Hi guys,
I've been scratching my head on this one for a while ... I need some help! Thanks in advance.
My setup:
- Plex Media server 0.9.9.7 running on Windows 7
- Media Library on NAS drive connected to router, mapped on to network drive on PMS Windows machine
My problem:
Since about half a year ago I've noticed some media files "mysteriously" removed from my media library.
In my case, my media files are actually deleted from the NAS drive.
I'd realize because when I go into Plex, I'll see the yellow trash can above the media folder, and that's when I realize the media files have been deleted.
The NAS drive is only ~ 50% full.
There were times I re-added the media file, and they disappear again after a while.
It's always the newly added files that have been mysteriously deleted.
The worst case is when I logged in yesterday I found that 6 latest episodes of a series have been deleted ... ???!?!?!
I have already disabled "Client can delete media file" option in PMS setting.
There are files on the NAS drive that are not added to the Plex folder, and those never disappear, so that's why I determined it is most likely a Plex problem.
Any clue guys? I've looked at different things but can't figure out why this is happening ...
plex is not actually deleting your actual files is it? if you use your file browser and look for them they are still there?
it probably just can't find them. which is what the trash can icons means ( that it did a scan and it can't find them) this might happen if a network drive went to sleep maybe and it did not wake up when the scan took place.
have you optimized your database in a while? it sometimes fixes other weird issue like this
No, the files are actually deleted from my NAS drive.
If the files just disappeared from Plex I can deal with it, but the files are actually deleted from the drive.
ok i would look at the server logs and see if you see a DELETE command or anything around the time that they disappear ( if possible) to see what may be causing it (like, is someone you share with watching, is a transcode going on, index files being made) is it right after an auto scan maybe.
( you might try updating to current 9.9.12 )
I had the same exact problem yesterday. Plex deleted a lot of my files FROM DISK. I found some of them in the Recycle Bin, but since they were all large files, some of them were PERMANENTLY DELETED.
WORST THING THAT CAN HAPPEN with any type of software.
Why would Plex DELETE FILES FROM DISK automatically without asking anyway....?
I had just activated the option to "Update my library automatically" 5 minutes earlier.
I was updating some files manually when I noticed some weird message on the "activity page (alerts)" with some FILES DELETED message.
I didn't check the log files right away. And now, I cant find find anything in them.
I scanned all file in C:\Users\xxxxxx\AppData\Local\Plex Media Server\Logs for the word DELETE.
Running version 0.9.9.7.429
I just don't know what to do to insure THIS NEVER HAPPEN AGAIN. I don't know if I trust this software anymore............
I'm now running version 0.9.9.12.504
"Allow clients to delete media" in not activated and I am 95% sure it wasn't activated when the files were deleted (by version 9.9.7).
Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.
well like i said we would need to see logs to see what was going on at the time of deletion to figure out what may be causing it. there is not a built in function that is intentionally deleting anything except the one to allow clients to.
well like i said we would need to see logs to see what was going on at the time of deletion to figure out what may be causing it. there is not a built in function that is intentionally deleting anything except the one to allow clients to.
this is the only place where I can find logs right ?
C:\Users\xxxxxx\AppData\Local\Plex Media Server\Logs
yes there should be a "plex media server.log" and numbered ones that were made before it
there is also the scanner log which you might be able to see when it could not find the file anymore to give a a cue as to what timestamps to look into the server log
( btw the way i forgot ask if either of you were running anything like sickbeard that could effect moving files around )
I had the same exact problem yesterday, it's really like plex deleted all my files from hd....can't believe.
Please help!!!
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yes there should be a "plex media server.log" and numbered ones that were made before it
there is also the scanner log which you might be able to see when it could not find the file anymore to give a a cue as to what timestamps to look into the server log
( btw the way i forgot ask if either of you were running anything like sickbeard that could effect moving files around )
like I said, cant find anything in the log.
im not running anything like sickbeard. (i dont even know what is it !) :)
Same thing just happened to me, anyone have any idea of what’s happening?
log attached
Christmas Vacation auto deleted somehow
I faced the same issue and recovered my files. I am using mac. My whole movies folder went blank.
When I connected to windows it showed “not accessible or corrupted” and fixed using "chkdsk /f " 
I’m furious that this thread exists with ZERO answers. I’m new to Plex & have spent HOURS downloading & uploading & converting & storing only to have Plex just haphazardly remove unretrievable files without explanation. I’m new to it & clearly have no understanding how it works, but what right does ANY program under any circumstance have to REMOVE MY FILES from MY COMPUTER?
I thought this was a solution for a huge media project, but it turns out it’s just another technical nightmare to deal with. You have to be a rocket scientist or hacker to understand any computer crap these days.
If anyone here has found an answer & solution (or recompense), PLEASE SHARE!
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It happened many times to me too, I posted it on forums long time ago but didn’t get any help. I think that all of your movies must be in different folders for some reason. You can’t juste put a bunch of video files in the same folder and say to plex, there is my video folder. I think it’s going to delete the file when is going to update the metadata or something…
Plex should never EVER delete our data unawares. This is not something to be taken lightly. Saying “we don’t do that” is not enough either, when clearly it is happening.
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@“tamaragross@cfl.rr.com” said:
You have to be a rocket scientist or hacker to understand any computer crap these days.
Not when it comes to deleting stuff off your server. A simple username(or email address) and a password is all you need to delete your stuff.
it just happened to me , it there any way to recover them?
i accidentally clicked Analyze instead of “scan library files” and while it was analizying i was taking so link so i clicked “scan media files” and half of my tv shows were gone. from disk, even from trashcan. I went into the Status icon and it showed my what it analized and actually many files deleted. i tried to click on them but it takes me nowhere…
it never said: Are you sure you want to delete this file?.
it just deleted them
My plex server only has read only access to my NAS. I never thought Plex would delete stuff of it’s own accord, but it does support deleting media from storage from the UI and so I thought it best to tie it’s hands.
If anybody is reading this and becoming concerned I suggest you take away it’s privileges and stop worrying.
@binaryjay said:
- but it does support deleting media from storage from the UI and so I thought it best to tie it’s hands.
AFAIK you can delete from streaming devices(Roku, Android, etc) aswell.
This was happening to me and then someone pointed out that the TV show container was set to “Keep Episodes from past 30 days.” This is kind of a hidden setting and each TV show has its own container with a bunch of settings. Anything you then copy into the physical folder will be deleted overnight. I think this “bug” was introduced with DVR Scheduling… so more likely to happen inadvertently if you use the DVR functions and also have a large collection of TV shows.
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