# Why were my files deleted? **URL:** \ **Category:** Plex Media Server\ **Tags:** plex-web\ **Created:** [January 3, 2021, 12:21pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/why-were-my-files-deleted/673711 "2021-01-03T12:21:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![jess\_levy\_outlook\_com](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b77776/32.png) [@jess\_levy\_outlook\_com](https://forums.plex.tv/u/jess_levy_outlook_com)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2021, 12:21pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/why-were-my-files-deleted/673711/1 "2021-01-03T12:21:45Z")
My files were literally deleted off my computer and hard drive! How is that possible or even allowed to happen. Why would Plex do that and how can I get my files back? ---
**Author:** ![dane22](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/dane22/32/4389_2.png) [@dane22](https://forums.plex.tv/u/dane22)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2021, 12:40pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/why-were-my-files-deleted/673711/2 "2021-01-03T12:40:35Z")
There’s only 2 cases, where Plex Media Server (PMS) would delete files: - If the owner of the PMS had the setting to allow deletion. - If above, then only the owner of the PMS could do this, and would have to explicit press the delete button, and say yes to the warning for each individual media - For shows, if you altered the default setting to clean up episodes on each show you got one by one As such, I highly doubt that PMS did this, since if so, the forums would be bombarded with posts about this! You should instead look at your System/OS logs to figure out what happened, like malware, HDD corruption, or somebody hacked your OS (Not PMS) ---
**Author:** ![pguillot69](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/pguillot69/32/106614_2.png) [@pguillot69](https://forums.plex.tv/u/pguillot69)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2021, 3:04pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/why-were-my-files-deleted/673711/4 "2021-01-03T15:04:08Z")
As Dane22 has said and I agree. PMS only deletes files on those two occasions so you may want to look into the last options. Does anybody have YOUR password and logs into YOUR account. I did so I CAN point the finger. The owner’s account is the only one that can delete file through the Web service. Also, If you are using things like Sonarr, Couch, Torrents. These items do have a deletion feature in them that you may not like. Usenet is full of incomplete or badly uploaded or just bad encodes of files. One time I came home to find an entire series had been replaced with junk. My advice is to use the feature in Sonarr under Settings\> Media Management\>Show Advanced Cog\>File Management… Several option there to save any mistake that happens. ---
**Author:** ![jesslevy13\_outlook\_com](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f14d63/32.png) [@jesslevy13\_outlook\_com](https://forums.plex.tv/u/jesslevy13_outlook_com)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2021, 6:03am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/why-were-my-files-deleted/673711/5 "2021-01-04T06:03:57Z")
No the only thing different I did was connect my hard drive to my laptop then start uploading to Plex. Ah must because of Sonarr. That is so disappointing! ---
**Author:** ![mark40511](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/mark40511/32/117228_2.png) [@mark40511](https://forums.plex.tv/u/mark40511)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2021, 6:20am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/why-were-my-files-deleted/673711/6 "2021-01-04T06:20:04Z")
You don’t have backup’s? ---
**Author:** ![jesslevy13\_outlook\_com](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f14d63/32.png) [@jesslevy13\_outlook\_com](https://forums.plex.tv/u/jesslevy13_outlook_com)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2021, 11:44am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/why-were-my-files-deleted/673711/7 "2021-01-04T11:44:16Z")
On another hard drive which looks like I’m not getting it back ---
**Author:** ![mark40511](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/mark40511/32/117228_2.png) [@mark40511](https://forums.plex.tv/u/mark40511)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2021, 6:47am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/why-were-my-files-deleted/673711/8 "2021-01-05T06:47:36Z")
so sorry you lost everything. I double and even triple back up for fear of losing everything. ---
