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Windows Configuration

Windows Configuration

Section titled “Windows Configuration”

This guide covers essential Plex configuration settings for Windows.

Access Settings

Section titled “Access Settings”

Open Plex settings at http://localhost:32400/web → Click the Settings icon (wrench).

General Settings

Section titled “General Settings”

Server Name

Section titled “Server Name”
  • Settings → General
  • Set a descriptive name for your server
  • This appears in Plex apps when selecting a server

Automatic Updates

Section titled “Automatic Updates”

Enable automatic updates to stay current:

  • Check “Update my Plex Media Server automatically”

Library Settings

Section titled “Library Settings”

Scanner Interval

Section titled “Scanner Interval”
  • Settings → Library
  • “Scan my library periodically”: Set based on how often you add media
    • Daily for most users
    • Hourly if using automation (Sonarr/Radarr)

Generate Previews

Section titled “Generate Previews”

Video preview thumbnails (hover scrubbing):

  • “Generate video preview thumbnails”: As a scheduled task
  • “Generate intro video markers”: As a scheduled task

Transcoder Settings

Section titled “Transcoder Settings”

Quality Settings

Section titled “Quality Settings”
  • Settings → Transcoder
SettingRecommended Value
Transcoder qualityAutomatic
Transcoder temporary directorySSD path if available
Background transcoding threadsAuto (or CPU cores - 2)

Hardware Transcoding

Section titled “Hardware Transcoding”
  1. Verify Intel GPU is present in Device Manager
  2. Update Intel graphics drivers
  3. Settings → Transcoder
  4. Enable “Use hardware acceleration when available”
  5. Plex Pass required for hardware transcoding

Verify Quick Sync is working:

Terminal window
# Check for Intel GPU
Get-WmiObject win32_VideoController | Select-Object Name

Network Settings

Section titled “Network Settings”

Remote Access

Section titled “Remote Access”
  • Settings → Remote Access
  • Enable “Manually specify public port”: 32400
  • Click “Retry” to test connectivity

Bandwidth Limits

Section titled “Bandwidth Limits”
  • Settings → Network
  • Set “Limit remote stream bitrate” based on upload speed
  • Recommended: 80% of upload speed

Secure Connections

Section titled “Secure Connections”
  • Settings → Network
  • “Secure connections”: Required (recommended)

Scheduled Tasks

Section titled “Scheduled Tasks”

Maintenance Windows

Section titled “Maintenance Windows”
  • Settings → Scheduled Tasks
TaskRecommended Time
Backup database2:00 AM
Optimize database3:00 AM
Upgrade media analysis4:00 AM

Custom Scripts

Section titled “Custom Scripts”

Create a maintenance script for additional tasks:

PlexMaintenance.ps1
$plexData = "$env:LOCALAPPDATA\Plex Media Server"


# Clean old transcoder cache
Get-ChildItem "$plexData\Cache\Transcode" -Recurse |
    Where-Object { $_.LastWriteTime -lt (Get-Date).AddDays(-7) } |
    Remove-Item -Force -Recurse


# Clean old logs
Get-ChildItem "$plexData\Logs" -Filter "*.log" |
    Where-Object { $_.LastWriteTime -lt (Get-Date).AddDays(-30) } |
    Remove-Item -Force


Write-Host "Maintenance completed: $(Get-Date)"

Schedule with Task Scheduler:

Terminal window
$action = New-ScheduledTaskAction -Execute "PowerShell.exe" -Argument "-File C:\Scripts\PlexMaintenance.ps1"
$trigger = New-ScheduledTaskTrigger -Daily -At 5am
Register-ScheduledTask -TaskName "Plex Maintenance" -Action $action -Trigger $trigger

Users & Sharing

Section titled “Users & Sharing”

Managed Users

Section titled “Managed Users”
  • Settings → Users & Sharing
  • Create managed users for family members
  • Set content restrictions per user

Home Users

Section titled “Home Users”

With Plex Pass:

  • Create home users with separate watch history
  • Set per-user quality settings
  • Enable/disable features per user

Plugins & Agents

Section titled “Plugins & Agents”

Metadata Agents

Section titled “Metadata Agents”
  • Settings → Agents
  • Arrange agent priority for each library type
  • Recommended order:
    1. Local Media Assets
    2. Plex Movie/Plex Series
    3. TheMovieDB/TheTVDB

Preferences.xml

Section titled “Preferences.xml”

For advanced configuration, edit Preferences.xml:

Location: %LOCALAPPDATA%\Plex Media Server\Preferences.xml

Common tweaks:

<!-- Disable analytics -->
<Preferences ... ButlerTaskOptimize="0" ... />


<!-- Custom transcoder path -->
<Preferences ... TranscoderTempDirectory="D:\PlexTranscode" ... />

Environment Variables

Section titled “Environment Variables”

Set Plex environment variables in System Properties:

VariablePurpose
PLEX_MEDIA_SERVER_APPLICATION_SUPPORT_DIRChange data location
PLEX_MEDIA_SERVER_MAX_PLUGIN_PROCSLimit plugin processes
PLEX_MEDIA_SERVER_TMPDIRCustom temp directory

Example:

Terminal window
[Environment]::SetEnvironmentVariable("PLEX_MEDIA_SERVER_TMPDIR", "D:\PlexTemp", "Machine")

Next Steps

Section titled “Next Steps”