Server Version#: 1.29.2.6334-817e19b35
Player Version#: Various
OS Version: Windows Server 2022 Std
I was troubleshooting an issue with Indirect Connections happening internally, and I was changing the port mapping in my server settings back to default to try that.
However, when I unchecked the box for manual port and saved, my server disappeared - in that instant.
Now no matter where I’m logged in I cannot see my server listed, and even from the server itself at 127.0.0.1 I cannot see the server. It just logs me in to my account and my server nor settings are listed.
I’ve restarted the PMS Service, as well as my entire server and the issue persists. I’ve also logged out, and back into my account dozens of times as well.
I’ve also tried uninstalling and downgrading to 1.29.2.6334 but I see the same behavior.
Are there any other reports of this? How can I recover my server? I verified my database and files are still present but it’s like the PMS service just can’t “see” them.
In the registry, HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Plex, Inc.\Plex Media Server, I also confirmed all the settings are seemingly in place still as well.
This has developed, for slightly better. I ended up uninstalling Plex, and deleting the hidden registry settings and preferences.xml for a fresh slate.
The server installed fine on a clean slate.
I then manually reinserted the filepaths for my localappdata so PMS would find my database. That also worked fine, and I could see my library again. However, I had to reclaim the server by logging out of everything and then logging into the server to claim it. From there I manually went though the server and set all my settings to what they used to be (before all of this) via my backed up registry settings. I did NOT import the registry, I manually re-entered all the settings via the Plex GUI. This also seemed fine, although when I reloaded PMS a few times to test, it takes a VERY long time to load, with some HTML text that says the server is in maintenance mode.
"Response code=“503” title=“Maintenance” status=“Plex Media Server is currently running startup maintenance tasks.”
But, eventually it does load, and it was all working except for the network was still flaky - with remote access flipping between red and green.
The kicker here is, I rebooted for a clean state to start digging at network, and now I cannot access settings. When I went to reconfigure the other settings, I get an error in the GUI that says “Server settings are Unavailable”, and in the logs:
[5540] ERROR - Error received reading configuration for com.plexapp.system
I resolved this. No idea what happened, or why just tweaking network settings caused everything to go belly up… But here was my recovery for anyone who gets bitten like this in the future.
TLDR: reinstall from scratch, and restore ONLY the two base database files and nothing else. My issue with the first restore must have been some of the other smaller music/itunes DBs or a plugin somewhere that I had also been restoring from my old folder.
Process:
Uninstall PMS via control panel
Delete all your settings PMS via registry ( HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Plex, Inc.\Plex Media Server) - you can just blow away the whole “Plex Media Server” registry folder.
Wherever your Plex Media Server data lives, be it %LOCALAPPDATA% or a custom folder, move it all somewhere else temporarily. _temp or something.
reboot, reinstall PMS
Setup the server anew, and register to your account. (do nothing else yet!! No libraries or settings!)
Exit/close PMS service
Copy everything from “%LOCALAPPDATA%\Plex Media Server” to wherever you want your database and metadata to live.
In your old _temp folder, under “Plex Media Server\Plug-in Support\Databases”, find the two database files com.plexapp.plugins.library.db and com.plexapp.plugins.library.blobs.db, and copy them to your newly restored/fresh “Plex Media ServerPlug-in Support\Databases” folder and overwrite.
Edit registry for LocalAppData to point to wherever your database lives (if not default)
Reboot PMS
If all goes well, your server will be back, and media accessible (locally). You will need to manually restore your settings via the Plex GUI to get remote access and good transcoding and such, but after that - good as new.
