to see if I could start over. After uninstalling, deleting the localapps data, and removing the registry key, I downloaded and ran the current installer.
Even after fresh install, the icon appears in the tray, then disappears when I hover over it, and the server clearly never actually starts.
At this point I would be fine if I am ultimately not able to restore any of the DB backups of my old server since I still have the actual media files, I just want to be able to get an instance of Plex Media Server up and running on this device again!
Happy to upload logs, but not sure which would be helpful here.
The logs will tell you why it’s quitting. It could be many things. One very common thing is it will say “plex media server is already running” or that port 32400 is bound and used already. Maybe you have duplicate instances?
There’s also a guide on how to start fresh. But seems like you already read it.
Upload the entire logs folder into a zip. There’s a guide on how to do that as well.
I’ve attached the logs from the current installation, which was a fresh installation as of posting this thread, and after attempting to fully remove the previous server install. I don’t catch anything that helps me diagnose the issue, but maybe someone else here will.
Your logs stop right after checking your gpu. Check that your gpu drivers are up to date and try again.
Another possibility is that the install logs mention a possible issue with the plex update service. You might need to manually kill then try installing from scratch again. If a really old version was running when you installed the new version, i can see something possibly going wrong.
TL;DR: Used DDU to remove drivers for a GPU that hasn’t been connected to the PC in years, and Plex started immediately on restart.
So this PC had a GTX 1070 in it for a long time, then probably like 2 or 3 years ago I took it out due to running into a couple issues and ended up giving it away since I was no longer using said PC for gaming.
I never uninstalled the drivers, but also had zero issues for the past couple years despite it being my Plex server the whole time, but I guess this update finally tripped something.
I definitely didn’t know that the GPU check on my logs being the last thing was significant, so thanks for the help!
