New install: Plex 503 error.. How to solve?

QuickBox Support
#1

Hey, I did the standard install with:

apt-get -y update; apt-get -y upgrade; apt-get -y install git lsb-release;
git clone --recursive https://github.com/QuickBox/QuickBox /etc/QuickBox &&
bash /etc/QuickBox/setup/quickbox-setup

I have a 64-bit Ubuntu 16.04

I installed Plex via the panel like anyone else would.

It shows up as green on the panel though…

ip71:~# systemctl status plexmediaserver
● plexmediaserver.service - Plex Media Server for Linux
Loaded: loaded (/etc/systemd/system/plexmediaserver.service; enabled; vendor
Active: inactive (dead) (Result: exit-code) since Thu 2017-03-02 09:33:23 CET
Process: 15558 ExecStartPre=/bin/sh -c /usr/bin/test -d "${PLEX_MEDIA_SERVER_A

Mar 02 09:33:17 ip71 systemd[1]: Failed to start Plex Media Server for Linux.
Mar 02 09:33:17 ip71 systemd[1]: plexmediaserver.service: Unit entered failed st
Mar 02 09:33:17 ip71 systemd[1]: plexmediaserver.service: Failed with result 'ex
Mar 02 09:33:23 ip71 systemd[1]: plexmediaserver.service: Service hold-off time
Mar 02 09:33:23 ip71 systemd[1]: Stopped Plex Media Server for Linux.
Mar 02 09:33:23 ip71 systemd[1]: plexmediaserver.service: Start request repeated
Mar 02 09:33:23 ip71 systemd[1]: Failed to start Plex Media Server for Linux.
lines 1-12/12 (END)

Any idea how to fix this?

Best regards,

#2

I also did setup tunneling, but localhost:8888/web/ gives the exact same error page.

#3

Hello @stefeman,

It seems your PMS can’t start so you can’t be able to configure Plex with the tunnel for now.

Could you tell me if you have the plex user in your system ?
With : sudo cat /etc/shadow | grep plex

#4

when using as root:

(1:18)# sudo cat /etc/shadow | grep plex
6134/7982MB 0.00 0.00 0.00 1/252 14479
[14447:14376 0:18] 11:32:26 Thu Mar 02 [root@ip71] ~

When using as eilif:

[eilif@ip71]:(0b)~$ sudo cat /etc/shadow | grep plex
[eilif@ip71]:(0b)~$

When it asked for a Plex user in setup, I gave an existing username and it said “user already exists” and hopped the next step (Set Password).

I wonder if that might have broken it? The install went through normally so I guessed there was nothing wrong.

#5

It seems you do not have the plex user in your system.

Could you check if you have the directory /var/lib/plexmediaserver ?

If not, could you try this as root :

systemctl stop plexmediaserver.service
box remove plex
mkdir -p /var/lib/plexmediaserver
adduser --quiet --system --shell /bin/bash --home /var/lib/plexmediaserver --group plex
chown -R plex:plex /var/lib/plexmediaserver
box install plex
#6

I have the folder /var/lib/plexmediaserver but it’s completely empty.

box install plex gets stuck on “Updating system …” forever

#7

I thought this script would work out of the box, but guess not… =/

#8

This script works fine most of the time but sometimes things happens and we don’t know why :slight_smile:
This issue might be coming from the ninthgate repo used in the script, could you try with the new plex repo ?

#9

How do I try the new plex repo? I mean how can I get this working in the first place? I have a clean system with first time install… No matter how many times I try re-installing it just won’t work for some reason =/

Rutorrent and deluge and other stuff is fine, but I can’t get plex up and working.

#10

I made some modifications on the plex install script, you can check and compare here :

#11

I’m just gonna hire a guru to do it for me once and save up the steps/commands.

#12

Solution for anyone wondering:

Do the normal install.
Reboot when prompted
do not open the panel.
log in to SSH
Type command: "box install plex"
wait 60 seconds when it gets stuck on “Updating”.
Hit enter once/twice when it’s stuck
Wait another 60 seconds
Eventually it goes through
Type command: "upgradePlex"
Let it update
When it’s updated, start using it like you normally would.

Do not use the panel to install/uninstall or enable/disable the plex. that seems to be broken for me.

#13

I’ll clarify once again.

When doing box install plex at one point you’ll be prompted Updating
Installation might seem hung but things are being done in the background. All depending on your SSH program (typically putty) if you don’t enter any command for 60 seconds putty will assume you timed out. Hence one might get the idea that the installation failed. This is not the case.

upgradePlex is optional. Current PMS Version installed is 1.3.3.3148. Doing upgradePlexwil get you the latest public/Plex Pass version of PMS.

Alternatively installing Plex can also be done using the Dashboard installer. I’ve just run a test in VM and everything works as intended.

Once Plex installation is completed you’ll need to setup a ssh tunnel, with Putty or X2Go as described in the Wiki’s


https://quickbox.io/wiki/setting-up-an-ssh-tunnel-for-plex/

If you skip the above mentioned wiki you will get promted with a 503 error trying to access PMS through Dashboard

#14

Yes, I forgot the SSH tunnel part in the end.