I’m exhibiting the same exact behavior as jcal65. I disabled my scheduled scans and automatic scans and this workaround has also worked for me.
Need more evidence of the problem. Initially just logs of when the problem arises - then i can see if it is memory related and then look into comparing that with when scanning is not automatic
I ran the 2-day test you requested and successfully captured the Plex logs.
Unfortunately, the VMMap program crashed when saving the. mmp file and it is lost. I had this happen once before and I am guessing it is due to the large file size.
Any suggestions?
I can only suggest saving the vmmap file periodically every 12 hours or so into different files and we would then only lose the last one - unless it crashes on earlier save
So we can start again with a fresh relaunch
I ran another test and generated a lot of log files. I had to save the .mmp files at shorter intervals because if I didn’t the VMMap program would attempt to save, go “not responding” and then crash after several minutes.
This isn’t exactly what you asked for initially but it is the best I could do. Hopefully you can make some sense out of the data.
Plex Media Server VMMap_2019-01-17_22-57-54.zip (3.6 MB)
Plex Media (4.1 MB)
Plex Media Server VMMap_2019-01-18_06-28-00.zip (5.9 MB)
Plex Media (4.0 MB)
Plex Media (4.0 MB)
VMMap crashed while saving
Plex Media (4.1 MB)
Plex Media Server VMMap_2019-01-18_16-43-34.zip (2.9 MB)
Plex Media (4.3 MB)
Plex Media Server VMMap_2019-01-18_23-06-50.zip (6.8 MB)
Plex Media (4.2 MB)
VMMap crashed while saving
Plex Media (5.1 MB)
Plex Media Server VMMap_2019-01-19_11-54-39.zip (9.4 MB)
Plex Media (5.8 MB)
Plex Media Server VMMap_2019-01-19_21-05-51.zip (5.5 MB)
I don’t want to hijack anything on this discussion thread, but I am having the exact same issues; same PMS version, same OS, etc. My PMS just stops working/responding and the only resolution is not to just stop/restart the service but to fully reboot the machine.
I uploaded my log files if it would help any. Sounds like we are in the same boat.Plex Media Server Logs_2019-01-22_10-41-34.zip (1.8 MB)
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It seems like I’m having a similar issue. It is related to downloading guide data. I’ve tried deleting the DVR and setting it up again but each time PMS crashes when the guide download reaches about 71%. Also on version 1.14.1.5488 but on Windows 7.
Thanks for the logs. Completely different - The issue that @jcal65 is very specific and has not yet been seen elsewhere and is memory related and could be to do with the number of scheduled recordings - it is being looked into
Your issue is very different and I suspect it is because you are trying to run Plex Media Server as a service or scheduled task and you have not taken the steps to make sure it does not run itself outside the service - thus ending up with 2 instances of Plex Media Server.exe running
Are you running it as service under different account from the one you installed it with ? eg SYSTEM ?
You can see here you have overlapping sessions
Launched Jan 22, 2019 10:36:23.865 - Log continues to to Jan 22, 2019 10:41:32.056
Launched Jan 22, 2019 10:36:40.934 - Log continues to to Jan 22, 2019 10:41:19.132
Also the child processes are not being closed down and end up with them running multiple instances in parallel
Looking at all the logs
- The launch at Jan 22, 2019 10:34:32.025 was not as a service / scheduled task
- The launch at Jan 22, 2019 10:36:23.865 was a Service or Scheduled Task
- The launch at Jan 22, 2019 10:36:40.934 was not as a service / scheduled task
You need to resolve this before we investigate any issues you may have
Advice is not to run as SYSTEM
and instead of inventing your own solution, to use what is there already and provided by cjmurph as Service wrapper solution - see PMS as a service
and if you want to use a different account for running the service from the admin account you install Plex Media Server with, you can follow steps in post #4 here PMS as a service - #4 by sa2000
That wrapper does close down all child processes when you use the Plex Service Tray app to stop Plex Media Server. It also avoids spamming of logs with these log entries every 5 seconds
Jan 20, 2019 03:11:03.049 [7812] DEBUG - TrayIcon::WindowProc received DisplayIcon timer message
Jan 20, 2019 03:11:03.049 [7812] WARN - Shell_NotifyIcon(NIM_ADD) failed: 0x80004005
Once you have addressed this and ensured that only one instance of Plex Media Server.exe runs then come back here if you think you have crashes. I do see a crash from your server but that was on 2nd January - if it happens again - would need logs soon after the crash
I deleted the scheduled task completely. I will continue to run PMS “as is” with the “start Plex Media Server at login” option checked. Thanks for the reply sa2000! 
We have a number of different issues relating to crashes in this thread. I can see a crash from your server that is similar to the crash seen for user @ianb2323 which I responded to here PMS 1.14.1.5488 Crashing frequently on Windows - #4 by sa2000
The crash arises when the EPG data contains some invalid data; Changes have already been made to handle bad data and will be released in 1.15.0
I’m looking forward to checking out 1.15 and seeing if it’s resolved! I just haven’t been using DVR in the meantime, and the server has otherwise been performing as expected.
We managed to get massive spikes in memory usage by scheduling over 1000 episode recordings - i think in your case, there were approx 800 scheduled recordings planned. On windows being a 32-bit application, apps are restricted to 2Gb or 4Gb memory. For Plex Media Server it is 4Gb. Any spikes that take us close to 4Gb or beyond would lead to a crash
A fix is being worked on. I may be able to offer a development build to try, if you are interested - that would be after initial internal tests
This sounds like a good explanation of what is happening.
I am more than willing to try a development build and help in any way I can.
Thank you
I think I’m having the same issue. I have my settings to send the crash logs and always have. It crashes at least daily, but sometimes more often. It usually requires a complete reboot to get it working again.Plex Media (3.7 MB)
Hope that helps!
Yes you are having the same crash as @dbebawy which is crashing whilst the server is tidying up tv episodes after changes
There were crashes at these times
Jan 21, 2019 18:36
Jan 23, 2019 18:36 and 20:50
A fix is coming out in 1.15.0 which is currenly in QA. I may be able to make a build available earlier to try soon if you are interested
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@sa2000, I’m interested and in dire need to test the development build ASAP. In the interim I’ve disabled all scanning and have been resorting to manual scans multiple times per week to mitigate the issue.
Absolutely! Got nothing to lose!
I am also having the same issue. Random Crashes where I never had any crashes before. I am using the above server version. User Jckenny2010
Except your time and money!
LOL…how so? I’m already a lifetime Plex Pass holder and server installs happen regularly anyway?
If there a chance this install can fix a crashing problem I have nothing to lose!
