How to Fix an Error Occurred Loading Items to Play

Have you encountered a situation where you tried to launch a game and got a message saying an error occurred loading items to play? If yes, this guide is for you. In this article, we will discuss why you keep getting this error and offer ways to combat this problem.

Why do I keep getting playback error on Plex?

Some of the reasons you could be experiencing playback errors on Plex include:

• Outdated Playback versions.
• It could be a result of a network connection problem.
• The files may use a codec that is not supported by your device.
• The files might be damaged or corrupted.
• The files you are trying to access might be in an unsupported format.
• This problem could also arise as a result of incorrect configuration.

How do I fix An error occurred loading items to play?

Before heading to our more comprehensive solutions, try out these quick workarounds.

• Check the Plex server status to know if the servers are under maintenance. If they are under maintenance, you would have to wait until they start running again.
• Restart the Plex client. Doing this can get rid of minor glitches and potentially fix this error.
• Verify your internet connection. If your internet connection is slow, you will encounter this error.

If the steps above do not work, try out our more detailed steps below.

1. Disable the Plex audio passthrough option

1. On your Plex client, navigate to the Settings tab and choose Advanced.
   
2. Next, select Player.
   
3. Select the Audio passthrough option and click the radio button for Disabled.
   
4. Finally, check if this step has fixed the problem.

2. Remove other linked devices

1. Launch the Plex client and navigate to Settings.
2. Pick Authorized Devices and set the filter to All.
   
3. To remove any device, simply click the X sign next to it.
   

3. Fix the corrupt database

1. Exit the Plex client.
2. Hold Windows + R to open the Run dialogue, type cmd in the text field, then press Ctrl + Shift + Enter to open the command prompt in administrator mode.
   
3. Use the script below to change the directory to the path with your server.
   cd "%LOCALAPPDATA%\Plex Media Server\Plug-in Support\Databases"
   
4. Copy the database using the script below.
   copy com.plexapp.plugins.library.db com.plexapp.plugins.library.db.original
   
5. Using the script below, open the database with the Plex SQLite tool. Replace Plex SQLite with the exact path to your platform.
   "Plex SQLite" com.plexapp.plugins.library.db
   
6. Within the SQLite shell, run the following commands to inspect for damage and repair the database structure.
   PRAGMA integrity_check;
VACUUM;
   

4. Update your display drivers

1. Press Windows + X together and choose Device Manager.
   
2. Next, double-click on Display adapters, right-click on your display driver, and select Update driver.
   
3. In the next window, choose Search automatically for drivers.
   
4. After updating your display drivers, check to see if the problem has been resolved.

5. Modify the Plex transcoder settings

1. Select Settings and go to Server and Transcoder.
2. From the Transcoder quality drop-down menu, choose Prefer high-speed encoding.
   
3. Lastly, check if this step has resolved the error.

6. Turn off external player in Plex

1. Launch the Plex client and navigate to Settings.
2. Choose Advanced.
   
3. Then select Player.
   
4. Under Other Players, uncheck the Use External Player box.
   

In conclusion, we hope the steps outlined in this guide have helped resolve the “an error occurred loading items to play” problem.