Server Version#: Version 4.30.2
Player Version#: Version 4.30.2
My Windows 8.1/64-bit PC unexpectedly needed to be totally reformatted and reloaded. All my media files are on an external SSD, which did NOT need to be reformatted - I only had to reload the internal C: and D: drives. The Plex Media Server install path is:
C:\Program Files (x86)\Plex\Plex Media Server\
I re-downloaded the Plex Server and re-launched, and it SEEMS to be trying to access the old Library file AS WELL AS the new one I created on-reload. Neither actually works, however.
QUESTION: I backed up both my entire C: and D: drives using Backblaze so I assume the actual Library files can be recovered and restored to the laptop, however I can’t see how to do this in the dox. Can someone walk me through it, or link me to the specific section in the docs that are relevant to this use case?
Plex might consider your restore like a re-install. This can result in some of Plex’ advanced settings in your Registry to get stuck (e.g. conflicting machine identifiers).
The direct way should be to follow the Move an install to another system support article. The important part is you also need to restore some data from your old Registry!
That being said… if you already completed a new setup, things might have gotten messed up quite a bit since then…
I had to reinstall the PC without being able to make a backup… Can I just start from scratch? I know I’ll lose my play counts and other meta data, but at this point I don’t care.
Starting from scratch should always work fine.
Earlier you mentioned you had your system drives backed up via Backblaze – if that includes your registry information… just try to delete the registry keys mentioned in the support article.
The relevant ones should be those mentioned in the Why am I locked out of Server Settings and how do I get in? support article.
Bad news: Before I had separate sections for ‘Drama’, ‘Comedy’, Sci-Fi/Fantasy’ etc. (which match the file structure of my ‘Movies’ folder - see screenshot below), but since the reload all my movies seem to be in one un-differentiated mass under a common ‘Movies’ folder.
QUESTION: How do I alter the Library so I have separate sub-folders like I had before? I can’t remember exactly what I did last time?
You can create new libraries, pointing them to those particular folders.
Click to the More > button in your main navigation
Hover your mouse over the server header (MSI Reloaded May2020)
Click the appearing + button to add a new library
Complete the library setup…
Alternatively you can also manage your libraries via Settings > [Server Name] > Manage > Libraries – there you’ll find a dedicated Add Library button (no need for hovering over server headers)
