Plex server cannot be accessed by windows account that installed it, only new accounts

Plex Media Server
1

I had the media server running fine on my windows account. A few days ago I had to reformat and reinstall windows. Installed fine, logged back in with the same MS account. Installed Plex fresh with the newest version off the website.

Afterwards, my Plex account could not see the old server.
I removed all connections to it from my account. Uninstalled the server, removed all files from appdata, programfiles, registry, etc. Reinstalled the server.

Since then, no matter what I do on my primary account, where it was installed, I cannot see the server. Clicking Open Plex… from the app lets me login, but makes no attempt to set up the server or claim it. Hitting + My Media says I need to get the server. There is no server category in settings. None of this changes if I use a different browser, or an incognito instance.

I tried creating a new test windows account, and it was immediately able to see the server, claim it, and set it up, using the same browser, and the same account on said browser.

Going back to my main account, I still have 0 access. Shows the library that I set up, but cannot access them. Cannot connect to the server.

I tried fully uninstalling it from the test account, and reinstalling it on my main account once more, but nothing changed. No access on the main, full access on the test.

There’s no VPN or other digital security measures currently reinstalled on my main account, and they’re both using the same windows defender suite.

Is there anything I can change in my main windows account to allow it to properly find and claim the server again?

2

If you’ve formatted your C: drive, then you’ve deleted everything what constituted your server. All its libraries and the lists of media therein, and its “identity”. Nobody would be able to actually access it anymore.

After installing Plex media server afresh, you need to “claim” the server – i.e. connect it to your plex.tv user account. Do the installation and the claiming while being logged in to the Windows user which you are using for regular work.
New Claiming Requirement for Windows

Depending on the web browser you are using, verify that you are not running into this issue:
https://forums.plex.tv/t/important-note-about-the-plex-web-app-local-network-access/933264/1

3

Right. The old server is gone, and was removed from my account. The problem is that my main windows account, where I installed the new media server fresh, cannot find the server to claim it, regardless of whether I used Chrome, Edge or Opera, or if i had them in their incognito modes.. Only when I created a new test windows account, was I able to actually connect to it, claim it, and set it up.

So the installation is fine and functional, but the server doesnt like something about my windows user account.

4

Did you follow the last link in my post above?

5

Yep. On the test account, the block/allow prompt came up immediately the first time I tried to connect to it. On my main account it hasn’t once. I had it set to ask on both accounts.

I’ve set my browser to fully allow local network access and refreshed, since the app.plex.tv site settings don’t even show the toggle to allow or block it, but it still only comes up with the empty home screen, and the “Server is unavailable” message when I try to look at it on the sidebar, or in the Plex settings screen.

6

Can you take a look in the Windows task manager, when it’s working (I e. when logged in to the second Windows user)? It’d be useful to know, under which Windows user account the Plex media server process is executed.

7

Plex Media Server, Tuner Service, and PlexScriptHost all run off whichever account is currently logged into (main or test), and Plex Update Service runs off SYSTEM

8

That means, when the server is working, it uses the settings from the registry branch of the test user. And uses a completely different data folder as well.
(Unless you have changed that away from the default.)

Is the main user logged into a Microsoft account?

9

I have tried removing everything in the registry when deleting the folders under program files and appdata/local, and letting them repopulate on install, and I do keep the installation folders as their defaults.

The main user is logged in as an MS account (the same MS account it was logged in as, with Plex working fine, before the reformat) the test user is not.

10

I must admit that I have no clue what to check next. Something in your main user account seems to interfere.

How about this: keep using the second user account. It doesn’t need to be an admin user.
Then disable the regular Autostart of Plex server in both user accounts.

Then use this tool PMS as a service to run Plex server as a Windows system service, under the test user account.
That way it is available as soon as the machine is switched on, even without a user logging in.

11

That is an excellent workaround, and it’s fully accessible from my main account now.

Wish I knew what was causing it to get blocked in the first place, but hey, this works, so whatever.

Thank you so much for your help!

12

A nice side effect is this: if you want, you can limit the access permissions on your media folders selectively.
For instance, on all media which you intend to keep for ever, you can reduce the permissions for the test user to “read” only. That way it cannot be deleted through the Plex user interface, because Plex is running as “test” and therefore isn’t allowed to change or delete.