Notes on Plex Media volumes

This gathers notes together that are relevant to the volumes I have set up to hold my Plex Media server data.

Cloning or moving a Plex Media server

See Plex Media server (move or clone).

An answer for USB hard drive volume that keeps unmounting?

Once upon a time, I had an external, USB-mounted drive with all my father's media (movies, TV shows, miscellaneous videos) on it. Under Plex, these were entitled using names prefixed with Vintage.

Mounting such a volume was pretty easy, but it would not stay mounted. So, I moved all of the media over onto my hard drives. However, as I run out of room, I don't want that to be the permanent solution. Hence, some preliminary research to help me solve the problem when I can get back to it.

A common reason for a USB hard drive to keep unmounting on an Ubuntu server is insufficient or unstable power delivery, often resolved by disabling USB autosuspend, using a powered USB hub, or moving to a powered USB port. Other potential causes include faulty hardware like the drive, cable, or USB port, file system corruption, or the drive entering sleep mode, all of which can be investigated by checking system logs, testing different components, and disabling power-saving features.

1. Check for Power Issues

Disable USB Autosupend:

This feature can cause the drive to disconnect. You can disable it by editing the cmdline.txt file or checking power management settings in the Ubuntu control panel.

Use a Powered USB Hub:

This provides dedicated power to the hard drive, preventing it from drawing too much power from the server's USB ports.

Try a Different USB Port:

Connect the hard drive to a different USB port on the server. If the problem stops, it indicates a faulty port.

Try a Powered External Drive:

If you are using a portable, bus-powered external drive, switch to a model that uses its own external power supply to ensure stable power.

This video shows how to fix mounting issues with a USB drive:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=utHUlE1d4SE

2. Investigate Hardware and Cables

Test the USB Cable:

A damaged or low-quality USB cable can cause disconnections. Try a different, higher-quality USB cable.

Test the Hard Drive:

If you have another USB device, test it on the same port. If the other device also disconnects, the port or USB controller is likely the issue. Conversely, if the hard drive works fine on another computer, the issue might be with the server's USB ports.

3. Rule Out File System and Drive Health

Check for Drive Errors:

File system corruption or errors can cause a drive to become unstable. Use lsblk to identify the drive and fsck to check and repair the file system if needed.

Monitor Logs:

Check system logs, such as dmesg, for messages related to USB disconnects or host controller errors that can provide clues to the problem.

Check for Drive Sleep Mode:

Some hard drives enter sleep mode to save power. You can create a simple cron job to access a file on the drive every minute to prevent it from going to sleep.