Help! - Plex will not run, update or remove on 516

Well, sadly it won't be something you fix through the FrontView UI -- comfy with ssh? OK, read on.

I believe the original cause of two packages had to do with PLEX being bundled with ROS6... but only enough of it to cause it to be downloaded and installed when you clicked the Install button. Tragically, this set up for some real headaches as new releases came out... particularly if you were a PlexPass member.

Now... if you ARE a PlexPass member and want to go to the very latest 0.9.9.0 there *is* now blissfully a single-package installation that you can find at https://forums.plex.tv/index.php/topic/95900-readynas6-restructured-packages-intel-working/. You may still need to do the manual removal instructions from below, but you should very easily be able to do FrontView-based app upload/install. But PLEASE pay attention to the MediaLibrary folder... I can't stress that enough.

If you are not a PlexPass member, then chances are what you're trying to install is 0.9.8.18. Safest bet, not knowing what state your installation is in, is to remove PLEX completely and then install 0.9.8.18.

Next question. Do you have an existing Media Library in your PLEX install that you really want to keep around? If yes, then before you do ANYTHING else, grab a copy (in some fasion, up to you) of /apps/plexmediaserver/MediaLibrary. In my case, I moved it to a share (under /data) and then symlink it back to it's desired location to have myself headaches later... but whatever you do, get a good copy out of /apps/plexmediaserver FIRST.

Next, you likely want to be sure to have a copy of the 0.9.8.18 packages someplace on your NAS. This will be handy because you can refer to them using the dpkg command to install. wget or curl, as you like, the following:

• http://downloads.plexapp.com/plex-media-server/0.9.8.18.290-11b7fdd/plexmediaserver-ros6_0.9.8.18.290-11b7fdd_amd64.deb


• http://downloads.plexapp.com/plex-media-server/0.9.8.18.290-11b7fdd/plexmediaserver-ros6-binaries_0.9.8.18.290-11b7fdd_amd64.deb

Now that you no longer care about what's in the app installation,

1. # dpkg --purge plexmediaserver-ros6 plexmediaserver-ros6-binaries


2. BE SURE YOU HAVE SAVED A COPY OF /apps/plexmediaserver/MediaLibrary !!!


3. # rm -rf /apps/plexmediaserver


4. # dpkg -i <path you put the *deb files above>/plex*0.9.18*deb


5. Put your copy of MediaLibrary back into /apps/plexmediaserver. For me, this is
   • # ln -s /data/.../MediaLibrary /apps/plexmediaserver/


6. # cd /apps/plexmediaserver


7. Next big step is to fix links the package doesn't set up correctly.... (next steps)
   
   
   
   1. # ln -s fvapp-plexmediaserver.service.orig fvapp-plexmediaserver.service
   
   
   2. # ln -s logo.png.orig logo.png
   
   
   3. # ln -s pre-start.sh.orig pre-start.sh
   
   
   4. Now we verify that the systemd service is set up. If the first find command finds nothing, then proceed with the rest of the steps. Otherwise, it's there and you should be OK.
      
      
      
      1. # find /lib/systemd/ /etc/systemd/ -name '*plexm*' -print
      
      
      2. # ln -s /apps/plexmediaserver/fvapp-plexmediaserver.service /lib/systemd/system/
      
      
      3. # ln -s /apps/plexmediaserver/fvapp-plexmediaserver.service /etc/systemd/system/multi-user.target.wants/
      
      
      4. # systemctl daemon-reload
      
      
      5. # find /lib/systemd/ /etc/systemd/ -name '*plexm*' -print
      
      
      6. # systemctl status fvapp-plexmediaserver
      
      
      That last command should give you something that starts like this. If it does NOT then something is amiss. Retrace your steps. Since you saved a copy of the MediaLibrary -- you DID save a copy of the MediaLibrary... RIGHT? -- then you can restart from the beginning and try again if need be. :)
      
      

      fvapp-plexmediaserver.service - Plex Media Server
                Loaded: loaded (/apps/plexmediaserver/fvapp-plexmediaserver.service.orig)
                Active: inactive (dead)
                CGroup: name=systemd:/system/fvapp

      
      
      At this point, you should have a working installation -- your PLEX server settings are located within your MediaLibrary, so it will be configured exactly as you had it before. You should be able to go into FrontView Installed Apps page, refresh, and see PLEX there to start, or you you may run "systemctl start fvapp-plexmediaserver" in your SSH session.
      
      This is a quick attempt at simplifying my posted notes in the following. Just be careful with your MediaLibrary folder if you care about your metadata library!
      
      
      • https://forums.plex.tv/index.php/topic/95900-readynas6-restructured-packages-intel-working/
      • https://forums.plex.tv/index.php/topic/66528-ready-nas-516/
      
      
      :nashammer:

Hey, thanks for the incredibly detailed instructions btaroli!
that's brilliant

I'm a bit of an SSH novice, but I will give it a go
cheers

New version of Plex is out for non-Plexpass members. Now its only one package (I think): plexmediaserver-ros6-binaries_0.9.9.7.429-f80a8d6_amd64.deb
What is the proper way to upgrade using ssh?

dpkg -i plexmediaserver-ros6-binaries_0.9.9.7.429-f80a8d6_amd64.deb should do the trick or do I need to do something else before?

With that version, SSH upgrade is no longer required. Just go to the apps page in the web UI, upload the package, and wait until you get your email notification the upgrade is complete. Note: You'll need to refresh the list and start the app after. It doesn't auto-start after upgrade.

Yes, this version seems to be a single package and uploads over the current installed version. It even seemed to keep my library intact!
I turned Plex 'off' in the app window before uploading, but I have no idea if that made any difference.
Vast improvement.

Thanks to btaroli for the help - following the instructions above got me out of the issues I was having with a corrupted plex install.