Plex-Media-Server-Backup-How-To

How-To Backup your Plex Media Server.

Back Up Main Plex Media Server Data

Steps:

Run and Open you Plex Media Server in your browser, go to Settings > Library and disable Empty trash automatically after every scan.
Close the running instance of your server (usually in the notification area part of you taskbar, right-click Plex Media Server > click Exit).
Make a backup of the main Plex Media Server data directory.
Navigate to %LOCALAPPDATA% and there should be a folder called Plex Media Server.
Zip this folder (we are zipping the folder as it may be large with thousands of files so copying-pasting the folder is not as reliable nor as fast as having a zip backup).
Once the folder has completed zipping, move the zipped folder to an external drive where it can serve as a backup.
Part 1 done.

Steps:

Open the Registry Editor
Navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Plex, Inc.\Plex Media Server
Right click on the Plex Media Server folder > Export
Name it something like Plex Setting
Move this exported Registry Key to the same location as the above zip folder to serve as a backup on an external drive.

BACKUP DONE

Steps:

Make sure Plex Media Server is installed but not currently running.
Navigate to %LOCALAPPDATA% and there should be a folder called Plex Media Server, delete this folder.
Copy your data zip folder backup to %LOCALAPPDATA%.
Extract the zipped Plex Media Server folder.
Once the extraction is complete:
Copy the Registry Key backup from your external drive to somewhere on your system drive (Like the Desktop for example).
Run the Registry Key.
Restore is now done.
You can run Plex Media Server app and all your metadata and view states should be just as it was when you backed it up.
Remember to: Run and Open you Plex Media Server in your browser, go to Settings > Library and ENABLE Empty trash automatically after every scan.
Ba-boom!

ENJOY!

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