Run PMS on MacMini with files on NAS

Plex Media Server NAS & Devices
1

Server Version#:1.32.1.6999
Player Version#: 8.19
Hi everyone, I’m about to lose it with my Plex Media Server and Netgear ReadyNAS 212. After having major issues with running PMS on the NAS I stopped trying and set it up on my Mac Mini while keeping the music files on the NAS. I have had my system set up and running smoothly for five years. My files are the correct format for running on Plex.

I got everything set up and running with the new configuration and all 54,000+ songs in my library were showing as available to play and for a day or two I thought everything was back to how it should be. Suddenly 40,000 of my songs were gone from Plex. They’re still on my NAS. I tried updating the library to re-include them and it didn’t add a single one. I deleted PMS from my MacMini and reinstalled it. Now when I try to navigate to the NAS to add the library/files I can’t see the music folder. I see the NAS on my available discs on the MacMini. I can see the time machine backups that have been created on the NAS when navigating to add a library, but finding the music files to add is completely dumbfounding. Your help in getting this system that I had running perfectly well a week ago back online would be immensely appreciated.

Thank you,
John

2

Just to clarify… is this linked to you migrating your setup to a different Mac Mini?
I understood from your post you had that setup (PMS on Mac Mini, media on Netgear NAS) running ok for 5 years… not sure what changed that made you think it’s “back to how it should be”?!

Clarification #2: did you grant the PMS app access to files and folders / full access to drives in the Mac’s system settings?

3

Thanks Tom,
I had been running PMS on my NAS until two weeks ago. I wiped everything off it and started over because I couldn’t resolve the issue.

Fresh install on the NAS with PMS running on my Mac Mini and everything worked perfectly for a day. I woke up to find that 40k songs were gone and can’t even find the NAS through PMS now. It’s not technically a new Mac Mini but rather where I’m running PMS from.

As for access, if I did anything different on Friday than Sunday, I don’t recall that. So in a word, no, did not give full access in the Mac’s settings. Please tell me how.

John

4

Can’t someone please help me figure out why my NAS212, which I had complete access to, and had set up and running perfectly well through the Plex Media Server on my Mac Mini, has now disappeared from available drives completely. I’m pulling my hair out. I can see time machine backups on the NAS when I try to navigate to the music folder to create a library. This is incredibly frustrating.

5

What changed between now and a week ago?

Updated NAS software?
Updated Plex Media Server software?
Something else?

On the surface, this reads like a permissions issue.

Using Finder, can you navigate to a folder on the NAS and music using VLC or some other media player (can you access & play music files on the NAS using something besides Plex)?

Do you have movies or TV shows in Plex as well? Any issues with any of those disappearing?

There are several threads regarding problems with disappearing TV shows and 1.32.1.6999, which became the public version eight days ago. The current workaround is to fall back to a prior version.

I have not noticed other posts regarding problems with music and 6999, and I am usually hesitant to suggest falling back to prior releases, as doing so avoids, instead of troubleshoots, the problem.

However, given the problems with the 6999 release, you might try falling back to a prior release of PMS to see if that helps.

If you need a prior release, check the Updates folder in the Plex Data Folder. On Windows, Plex keeps the three most recent installations in that location. Not sure if it does so on Macs.

6

The NAS stopped allowing me to install Plex. Lots of ros6 binaries and annapurna messages.

I erased everything and still had problems installing it. Someone on a NAS forum suggested I manually install the newest firmware, 6.10.9. The system ran properly for about 24 hours after I added my 54,000 songs to it and ran Plex through my MacMini. The next day those 54,000 songs were down to about 14,000 so I tried to update the library and it wouldn’t add any back. I deleted the library to try to start again and now cannot navigate to the NAS through Raidar/NAS interface. I deleted the PMS on my MacMini and reinstalled it yesterday, it’s now version 1.32.2.7002.

I just tried with VLC and was easily able to play a song from the NAS.

I use PMS strictly for playing music so video files are not an issue.

I will wait for further input before I install a previous version of PMS.

On a similar/different note, I got an email that said this today:

bitcoinserver11 bitcoinserver11@proton.me

To:john52il@yahoo.com

Tue, May 16 at 9:50 AM

when the payment will be made

-------- Оригінальне повідомлення --------
12 трав. 2023, 17:09, bitcoinserver11 < bitcoinserver11@proton.me> пише:

I need to free up memory.
you will pay

------- Original Message -------
среда, 10 мая 2023 г., 22:26, bitcoinserver11 bitcoinserver11@proton.me написал:

All files will be returned. for a reward!

Payment only in bitcoins, write to the mail.

Email bitcoinserver11@proton.me

94$ to BTC bc1q89k0jduazwaylqvzvn26lgjrtsvdagve0mctte

Thank you FordGuy61,

John

7

Suddenly the folder I containing my music on the NAS appeared! Can’t say I’m not still perplexed, but it would appear my problem has been resolved. I’m adding the files to a new Plex library now. I guess it was related to the version of PMS or something, (which doesn’t exactly make sense because it’s the same PMS I was using yesterday. I will comment again in a few hours when my music library has populated itself.
Thanks for your help everyone.

8

I got everything working again for about 24 hours. Now when I try to play music I get this error: Please check that the file exists and that the necessary drive is mounted. No music will play. Does this mean that I was in fact hacked and have to pay ransom to get my Plex back online?

9

No idea if you’ve been hacked or that is just a spam/phishing e-mail.

Can you still access the files using Finder? Can you play the music files outside of Plex, using VLC or another such program on the Mac?

If so, then your system is probably OK. From what I’ve read, your files would be encrypted and inaccessible if the system was infected with ransomware. Might want to run a virus scan just to make sure.

10

Thanks for the quick reply, FordGuy. Yes, playback on VLC still works. I can see the library on my phone Plex app. I can navigate to songs. When I click them nothing happens. I’ve tried multiple tracks. Still getting the same message on Plex desktop mentioned above, check that the drive is mounted.

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I deleted the app from my phone and tried again. No change. Plus, 14,000 songs are gone from the correct total yesterday and the drive I keep everything on has once again vanished from options when I try to add a library. This is so frustrating.

12

Check the permissions on the Mac. Make sure the Plex Media Server application has full access to the folders/files on the NAS.

See this post for details: Multiple problems after server update

13

All permissions for Plex are checked.

14

I’m running out of ideas. Check for database corruption.

Make sure Plex is configured for debug, not verbose, logging.
Settings → Server_Name → General + Show Advanced

debug
debug715×154 20.9 KB

If it was set for anything else, restart Plex, wait for it to fully start, then scan a library.

Pull the Plex server log files (Settings → Troubleshooting) and unzip.

Look in Plex Media Server.log (and .1.log to .5.log) for ERROR entries that mention the database is corrupt or malformed (search for those terms).

If the database is corrupt, you can try to repair it or you can delete it and start over.

To repair, use the PlexDBRepair Utility. Download it into Downloads and use Terminal to run it. You may have to use chmod +x DBRepair.sh to make it executable. Use the Auto option to check/repair the database.

To delete, stop Plex, navigate to the Plex Data Folder, then into Plug-in Support. Rename Databases to Databases.old, then restart Plex. You will have to re-create your libraries.

15

Thanks very much, FordGuy61. I’m running out of patience myself! I’ll look into that, although it may be beyond my technical ability. I’m ready to just wait a while and see if future updates resolve the issues, but will try to do what you suggest.
Best regards,
John

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