PMS fails to start

Plex Media Server
1

Server Version#: 1.21.0.3711-b509cc236

I am moving my PMS from one headless Ubuntu VPS to another. However, after copying over files and removing preference.xml, PMS won’t start and has the error below. I’m looking for some help in understanding what the problem is and how to fix it.
thanks

Steps:

  1. Installed PMS on new server, started and was able to connect over SSH to initial startup page
  2. Shut down PMS
  3. On source server, shutdown PMS and copied /var/lib/plexmediaserver over to the target server
  4. On target server deleted preferences.xml
  5. Attempted to start PMS

Error:

● plexmediaserver.service - Plex Media Server
     Loaded: loaded (/lib/systemd/system/plexmediaserver.service; enabled; vendor preset: enabled)
     Active: failed (Result: exit-code) since Thu 2020-12-03 16:10:10 CST; 25s ago
    Process: 1588 ExecStartPre=/bin/sh -c /usr/bin/test -d "${PLEX_MEDIA_SERVER_APPLICATION_SUPPORT_DIR}" || /bin/mkdir -p "${PLEX_MEDIA_SERVER_APPLICATION_SUPPORT_DIR}" (code=exited, status=0/SUCCESS)
    Process: 1596 ExecStart=/bin/sh -c  export PLEX_MEDIA_SERVER_INFO_VENDOR="$(grep ^NAME= /etc/os-release | awk -F= "{print \$2}" | tr -d \" )";  export PLEX_MEDIA_SERVER_INFO_DEVICE="PC";  export PLEX_MEDIA_SERVER_INFO_MODEL="$(uname>
   Main PID: 1596 (code=exited, status=255/EXCEPTION)

systemd[1]: plexmediaserver.service: Scheduled restart job, restart counter is at 3.
Stopped Plex Media Server.
plexmediaserver.service: Start request repeated too quickly.
plexmediaserver.service: Failed with result 'exit-code'.
Failed to start Plex Media Server.
2

When you moved, did you remember to chown -R plex:plex /var/lib/plexmediaserver so UID:GID match the new system?

3

Yes. I took ownership that same as you have it there.
Note: I still have the original install directory that I renamed to *old if I needed to start over

4

you moved to a new location,

what does /etc/systemd/system/plexmediaserver.service.d/override.conf show?

Also, override needs systemctl daemon-reload

5

/etc/systemd/system/ does not have a plexmediaserver.service.d sub directory (neither does the source server)

6

So you took PMS from one system to another,
keeping it in the same default location (/var/lib/plexmediaserver) ?

What does journalctl -xe | grep -i plex detail?
any obvious errors showing?

If none, navigate down into var/lib/plexmediasserver until you see the Logs directory.

Make a tar.gz / zip of it (and all in it) , attaching that file here.
I will look at it.

7

(File removed)

Renamed the install directory to *old, then used ssh rsync to copy /var/lib/plexmediaserver from source to target. Nothing obvious after running journalctl -xe | grep -i plex

8

A process is hung.

Dec 03, 2020 17:43:16.952 [0x7f11e0ead780] ERROR - Error: Unable to set up server: listen: Address already in use (N5boost10wrapexceptINS_6system12system_errorEEE)

ps -ef | grep -i plex

kill those pids.
wait a few minutes for netstat -an | grep 32400 to return nothing.

9

Cheers…didn’t see that process hung

10

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