Plex Media Scanner High CPU – Common Causes And Fixes!

Plex Media Scanner High CPU

Plex Media Scanner can cause high CPU usage, especially during scans or background tasks. Large libraries, frequent scans, or outdated hardware may contribute. Optimizing settings and managing scans can reduce CPU strain for smoother performance.

In this guide, we’ll walk you through the reasons behind high CPU usage and how to optimize it effectively.

Table of Contents

Understanding and Managing Plex Media Scanner High CPU Usage

When Plex uses too much CPU, it slows your system and affects streaming. By tweaking settings and managing tasks, you can make your server run smoother and enjoy uninterrupted media experiences.

1. What Causes Plex Media Scanner High CPU Usage?

A. Large Media Libraries

Plex scans every file in your library to organize metadata, which takes a lot of CPU power. Bigger libraries mean longer scans and more strain on your system.

B. Background Tasks

Plex runs tasks like fetching metadata and creating thumbnails in the background. These processes can use a lot of CPU, especially if your library updates often.

C. Outdated Hardware

Outdated Hardware
Source: Reddit

Older systems can’t keep up with Plex’s demands. If your server’s CPU is weak, scanning and transcoding tasks can slow everything down or cause high usage.

D. Frequent Scans

If your libraries are set to scan automatically, Plex may run scans too often. This keeps your CPU busy even when no one is watching anything.

2. Optimizing Plex Media Scanner for Better Performance

A. Limiting Concurrent Scans

Don’t let Plex scan everything at once. Limiting how many tasks run together reduces CPU load and keeps your system responsive.

B. Adjusting Scheduled Tasks

Schedule scans or updates during off-hours when no one is streaming. This simple change ensures Plex doesn’t interfere with your experience.

C. Utilizing Hardware Acceleration

Turn on hardware acceleration to let your GPU handle some heavy work. This reduces CPU stress and improves scanning and transcoding speeds.

D. Regular Server Maintenance

Keep your server clean and updated. Remove old or duplicate files, check for corrupt media, and ensure you’re running the latest Plex version.

3. Troubleshooting Plex Media Scanner High CPU Usage

A. Analyzing Media Files

Corrupt or improperly formatted files can cause Plex to overwork. Fix or replace these files to prevent unnecessary CPU usage during scans.

B. Adjusting Transcoding Options

Lower the transcoding quality if high-quality streaming isn’t necessary. This reduces CPU demand, especially on weaker hardware.

C. Seeking Professional Support

If you’re stuck, contact Plex support or a tech expert. They can help pinpoint and resolve complex issues quickly.

4. Summary

High CPU usage with Plex Media Scanner often comes from large libraries, frequent scans, or outdated systems. Fixing these issues with smarter settings, maintenance, and upgrades can make Plex run faster and more efficiently.

Possible Causes

1. Large Media Libraries

Big libraries mean Plex has more files to scan and organize, which requires much CPU power. The bigger the library, the longer the processing takes.

2. Automatic Background Tasks

Plex often runs tasks like updating metadata and creating previews in the background. These tasks can use too much CPU, especially if they happen regularly.

3. Old or Inadequate Hardware

Old or Inadequate Hardware
Source: techyloves

Older or less powerful hardware struggles with Plex’s processing needs. This can lead to slow performance and high CPU usage during scans or streaming.

4. High Transcoding Demands

Converting media for different devices uses significant CPU power. Streaming high-quality files to multiple devices at once increases CPU load.

5. Frequent Media Scans

Plex scans your library often to update content. If scans happen too frequently, they can overwork your CPU, slowing performance.

Solutions

1. Limit Concurrent Scans

Reduce the number of scans happening at the same time. This lowers CPU usage, helps your server work more efficiently, and prevents performance slowdowns while enjoying your favorite media.

2. Adjust Scheduled Tasks

Run scans and updates when you don’t use Plex, like late at night. This ensures Plex won’t interrupt streaming or slow your system when you need it most.

3. Enable Hardware Acceleration

Turn on hardware acceleration in Plex settings. It shifts heavy tasks from your CPU to your GPU, making everything faster and smoother.

4. Upgrade Hardware

Consider upgrading your CPU, RAM, or hard drive if your system struggles. Better hardware can easily handle Plex’s demands, improving speed and streaming quality.

5. Optimize Media Files

Organize your media files and use formats compatible with Plex. Properly encoded and sorted files reduce scan times and make your server more efficient.

