Can anybody help me with an issue regarding files not being picked up? I run my media server from an old windows laptop and it’s started randomly failing to pick up shows, sometimes in the middle of a season.
Example: A show wasn’t appearing in Plex. The file was in the same directory as all the other shows in the season, with same type of filename. I tried deleting it and redownloading to no effect. I then copied the file to a memory stick and put it into the plex folder on my main computer and it was immediately picked up. It therefore seems that the problem is something to do with the computer, or the way that plex is running on it, but I have been unable to figure out a solution. Can anyone help me with this?
Were you expecting Plex to recognise the new files it on its own, or did you trigger ‘Scan Library Files’?
How are your files named and organised in subfolders?
Are your video files using the mp4/m4v container format?
preparation
Go to
Settings - Server - Agents - Shows - TheTVDB
In there, grab the line ‘Local Media Assets’ with your mouse and drag it downwards, so it ends up being at the bottom of the stack of active agents.
Repeat the same under
Settings - Server - Agents - Shows - TheMovieDatabase
Settings - Server - Agents - Movies - Plex Movie
Settings - Server - Agents - Movies - TheMovieDatabase
Take the title as it is used on TheTVDB. If there is something in parentheses, take that too. If the title contains invalid characters (depends on your file system), like § : % *, simply leave them out.
Check the naming and the folder structure of your show. Name the top folder of the show exactly after the title on TheTVDB. No abbreviations. No additional subfolders. No aliases. Add the (year) in parentheses of when episode 1 of season 1 of this show was aired.
Name the episode files according to the above linked naming guide. Use the same title as for the top folder. Show's Title (year) - s01e01 - additional info.ext (’- additional info’ can be left out)
After you corrected the naming and folder structure, perform the Plex Dance with all files for this show.
Thanks very much for the response and advice. I’ve been through the process as described, but with no success. Plex just seems to be having an issue with specific files on this one computer. The file was already named in accordance with TVBD, just as all the other episodes in the same series were, which is why this is so confusing. As an experiment, I just copied the episode into the plex folder on my other computer where the scan immediately picked it up. Do you have any other ideas what the issue might be?
Here’s an image of the folder. Episode 9 is the only one that Plex won’t see on my main media server computer. However, it worked perfectly when copied to my other machine with exactly the same filename.
Thanks for all the help, but I’ve managed to figure it out. I noticed that one of the missing shows had popped up mislabelled in a plex folder for a different show. When I checked the filepath, it told me that the file was in a completed torrents folder rather than the show one. I found this folder and deleted the file, rescanned and the episode appeared in the right place. Not sure what happened, but it seems sorted now. Thanks again for the assistance.
