Installing Plex Media Server on Windows
Installing Plex Media Server on a Windows machine is very easy. There are two versions of Plex available for Windows: 32-bit and 64-bit. I highly recommend you install the 64-bit version as it includes functionality such as HDR to SDR tone mapping.
Supported Windows versions
The following versions of Windows are supported:
| Desktop | Server |
|---|---|
| Windows 7 SP1 (32-bit Plex only) | Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 (32-bit Plex only) |
| Windows 8 | Windows Server 2012 |
| Windows 8.1 (with Update) | Windows Server 2012 R2 (with Update) |
| Windows 10 | Windows Server 2016 |
| Windows 11 | Windows Server 2019 |
| Windows Server 2022 |
To use the 64-bit version of Plex you will need to use Windows 8 and newer, or Windows Server 2012 and newer.
While Windows 7, Windows 2008 R2 SP1, and Windows 8 can be used as a Plex Media server, they are end-of-life, which means they won't be receiving updates so it is recommended to use a newer version of Windows.
Also, Windows 7 and Windows 8 are no longer supported after Plex Media Server version 1.31.3.6819.
Installing Plex Media Server
To install Plex Media Server on a Windows machine, use the following steps:
- Open a Web browser and navigate to the Plex Media Server downloads page.
- Select Windows from the drop-down list, then click the Choose Distribution button, and finally select the 64-bit (recommended) or 32-bit distribution.
Plex Media Server for Windows download page - Once the file is downloaded, double-click the file to begin the installation.
- In the first window, click the Next button to begin the installation.
Plex Media Server Windows welcome screen - In the Ready to Install, click the Install to install Plex Media Server.
Plex Media Server Windows ready to install screen - Once Plex Media Server is installed, it will now run under the administrative account that was used to install the application. At this point you have two options:
- If you only have the administrative account on your Windows machine, or you would just like Plex to run under the administrative account, check the Launch Plex Media Server checkbox.
- If you would like to run Plex Media Server under a different account (highly recommended), then uncheck the Launch Plex Media Server checkbox. After the installation, you should follow the steps outlined in the Moving Plex Media Server to a Different User Account page.
- Click the Finish close and complete the Plex Media Server installation.
Plex Media Server successful Windows installation screen
Plex Media Server should now be installed on your Windows system. At this point, if you choose to run Plex as is you can then launch Plex (if you didn't start it at the end of the install), and navigate to the Plex URL in your Web browser (http://{plex_ip_address}:32400/web/index.html#).
By default, Plex will close when the user running Plex logs out. If your server restarts, Plex won't start again until the user logs in.
You can run Plex as a Windows service instead. This will allow Plex to run without first logging in, and also have Plex continue to run if the user logs out.
When running Plex as a Windows service, you must ensure you stop the service before updating Plex. This guide explains how you can easily update Plex when running as a Windows service.
Now that Plex is installed, and you have verified it is running, now would be a good time to take a backup of your Plex Media Server data. Making regular backups would help restore your Plex server with all your settings in case you need to reinstall Plex.
One last thing, if you did install the 32-bit version of Plex Media Server and would like to change to the 64-bit version, you can install the 64-bit version of Plex Media Server even after you install the 32-bit version. The 64-bit install will detect and uninstall the 32-bit version.