**Author:** ![Dan\_Bev](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/dan_bev/32/226338_2.png) [@Dan\_Bev](https://forums.plex.tv/u/Dan_Bev)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2021, 1:06pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/why-were-my-files-deleted/673711/9 "2021-01-05T13:06:41Z")
> [@jesslevy13\_outlook\_com](#): > > On another hard drive which looks like I’m not getting it back If you don’t have access to your backup it’s not a backup. ---
**Author:** ![jakeytastic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/7993a0/32.png) [@jakeytastic](https://forums.plex.tv/u/jakeytastic)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2021, 11:01am UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/why-were-my-files-deleted/673711/10 "2021-03-08T11:01:19Z")
Did you ever figure this out? I have been noticing movies going missing regularly and its very frustrating. I don’t have Media deletion enabled and I would never delete media using plex anyways! Many people are having this issue so the people saying that this “IS NOT A PLEX ISSUE” are just flat out wrong! This has been ongoing since 2012 and Plex then just stopped trying to figure it out! But it is still an issue. It wouldn’t be so bad if the files went to the recycling bin but Plex is completely destroying them to the point of not being able to get them back! Recently it deleted my wedding video from my computer! This is completely inappropriate and needs to be sorted! So if anyone has figured it out please let me know. ---
**Author:** ![tom80H](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/tom80h/32/19753_2.png) [@tom80H](https://forums.plex.tv/u/tom80H)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2021, 12:15pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/why-were-my-files-deleted/673711/11 "2021-03-08T12:15:52Z")
> [@jakeytastic](#): > > Many people are having this issue so the people saying that this “IS NOT A PLEX ISSUE” are just flat out wrong! This has been ongoing since 2012 and Plex then just stopped trying to figure it out! What makes you think that? 🤔 It’s true there’s an occasional post where users lose their files. The vast majority of those is quickly resolved and relates to some 3rd party apps involved in downloading or managing media files… which indeed has nothing to do with Plex. Many other cases about „missing files“ refer to library records inside Plex getting lost (e.g. with automatic emptying of trash) — not the files themselves being lost. ---
**Author:** ![jess\_levy\_outlook\_com](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b77776/32.png) [@jess\_levy\_outlook\_com](https://forums.plex.tv/u/jess_levy_outlook_com)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2021, 1:33pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/why-were-my-files-deleted/673711/12 "2021-03-08T13:33:46Z")
@jakeytastic No I haven’t it is really annoying, they haven’t contacted me to help. I don’t have any 3rd party apps managing or downloading my media files. The files literally disappear off my hard drive or pc ---
**Author:** ![tom80H](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/tom80h/32/19753_2.png) [@tom80H](https://forums.plex.tv/u/tom80H)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2021, 1:45pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/why-were-my-files-deleted/673711/13 "2021-03-08T13:45:28Z")
I thought you were the same user who posted this above… > [@jesslevy13\_outlook\_com](#): > > Ah must because of Sonarr. That is so disappointing! ---
**Author:** ![jakefahey1993\_gmail\_com](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ea666f/32.png) [@jakefahey1993\_gmail\_com](https://forums.plex.tv/u/jakefahey1993_gmail_com)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2021, 11:36pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/why-were-my-files-deleted/673711/14 "2021-03-09T23:36:14Z")
![IMG_20210309_212014](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/plex/original/3X/8/c/8c7136b9067063136c2314ca8213e3a264f5fc3f.jpeg) ---
**Author:** ![tom80H](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/plex/user_avatar/forums.plex.tv/tom80h/32/19753_2.png) [@tom80H](https://forums.plex.tv/u/tom80H)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2021, 11:38pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/why-were-my-files-deleted/673711/15 "2021-03-09T23:38:18Z")
That message is referring to Plex removing items from your library, not deleting files themselves. PS: you’ve got a lot of different accounts… ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/plex/original/3X/2/a/2acb9765406f63293d357b4ec509ec39aa28f2ad.png) [@system](https://forums.plex.tv/u/system)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2021, 11:39pm UTC](https://forums.plex.tv/t/why-were-my-files-deleted/673711/16 "2021-06-07T23:39:05Z")
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