Server "crashes" randomly

Plex is having issues with intro detection for several of your files. It does not like the audio track in the files. There are several hundred thousand error entries in the Plex Media Server.x.log files.

Search the log files for ERROR - IntroDetector to find the troublesome files. Here are a few:

Jun 20, 2022 03:33:01.349 [10688] ERROR - IntroDetector: Failed to transcode file (69): D:\TV Shows\MythBusters\Season 2006\S2006E23 - Exploding Lighter.mp4
Jun 20, 2022 03:40:10.536 [10688] ERROR - IntroDetector: Failed to transcode file (1): D:\TV Shows\Highlander\Season 4\S04E15 - Promises.mp4
Jun 20, 2022 03:42:53.526 [10688] ERROR - IntroDetector: Failed to transcode file (1): D:\TV Shows\Land of the Lost\Season 1\S01E12 - The Possession.mp4
Jun 20, 2022 03:32:44.711 [10688] ERROR - IntroDetector: Failed to transcode file (69): D:\TV Shows\MythBusters\Season 2006\S2006E06 - Cell Phones on Planes.mp4
Jun 20, 2022 03:15:33.846 [10688] ERROR - IntroDetector: Failed to transcode file (1): D:\TV Shows\Mr. Merlin\Season 1\S01E12 - Romeo and Dreidelwood.avi
Jun 20, 2022 03:15:33.896 [10688] ERROR - IntroDetector: Failed to transcode file (1): D:\TV Shows\Mr. Merlin\Season 1\S01E18 - Change of Venue (1).avi
Jun 20, 2022 03:15:33.929 [10688] ERROR - IntroDetector: Failed to transcode file (1): D:\TV Shows\Mr. Merlin\Season 1\S01E19 - Change of Venue (2).avi
Jun 20, 2022 03:26:41.045 [10688] ERROR - IntroDetector: Failed to transcode file (1): D:\TV Shows\Batman - The Animated Series\Season 3\S03E10 - Deep Freeze.mkv

Example of transcoder errors:

Jun 20, 2022 03:32:44.699 [10436] ERROR - [Transcoder] [aac @ 03c7f200] get_buffer() failed
Jun 20, 2022 03:32:44.699 [10436] ERROR - [Transcoder] Error while decoding stream #0:1: Invalid argument
Jun 20, 2022 03:32:44.700 [10436] ERROR - [Transcoder] [aac @ 03c7f200] Inconsistent channel configuration.
Jun 20, 2022 03:32:44.700 [10436] ERROR - [Transcoder] [aac @ 03c7f200] get_buffer() failed
Jun 20, 2022 03:32:44.700 [10436] ERROR - [Transcoder] Error while decoding stream #0:1: Invalid argument
Jun 20, 2022 03:32:44.700 [10436] ERROR - [Transcoder] [aac @ 03c7f200] Prediction is not allowed in AAC-LC.
Jun 20, 2022 03:32:44.700 [10436] ERROR - [Transcoder] Error while decoding stream #0:1: Invalid data found when processing input
Jun 20, 2022 03:32:44.702 [10436] ERROR - [Transcoder] [aac @ 03c7f200] Reserved bit set.
Jun 20, 2022 03:32:44.702 [10436] ERROR - [Transcoder] [aac @ 03c7f200] Pulse tool not allowed in eight short sequence.
Jun 20, 2022 03:32:44.702 [10436] ERROR - [Transcoder] Error while decoding stream #0:1: Invalid data found when processing input
Jun 20, 2022 03:32:44.711 [5308] DEBUG - Jobs: 'C:\Program Files (x86)\Plex\Plex Media Server\Plex Transcoder.exe' exit code for process 1732 is 69 (failure)

Suggestions:

Temporarily disable Generate intro video markers in Settings → Library.
This should stabilize your server (so it won’t crash during intro detection).

Search the Plex Media Server.x.log files for ERROR - IntroDetector: Failed to transcode file and IntroDetector: Failed to get a decision. This will provide a list of the troublesome files.

Try playing one of the files in Plex and see what happens. If the file direct plays OK, try forcing a transcode and see what happens. See if you can figure out why the Plex transcoder does not like the files.

Some things to try to resolve the problem:

Remove the troublesome files from your Plex libraries and re-enable Intro Detection. Perform the Plex Dance steps 2, 3, & 4 to remove the information from the Plex database.

Remux the files using MKVToolNix, FFMPEG, or similar tools. It is possible the existing MP4/AVI/MKV container is damaged.

You could also try re-transcoding the files with XMediaRecode, Handbrake, etc. This sometimes cleans up troublesome video/audio tracks.

Move two or three of the remuxed/retranscoded files into the appropriate library.

See how Plex behaves when running nightly maintenance. Examine the log files the next day looking for problems.

If nothing helps, at some point you may have to replace the files.