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SOLVED: Service Failed To Start - Printable Version

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+---- Thread: SOLVED: Service Failed To Start (/t-solved-service-failed-to-start)



Service Failed To Start - Electric-Cow - 2024-06-27

Good morning,

I am hoping to get some help with my Jellyfin server. It had been working without issue for around 6 months until last night when it suddenly stopped. My Jellyfin Server is running as a container within ProxMox. ProxMox is running on a Dell OptiPlex 3050 Micro Form Factor desktop pc.

I tried some basic troubleshooting, including restarting the container, restarting the hypervisor/host, and attempting to restart the service without avail. I ran the following commands (output linked) and ran an apt-get update/apt-get upgrade in the container. I, unfortunately, did not make any snapshots that I can revert to.

Systemctl status jellyfin.service | https://sourceb.in/r5sn3iNfzF

cat /lib/systemd/system/jellyfin.service | https://sourceb.in/uwJwS45etj

cat /etc/systemd/system/jellyfin.service.d/jellyfin.service.conf | https://sourceb.in/jozM1jrvDl

sudo journalctl -u jellyfin | https://sourceb.in/h1FW8endYH  (This is the last ~150 lines).

df -h | https://sourceb.in/QqnZnChEH0

Does anyone have any ideas on how I may be able to fix this?


RE: Service Failed To Start - TheDreadPirate - 2024-06-27

Go to /etc/jellyfin in the container and look for empty XML files (probably migrations.xml). You can also try renaming all the XML files in there and let Jellyfin regenerate them from defaults.


RE: Service Failed To Start - Electric-Cow - 2024-06-27

(2024-06-27, 03:14 PM)TheDreadPirate Wrote: Go to /etc/jellyfin in the container and look for empty XML files (probably migrations.xml).  You can also try renaming all the XML files in there and let Jellyfin regenerate them from defaults.

The issue is resolved, but I'm adding additional information for anyone who may stumble onto this in the future:

@TheDreadPirate was right, the migrations.xml file was empty. I renamed it. Restarting the service regenerated the file. However, the service would still not start. After restarting the service, it went into a an "inactive (dead)" state. Systemctl status output: https://sourceb.in/6pkSv9ZdMz. The journal is showing was error during migration. "Could not apply migration 'MigrateActivityLogDatabase' " (https://sourceb.in/FXqhTrlZV0). The other threads I've seen on this issue seem to indicate a permissions issue, but my log shows there is no such "ActivityLog" table.

Renaming the system.xml file and restarting the service was also required for the service to start!

Thank you very much!


RE: Service Failed To Start - LeeJS - 2025-05-22

(2024-06-27, 09:35 PM)Electric-Cow Wrote:
(2024-06-27, 03:14 PM)TheDreadPirate Wrote: Go to /etc/jellyfin in the container and look for empty XML files (probably migrations.xml).  You can also try renaming all the XML files in there and let Jellyfin regenerate them from defaults.

The issue is resolved, but I'm adding additional information for anyone who may stumble onto this in the future:

@TheDreadPirate was right, the migrations.xml file was empty. I renamed it. Restarting the service regenerated the file. However, the service would still not start. After restarting the service, it went into a an "inactive (dead)" state. Systemctl status output: https://sourceb.in/6pkSv9ZdMz. The journal is showing was error during migration. "Could not apply migration 'MigrateActivityLogDatabase' " (https://sourceb.in/FXqhTrlZV0). The other threads I've seen on this issue seem to indicate a permissions issue, but my log shows there is no such "ActivityLog" table.

Renaming the system.xml file and restarting the service was also required for the service to start!

Thank you very much!

I've just had the exact same problem and your steps fixed the issue, so thank you for that first off.
My question is why did this happen and what can I do to stop it happening again?
I've run Jellyfin under Docker for years and this has never been an issue. Suddenly I move to an LXC and it crashes within a matter of days for no reason. I'm contemplating moving back to a Docker install if this can't be explained Confused-face