Rebuilding Plex Media Server

General Discussions
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1

My SSD that had all the Plex Media Server on it failed and I lost it completely. Luckily I had a back up from January. I’m starting from a fresh Windows install and do have all my media still (external HDDs).

I’m having issues with getting the Server running again, so far I have:

  1. Downloaded PMS, logged into Plex via the Plex Media Server.

  2. Copied the backed-up registry into the new registry. I’m currently waiting for the Local App Data backup to unzip (10GB +) and then I can copy that into the new Local App Data folder.

I did log back in after copying the registry file into the registry and nothing changed. My account is the right account but the server name is different and there are no libraries or categories on the left side. Basically looks like a brand new Plex Server.

Do I have to copy the Local App Data into the new folder for everything to sync up?

Do I have to point Plex in the right direction for the libraries again? None of the libraries I had are showing anywhere in Plex.

2

What new folder?

3

The new Local App Data folder that is generated on the new SSD that I had to replace and install new OS.

4

That’s the folder into which you have to restore the backup of your former Plex data folder.
Otherwise Plex won’t be able to find the restored data.

If you restore the plex data folder of the previous machine to a different folder (maybe because the system drive is rather small and you want to keep Plex data separate), then you’d have to tell Plex about its location: [HowTo] An extended guide on how to move the Plex data folder on Windows

A frequent mistake is also to make the backup copy of the Plex data folder while Plex server is still running. If you did that, the primary database file in the backup is corrupt. You will have to revert to one of the other safety copies: https://support.plex.tv/articles/202485658-restore-a-database-backed-up-via-scheduled-tasks/

5

I’ve definitely created the backup while Plex was running. I do not have access to the old PMS files other than the backup folder and registry file that was created whole Plex was running.

I may just have to start fresh, luckily I have all my media on the external HDD and it may just be easier to start a new Plex Server and invite the 5 family/friends I had using it.

Is it worth trying to restore the data from the backup that was created whole Plex was running?

Thank you for the information! Very helpful.

6

Then see my last link above. It should be possible to switch to the next older database file.

(Unless you have created the backup using the “Download database” button in the web app. This is not a complete backup, but is only there for getting the primary database file for bug fixing. But it’s not sufficient for switching machines.)

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