Plex media scanner high CPU Windows 11

Plex Media Scanner can use a high CPU on Windows 11, especially during library scans or updates. To fix this, limit scan frequency, enable hardware acceleration, and schedule tasks during off-hours for smoother performance and less system strain.

Plex media scanner high CPU Windows 10

If Plex Media Scanner uses high CPU on Windows 10, it could be due to large library scans or frequent background tasks.

Reducing scan frequency, optimizing hardware settings, and ensuring system updates can help manage CPU usage and improve performance.

Plex transcoding CPU chart

The Plex transcoding CPU chart shows how much CPU is used when Plex converts media files for different devices.

Higher-quality files and multiple streams can increase CPU usage. Reducing transcoding quality helps lower CPU demands for smoother streaming.

Synology Plex high CPU usage

Synology NAS devices may experience high CPU usage with Plex, especially with large libraries or frequent scans.

To fix this, optimize Plex settings, reduce scan frequency, and keep your Synology firmware up-to-date for better performance and lower CPU strain.

Plex stop scanning

If Plex’s constant scanning uses too much CPU, you can stop it from scanning. Go to settings, pause or stop scans temporarily to reduce CPU usage and improve streaming performance, especially during high-usage periods.

Plex Media Fingerprinter

Plex Media Fingerprinter
Source: troypoint

Plex Media Fingerprinter identifies and organizes media files by analyzing their content. While useful, it can use significant CPU power. You can manage or turn off its settings to reduce CPU usage and enhance performance.

Plex generating loudness Data.

Plex generates loudness data to improve audio playback quality. If this task uses too much CPU, you can schedule it for off-peak times or adjust settings to reduce the load on your CPU and improve overall performance.

Plex limit CPU usage

To limit Plex’s CPU usage, reduce the number of simultaneous scans, lower transcoding quality, and adjust your settings.

This will prevent your CPU from becoming overloaded, ensuring smoother streaming and better performance during usage.

“Plex Media Scanner.exe” seems to be taking over.

If “Plex Media Scanner.exe” uses too much CPU, it may run multiple scans or tasks. You can reduce concurrent scans, adjust scan frequency, or schedule them during off-hours to minimize CPU load and improve system performance.

Excessive CPU use from Plex scan

Excessive CPU usage from Plex scanning happens when your library is large, or scans run too often. Reduce the scan frequency, organize your media library, or limit concurrent scans to help reduce CPU load and prevent slowdowns during streaming.

Scanning for Credits Superheats my CPU

Scanning for credits can overheat your CPU due to high processing demand. Adjust scan settings or schedule credit scans when idle to avoid high CPU usage and keep your system cool during Plex use.

PLEX causing high CPU usage (70 – 80%) when idle

Plex may still use a lot of CPU when idle due to background tasks like updating metadata or scanning your library. You can reduce unnecessary background tasks or adjust settings to lower CPU usage when you’re not actively streaming.

Plex using constant 50% of processor

If Plex constantly uses 50% of your processor, it’s likely due to ongoing scans or transcoding tasks. You can reduce these tasks, lower the transcoding quality, or schedule scans during off-hours to free up processor power for other tasks.

Plex media scan running too hot

If Plex media scans run too hot, it could overload your CPU. Reduce scan frequency, schedule scans for off-peak hours, or improve cooling systems to prevent overheating and ensure better system performance while using Plex.

Very hight CPU usage from Plex

Very high CPU usage from Plex is often due to heavy transcoding, large libraries, or frequent scans. You can lower transcoding quality, limit concurrent scans, or optimize your hardware to prevent CPU overload and improve Plex performance.

TrueNAS Scale Plex constant CPU usage

On TrueNAS Scale, constant CPU usage by Plex could be caused by frequent scans or transcoding. You can reduce the scan frequency, optimize transcoding settings, or upgrade hardware to manage CPU usage and improve overall system performance.

Why is Plex using lots of CPU when nothing is playing?

Why is Plex using lots of CPU when nothing is playing?
Source: Reddit

Even when nothing plays, Plex may use the CPU for tasks like scanning, updating metadata, or creating thumbnails.

Check your Plex settings and turn off unnecessary background tasks to lower CPU usage when you’re not actively streaming.

Why is the CPU at 100% on my raspberry pi with docker and plex?

A Raspberry Pi running Plex with Docker may reach 100% CPU usage due to limited resources. Try reducing the transcoding quality, limiting containers, or upgrading to a more powerful model to improve performance and reduce CPU load.

