Back up your Plex Media Server on Windows Server
If you host a Plex Media Server on your Windows Server, and you have a lot of media, it is a good idea to keep a backup. However, Plex doesn’t integrate any sort of backup solution, so you’ll need to take matters into your own hands.
Thankfully, Windows Server Backup for Windows Server can easily back up your entire server, including Plex. Here’s how to create a backup on your system.
Before we begin
To use the Windows Server Backup tool to create a backup of your Plex Media Server, you must have the “Windows Server Backup” feature enabled and installed on your system. Here’s how to enable it.
Open up the Windows Server Manager. After launching it, find the “Add Roles and Features” area, and click on it to open up the “Add Roles and Features” wizard. When you open this wizard, scroll down and check the box next to “Windows Server Backup.”
After checking the box, find the “Next” button, and click on it. Then, select the “Install” button. You can then enable the Windows Server Backup feature.
Creating your Plex Media Server Backup
To create your Plex Media Server backup, start by setting up your backup location. If you have an internal backup drive, ensure it is formatted correctly. If you have a USB backup drive, plug it in. Or, if you back up to the cloud, ensure your backup client is enabled.
Once you’ve configured your backup solution, open up the Windows Server start menu. When it is open, type in “Windows Server Backup” and launch the Windows Server backup tool.
Inside of the Windows Server Backup tool, find the sidebar, and select the “Local Backup” option. After clicking on “Local Backup” in the sidebar, Windows Server Backup will show you your list of local backups. If you have not used the backup tool, it will say “No backup has been configured for this computer.”
To create a single backup (without configuring a backup schedule) do the following. First, find the “Backup Once” button in the right-hand sidebar in Windows Server Backup, and click on it.
After selecting “Backup Once,” the “Backup Once Wizard” will appear. Read the introduction it presents you. Then, click on the “Next” button to move to the next page.
On the next page, you will be required to choose what type of backup you want to do. By default, Windows Server suggests you do a full server backup. Even though we are only backing up Plex, you should still select the full server backup option, as it will ensure absolutely everything related to Plex is safe.
Note: if you are an expert, or if you store your Plex library on a separate drive, feel free to choose the “Custom” box. Then, click “Next.” On the next page, find the “Add Items” button, and click it to add your backup locations.
After selecting “Full server” you’ll need to choose where the backup will go. Ideally, you should send your server backup to a backup server, or backup drive. Choose either “Local drives” or “Remote shared folder”. Click “Next” when done.
If you chose remote, enter the remote shared folder details to send the backup to. Alternatively, if you chose to specify a drive, configure that instead. When you’ve configured everything, click the “Backup” button.
When you select the “Backup” button, Windows Server Backup will begin to back up your data to the specified location. This process will take a while, especially if you have a lot of data. However, rest assured, your Plex library and settings are being backed up safely.
How to restore your Plex backup
To restore your Plex backup, do the following. First, open up the Windows Server Backup tool. Once it is open, select the “Local Backup” option in the left-hand sidebar. Then, select your backup.
After selecting the backup you made, click on the “Recover” button in the right-hand sidebar. When you select the “Recover” button, the “Recovery Wizard” will appear. Read the “Getting Started” page, and click “Next” to continue.
Once you select the “Next” button, you’ll need to choose from the available backups via the calendar. Then, click on the “Next” button to move to the next page in the Recovery tool.
You’ll now need to choose what to recover. Select “Files and folders” to recover to browse and restore your backups. If you’re an expert, consider selecting “Volumes,” “Applications”, etc.
After choosing “Files and folders” browse for your Plex data to restore. Alternatively, select “Local disk (C:)” to restore everything. Click “Next” when you’ve made your selection.
You must now choose the recovery destination. To send recovered files and folders to their original locations, choose “Original location.” To restore it somewhere else, choose “Another location.” When done, click “Next”.
When you select “Yes” after choosing the recovery location, Windows Server will begin restoring your files. This will take some time. When the process is complete, your files will be restored.
