I like to reformat my computer from time to time and also switch which computer is the media sever. Setting up my media server from scratch each time I make this transition is a huge pain considering the amount of time it takes to correct every single video title and also correct half of the posters and banners. Is there an easier way to port the server from one computer to the next without setting everything up from scratch again each time around?
Thanks in advance for everyone’s time in the matter!
To add to what Otto said, I also reinstall the PC that Plex runs on every 6-12 months.
To some that’s excessive and yeah it probably is. Changing the device it runs on seems excessive even to me.
Anyway regardless, the key to it is to store the Plex Metadata folder off the physical drive the OS resides on. That way your metadata becomes resilient to a reinstall.
After the reinstall simply point Plex to wherever you stored your metadata.
Be careful to read the guide that Otto linked for the rest of the migration… to avoid tears!!
I actually reinstalled my PMS device last week and if done right it’s basically 20 minutes to install Windows and ten minutes to recreate your Plex libraries with metadata intact.
40 minutes after initially hitting fresh start in Windows I was watching a movie.
Obviously there is the further step of copying the metadata to the new device if you really insist that’s what you really want to do.
