I’m sick and tired of software companies FORCING people to waste money they don’t have upgrading to the latest whatever just so they can run software. It’s aggravating that developers don’t think it important to maintain backward compatibility. I have a WHS 2003 which works FINE. It’s BLOCKED from all internet access and only plays on my internal LAN.
I want to install 0.9.9.16, which is supposed to be last version of Plex that works on it. BUT I CAN’T find it anywhere.
you can give this a look (via archive.org):
https://web.archive.org/web/20130910125628/http://wiki.plexapp.com/index.php/Downloads
I consider the reason those are no longer officially listed is that Plex cannot support tons of different versions. Even Microsoft stopped supporting your OS like 5+ years ago.
I don’t mean to sound judgmental… have you considered a more lean setup if you’re going to have it work on such an old environment? e.g. reducing it to a file server and accessing it with VLC within your network?
It is not uncommon for companies to stop supporting older versions. If running older versions of any software is that important to you, learn to keep a downloaded copy, backed up, whatever for your use.
I have no idea about the validity of any of these links but you might try perusing this Reddit thread:
I found the latest version for WHSv1 and installed it. Works like a charm, except it won’t let me log into my plex/pass account?
Any reasons why?
((( Personal background/philosophy on why I won’t throw an old server in the trash: Besides being ecologically unsound… I have 2 other plex servers which operate fine. I was just reviving an old WHSv1 that I rarely power up and offloading to it. I have amassed 68TB of video et al, and I’m sorry I can’t spend $10,000+ on an enterprise solution. So I need to revive my old server again. Young people… don’t understand the value of things… waste $$$ just because it’s over a year old… LOL. Yeah, I’m guilty of being once myself too and regret all the wasted money I gave to Bill Gates and HP and WD… I could have retired 20 years ago if I hadn’t wasted all that money upgrading all the time.
And I am a software developer. We “improve” software and “obsolesce” support on “older” equipment and OS’ just so we can force our customers to buy our newest software, or pay for tech support. Just because it’s old, doesn’t mean it’s useless or should be replaced with the lastest and greatest of anything. Companies don’t backward-compatible anything because they don’t make any money. No other reason.
Btw, I still have my VHS and laser disc players… grandpa would be proud lol))))
While you can install that older version of Plex on your WHS 2003, Plex cut you off at the knees. You must have Plex Server version 1.5.1 or higher in order to have your server let you use it now.
If you were running that version, and kept yourself logged in, it may keep working to some degree for an unknown amount of time. If you lose your credentials on that version, you’re out of luck for good. You fall into that category as you didn’t have a valid active login running on that system.
You now don’t have a choice. If you want to use that hardware, you’ll have to upgrade your OS to a supported version. If you’re a developer, you’ve probably got access to newer releases of the OS. You can’t hold onto everything forever… no matter how much you try. I don’t disagree with your views on retaining and using older hardware. But there are reasons you have to upgrade, like it or not. My server is 8 years old. Ancient by today’s standards. But with a current OS, I’m good to go so long as the hardware stays working.
@TheMovieContinuum said:
… I have a WHS 2003 which works FINE.
If you’re determined to run Windows Home Server, have you considered an upgrade to WHS 2011? It can be had at a reasonable price and gets you back on MS-supported OS (for a couple more years at least) which should be able to run current PMS.
Thanks for confirming that Plex cut me off at the knees. It’s too bad because that server works just fine, and it’s got an expansion set of esata drives for a total of 18TB of storage (and not by using modern massive drives). Solid and stable.
The main reason why I wanted to use it… only consumes 6w when not being utilized. Oh well.
(((I have some ReadyNAS units and I do have a fancy WHS 2011 also, but I hate leaving that thing on all the time as it does consume far more power. Don’t like padding the pockets of my power company CEO, who made 20 million last year… which is 19.5 million too much free annual cash for anyone.
I also learned a lesson a few years ago… lightning strike took out some of the WHS 2011 parts on the MB and I don’t like having any electronics plugged in 24/7 anymore. That strike cost me $2k in damaged electronics. Even with proper “protection” in place all around. Nothing beats unplugging 
Guess I’m getting older and tired of funding the accounts of millionaires 
)))
Thanks for all the comments and feedback, I do appreciate all of the thoughts.