Plex Media Server High CPU Usage (90-100% total CPU usage), unsure why

If your Plex Media Server uses 90-100% of CPU, it could be caused by active scans, transcoding, or other tasks. Review your Plex settings, reduce concurrent tasks, and ensure your hardware meets Plex’s system requirements to lower CPU usage.

Why is Plex Media Scanner suddenly eating up 70-80% of my CPU?

Plex Media Scanner may suddenly use 70-80% CPU due to large library scans, metadata updates, or frequent background tasks.

Adjust scan frequency, limit concurrent scans, or schedule scans during off-peak times to reduce CPU usage and improve performance.

Please help CPU spiked to 100% plex unusable

If your CPU spikes to 100% and Plex becomes unusable, try reducing concurrent scans or turning off unnecessary tasks.

You can also optimize transcoding settings and ensure your hardware is powerful enough to handle Plex’s demands without overloading the CPU.

CPU is constantly running at 100%

If your CPU runs constantly at 100%, it may be caused by Plex’s background tasks like scanning or transcoding.

Try limiting these tasks, adjusting scheduled scans, or upgrading hardware to prevent CPU overload and improve Plex performance.

High CPU usage on Plex server side

High CPU usage on the Plex server side can occur due to frequent scans, large libraries, or transcoding tasks. Reduce scan frequency, lower transcoding settings, and perform regular maintenance to manage CPU load and enhance server performance for smooth streaming.

Plex Media scanner high disk usage

Plex Media Scanner can cause high disk usage when scanning large libraries or updating metadata. To reduce disk usage, limit scan frequency, organize media files, and adjust background tasks so Plex uses less disk space while keeping the system running smoothly.

Plex Media scanner exe application error

If you experience an error with the Plex Media Scanner exe application, it may be due to corrupted files or improper settings.

Try updating Plex, checking for software issues, or reinstalling Plex to resolve the error and optimize CPU performance.

Plex Media Scanner using 100% CPU (1 core) for hours, scheduled tasks set to 11pm–8am

If Plex Media Scanner uses 100% of your CPU for hours, even with scheduled tasks, try reducing scan frequency or adjusting the priority of background tasks. Ensuring your hardware meets the recommended specs can help improve performance during scans.

FAQs

1. Why is Plex using so much CPU?

Plex uses a lot of CPU for tasks like scanning media libraries, transcoding files, or updating metadata. Reducing these tasks can help.

2. What does Plex Media Scanner do?

Plex Media Scanner organizes your media files by fetching information like titles, descriptions, and artwork, improving browsing and playback.

3. How do I stop Plex from detecting intros?

To stop Plex from detecting intros, go to settings and turn off the “Skip Intro” feature or adjust the scanning options.

4. What CPU for Plex encoding?

For Plex encoding, a multi-core processor is recommended. A minimum of 2 cores is necessary, but 4 or more is ideal for smooth encoding.

5. How do I stop CPU from using high usage?

To stop high CPU usage, limit background scans, lower transcoding settings, or schedule tasks during idle hours to prevent overloading.

6. Does Plex slow down your computer?

Plex can slow down your computer if your hardware isn’t powerful enough. Managing tasks and updating your hardware can help improve performance.

7. Why is CPU usage so high all of a sudden?

Sudden high CPU usage may be caused by background tasks like scanning or transcoding. Try adjusting settings to lower CPU demand.

8. Why is my CPU usage so high doing nothing?

High CPU usage when idle could be due to background tasks or apps running in the background. Check settings to reduce unnecessary tasks.

9. Why is my CPU usage so high and GPU so low?

When CPU usage is high, and GPU is low, it could be due to CPU-heavy tasks like transcoding. Enabling hardware acceleration can shift the load to the GPU.

10. Why does my CPU spike to 100% usage?

A 100% CPU spike can occur from heavy tasks like scanning, transcoding, or running multiple processes. Reducing these tasks can prevent spikes.

Conclusion

In conclusion, high CPU usage from Plex Media Scanner is often caused by large libraries, frequent scans, and background tasks. By adjusting settings, scheduling scans, and optimizing hardware, you can reduce CPU load and enjoy smoother, uninterrupted streaming with Plex.

John Adam is a CPU expert with a deep understanding of processor architecture and performance optimization. His expertise guides users through the complexities of modern CPUs, empowering them to make smart decisions for enhanced computing power and efficiency.

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