Downloaded file unreadable by Plex

Help & Support
#1

Sonarr version (exact version): 2.0.0.4472
Mono version (if Sonarr is not running on Windows):
OS: Windows 10
Description of issue:

I regularly find that some downloaded files become “unavailable” in Plex and can’t be played. The weird thing is that they seem to be playable immediately after download, but become unplayable after the torrent is not seeding anymore from uTorrent and has been removed by Sonarr.

In fact the file is unplayable by Plex because it has wrong permissions. The only way to fix that I’ve found it is to change ownership of the file or folder, and apply new permissions.

It’s puzzling me because the folder where I store my video files has “everyone / full access / inherit” permissions, so every file created under it should have full access permissions by anyone.

What I also tried:

  • Run Sonarr as the same user Plex is running as
  • Change advanced setting “Use Hardlinks instead of Copy” to No
    Nothing did seem to make a difference…

I’m out of ideas to try so any help is appreciated.

Here’s my full setup:

  • Sonarr service running as user .\Plex
  • uTorrent running as a service using NSSM
  • Plex running as a service using PmsService as user .\Plex

Thanks in advance

#2

Sonarr doesn’t alter any permissions, but I’ll throw out a few questions.

  • When the file is imported does it have the correct permissions?
  • When it becomes unplayable how have the permissions changed?
  • When you used copy instead of hardlinks was there any change?
  • Hove you tried auditing file changes to see where the change is coming from?
  • Have you tried running uTorrent as the same user as Sonarr/Plex?
  • Have you tried applying the same permissions to the uTorrent download folder that you do the the sorted files?
#3

Thanks for the interest. Here are my answers:

  • When the file is imported does it have the correct permissions?
    The following users have full control: Everyone, SYSTEM, Plex, Administrators and Users.
  • When it becomes unplayable how have the permissions changed?
    Windows won’t let me see the permissions or even change them (although i’m an administrator). The only thing I’m allowed to do is change the file owner, and then I can change the permissions.
  • When you used copy instead of hardlinks was there any change?
    Nothing
  • Hove you tried auditing file changes to see where the change is coming from?
    I’m afraid I don’t know how to do that
  • Have you tried running uTorrent as the same user as Sonarr/Plex?
    Not yet, I wanted to understand what was going on before doing more changes
  • Have you tried applying the same permissions to the uTorrent download folder that you do the the sorted files?
    It has the same permissions, actually I changed the permissions at the root of the drive and applied recursively so all files and folders should have the same permissions

Strange isn’t it ?

#4

Does it show who the current owner is?

Which user is the uTorrent service running under?

This came up for a different issue recently: NzbDrone.exe & nzbdrone.console.exe are 0kb?

#5

No, not even that!

The default account for services which is LocalSystem I think (can’t access the machine right now)

That looks interesting ! I think that’s the next thing to try…

Thanks!

#6

LocalSystem actually has more writes than an admin user does, it’s possible for the system account to change things that prevent an admin from making changes, which usually presents itself similar to what you’re seeing. I’d try changing the account and going from there, using the same account across the board might work best.

#7

Thanks for all the suggestions. I think I’ll try using the same user across services first, then if it doesn’t improve I’ll track the file changes as you suggested.
I’ll let you know what came out of it.

#8

After changing the account under which uTorrent runs to “Plex”, everything seems to be running fine and the problem seem to have disappeared.

Thanks again for the help!

#9

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