Server Version#: 1.41.1.9057
Player Version#:
Windows 11
Nothing to do with current version, as this has been happening for a long time under numerous server and player versions. When I add files, sometimes Plex creates a kind of ‘collection’ or ‘relationship’ with various (sometimes five or six) totally unrelated files in different directories and even on different drives. For example, when you look at the file and click on the three dots and select “Get Info” normally you would see just the name of the file on the disc; however, sometimes I see multiple files listed which are totally unrelated. I’ve created no kind of relationship between them and, in fact, have no Plex Collections defined/set up at all. Problem is when I play one of the videos it actually tries to play all of them – if I stop the play, it will show ALL of the files in the ‘Continue Watching’ list; if I opt to remove the file (any of the displayed videos) from the Continue Watching list, Plex removes ALL of them, so they are obviously ‘connected’ somehow within Plex.
How does this happen, how can I prevent it from doing this, and most importantly how do I correct this server issue? Any help that can be provided would be greatly appreciated.
Would you mind sharing a specific example with the complete file paths associated to one of those items (relative to the directory added to the library)? Are the items in the same library?
Do your files contain any embedded metadata that might result in the items being considered to be the same item?
I’ve shown a few examples below (there are actually many, many more) where this issue has occurred. I have had to go in and manually fix/change each file in Plex (when i discover this issue); sometimes it’s necessary to delete the file, scan the directory, empty the trash, and then put the file back into the directory, and scan again in order to correct the issue. As you can see they are in different directories on the drive and different libraries in Plex, and in fact sometimes on different drives entirely. None of them have any embedded metadata that would lead me to believe they would be considered the same item.
E:\Media Archive\TV Shows\Doctor Who\Series 7\Nightmare in Silver.mp4 (Library Name ‘TV Shows E’)
D:\Videos\TV and Movies\Movies\Chicago.mp4 (Library Name ‘Movies D’)
E:\Media Archive\Feature Films\The Illusionist.mp4 (Library Name ‘Feature Films E’)
G:\Feature Films\Blu-Ray Feature Films\Gone With The Wind.mkv (Library Name ‘Feature Films G’)
E:\Media Archive\TV Shows\The Addams Family\Season 1\S01E17 Mother Lurch Visits the Addams Family.mp4 (Library Name ‘TV Shows E’)
This is getting to be quite frustrating and has me almost ready to abandon this application in favor of something else that will not have these problems, however I’ve invested a lot of time and effort into using Plex for my collection that it would be counterproductive to switch at this point.
What you are describing makes me thing you have your library paths set incorrectly. Which folders exactly do have set got your TV library and your movie library?
I am referring to this Add Folders setting for the individual library. If you can take a screenshot of this or just tell us which paths you have there
for this file for example
D:\Videos\TV and Movies\Movies\Chicago.mp4 (Library Name ‘Movies D’)
For that library the folder should be D:\Videos\TV and Movies\Movies\
That is precisely how the folders are set up (i.e., D:\Videos\TV and Movies\Movies is where the library ‘Movies D’ points), Also, for example, there is a separate library for TV Shows on that drive (‘TV Shows D’ which is in the D:\Videos\TV and Movies\TV Shows directory). My entire Plex system is set up like that. Each library points to OWN directory and isn’t shared with any other libraries in Plex… There are no libraries that would point to the shared path (i.e., D:\Videos\TV and Movies directory).
Additionally, I recall a few occasions that this issue has arisen even with files in the same directory and library. It has (far less frequently) happened with my music files, as well.
Please show a screenshot of each of your libraries’ ‘Add Folders’ tabs to show exactly what paths are being searched for both. There is no way for Plex to mix those files (in your example) if there are not overlapping paths. Plex uses what you specify as folders as the base paths; it does not search ‘above’ them.
Note: You didn’t specify an episode number here for the file, just that it’s part of the seventh season. Also there are multiple entries for TV shows named “Doctor Who” at this point so listing the year for the one you are following (the 2005 series in this case) would help avoid Plex becoming confused. The same goes for movies.
Understood, that could potentially apply for libraries set up as “TV Shows”; however all of my video libraries are set up as “Other Videos”. It was intentional, so that I could name my files any way that I wanted, rather than using a pre-defined structure. Every file has a totally unique name, though. Also, that particular entry was just an omission when I typed the name in on this site – it’s actually named “S07E12 Nightmare in Silver” (both the filename on disc and in Plex, as well). All of my TV shows are named the same way (SXXEXX) across the board.
One would expect that this should be the case, but it IS happening. There are NO overlapping paths. As I explained, each library I’ve set up has a single directory on the drive. No library has anything to do with any other library and, in fact, the application has been doing this with files on completely different physical drives (which you should see in the examples I provided).
I have considered that as a possibility, and have viewed the metadata on a number of the ‘merged’ files (of course, not every single one). However, this happens with some files that definitely do not have a similar embedded title – they are ‘home movies’ that I’ve not only edited but also in some cases run through another utility (i.e., HandBrake for one example), which would remove that kind of information in compressing the file. This is the reason I’m looking on here for other ideas to explain how this could be happening. I’m still listening to suggestions, but unfortunately so far I’ve not been hearing anything that I haven’t tried. Still I’m open to ideas though…
Have you created any directory junctions (or hard links for files on the same volume). Perhaps trying to include certain movies as extras for TV shows or similar?
What you’ve described makes no sense in the absence of overlapping paths or some form of links. Plex does not search above the paths specified in a library’s folder configuration. But it will follow junctions or hard links.
Every instance of similar behavior I’ve ever seen reported has ultimately ended up being some form of misconfiguration.
No, there are no directory junctions or any kind or hard links between any files on any volume); each file is its own entity. I agree, it doesn’t make sense – that’s why I’m at such a loss to explain how it happens and ultimately how to fix and/or avoid the problem. Unfortunately, for obvious reasons, I can’t see the code for the application so I can’t go that route to see what Plex is doing when it adds the files to my database, so I’m hoping to find some new ideas or maybe even someone who has had a similar issue and maybe found a solution that I could try. In fact, I loaded Plex onto a new computer and set up a brand new configuration being very careful about the paths for the libraries (I didn’t copy from the prior server), so I’ve seriously considered the configuration, and am certain that there is nothing there causing the conflict, at least in the library configuration setup. There could be something in the application setup that I have not found yet, but I haven’t really changed anything major from the default.
If his is still happening can you try doing the Plex dance with one of the files and grab the server logs after doing so if it combines them again. The Plex Media Info XML may be helpful too.
The only other thing i can think of is an stray symlink somewhere that it should not be.
