Plex Media Server Issue: "Failed to Load Preferences" - Solution

Plex Media Server is a popular media management platform, but like any software, it can encounter issues. One common problem users might face is the "Failed to load preferences" error. In this blog post, we'll explore this issue and provide a solution.

Issue Description:

When attempting to start the Plex Media Server, you might encounter the following error message:

Failed to load preferences at /var/lib/plexmediaserver/Library/Application Support/Plex Media Server

This error indicates a problem with loading preferences for Plex Media Server.

Solution:

Step 1: Stop Plex Media Server

Before proceeding with the solution, stop the Plex Media Server. You can do this using the following command:

sudo systemctl stop plexmediaserver

Step 2: Rename Preferences Directory

The "Failed to load preferences" error often occurs due to a corrupted or misconfigured preferences directory. To resolve this issue, you can rename the existing preferences directory, and Plex Media Server will create a new one.

sudo mv /var/lib/plexmediaserver/Library/Application\ Support/Plex\ Media\ Server /var/lib/plexmediaserver/Library/Application\ Support/Plex\ Media\ Server.bak

This command renames the preferences directory to create a backup.

Step 3: Restart Plex Media Server

Now, start Plex Media Server again:

sudo systemctl start plexmediaserver

Step 4: Verify Operation

Check the status of Plex Media Server to ensure it's running without any errors:

sudo systemctl status plexmediaserver

If everything is working as expected, you should see Plex Media Server as "active (running)" in the status output.