# Where is the library setup data stored? **URL:** \ **Category:** Plex Media Server\ **Tags:** server-linux, library-management\ **Created:** [May 14, 2022, 6:58am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/where-is-the-library-setup-data-stored/792732 "2022-05-14T06:58:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![lcutler61\_gmail\_com](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/lcutler61_gmail_com/32/130168_2.png) [@lcutler61\_gmail\_com](https://forums.plex.tv/u/lcutler61_gmail_com)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2022, 6:58am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/where-is-the-library-setup-data-stored/792732/1 "2022-05-14T06:58:35Z")
Hello, My Plex server has been running for approx 6 months with no issues which I keep up to date. It is running on Ubuntu 20.04. But today when I went to watch a movie on my TV, it announced it could no longer find the server. So I went to my server and sure enough, I could not even connect to it on the same machine. The web interface just went straight to setting up a new server. The most annoying thing is I have lost all my efforts to create a structured library, which took time to set them all up. So, whilst I am now faced with doing it all again, can anyone tell me where all this information is stored, so I can make a backup. Is it in the Preferences.xml file? Any help much appreciated. Regards Lloyd ---
**Author:** ![FordGuy61](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/22d042/32.png) [@FordGuy61](https://forums.plex.tv/u/FordGuy61)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2022, 4:22pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/where-is-the-library-setup-data-stored/792732/2 "2022-05-14T16:22:13Z")
Before removing and re-creating your server, see [Why am I locked out of Server Settings and how do I get in?](https://support.plex.tv/articles/204281528-why-am-i-locked-out-of-server-settings-and-how-do-i-get-in/). Removing the specified entries from the preferences.xml file will place your server in an unclaimed state. You should then be able to re-claim it and restore access without having to rebuild your libraries, etc. > [@lcutler61\_gmail\_com](#): > > can anyone tell me where all this information is stored, so I can make a backup. The information is stored in the Plex database. Make sure you have `Backup database every three days` enabled in Settings → Server\_Name → Scheduled Tasks. That will let you restore from a backup of the database. See [Restore a Database Backed Up via ‘Scheduled Tasks’](https://support.plex.tv/articles/202485658-restore-a-database-backed-up-via-scheduled-tasks/). To backup the entire [Plex Data Folder](https://support.plex.tv/articles/202915258-where-is-the-plex-media-server-data-directory-located/), see [Linux Tips](https://forums.plex.tv/t/linux-tips/276247) → [Backup, Restore, or Clone your PMS installation](https://forums.plex.tv/t/linux-tips/276247/7) ---
**Author:** ![lcutler61\_gmail\_com](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/lcutler61_gmail_com/32/130168_2.png) [@lcutler61\_gmail\_com](https://forums.plex.tv/u/lcutler61_gmail_com)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2022, 7:34am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/where-is-the-library-setup-data-stored/792732/3 "2022-05-17T07:34:12Z")
Thank you very much FordGuy61. The backup was set as suggested, just did not realise it. I guess it all went pear-shaped for me when I thought I would just reinstall the server. When I went to the software store for Ubuntu, it stated it wasn’t even installed, so I went ahead and installed it. When started it asked me to set it up from start and once opened it was then seeing my old server installation still. I then recalled I had initially installed the server via the terminal, which I believe was what they call flatpack, but the software store was a snap install. End result I removed everything and started again. All good learning. 🙂 Lloyd ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/plex/original/3X/2/a/2acb9765406f63293d357b4ec509ec39aa28f2ad.png) [@system](https://forums.plex.tv/u/system)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2022, 7:35am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/where-is-the-library-setup-data-stored/792732/4 "2022-08-15T07:35:08Z")
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