Where to Find Troubleshooting Help for Common Media Server Setup Issues

TRaSH Guides has dedicated troubleshooting pages for the most common setup failures in a Radarr/Sonarr-based media server: hardlinks not working, remote path mapping errors, downloader-specific problems (qBittorrent, Deluge, ruTorrent), and Plex streaming/transcoding issues. The fix pages live under File and Folder Structure, Downloaders, Plex, and the Tips sections of the Radarr and Sonarr docs. Start with the page that matches your symptom, then verify the fix with the check described on that page.

Hardlinks: the most common "why is my file copied twice" problem

Hardlinks are the usual culprit when imports are slow, disk usage doubles, or the *arr apps report "no files found" after a move. TRaSH Guides addresses this in the File and Folder Structure section with three relevant pages:

• Hardlinks and Instant Moves — explains the mechanism: a hardlink lets two paths point to the same data on one filesystem, so a download can be imported instantly without copying. It only works when the download folder and the library folder are on the same volume/filesystem, and when the downloader and the *arr app see the same path.
• Check if Hardlinks Are Working — a verification procedure you run after setup to confirm an import actually created a hardlink instead of a copy.
• Replace Copies With Hardlinks — what to do when you already have duplicate copies and want to reclaim space.

The setup pages under How To Set Up (Docker, Dockstarter, Native, Synology, TrueNAS Core, unRAID, Windows) give the volume/path layout each platform needs for hardlinks to be possible. If hardlinks fail, check in this order: same filesystem for downloads and library, identical path mapping in downloader and *arr app, and atomic moves enabled.

Remote path mappings and syncing two instances

Two related problems appear in the Radarr and Sonarr Tips sections:

• Remote Path Mappings — use this when the download client reports a path the *arr app can't see (typical with Docker containers or a downloader on another machine). The mapping translates the downloader's path into the path the *arr app uses.
• How to Sync 2 Radarr or Sonarr with each other — for running two instances (for example 4K and 1080p libraries) that should share settings.

Both pages are symptom-driven: if imports fail with a path error, it's the mapping; if two instances drift apart in quality profiles or custom formats, it's the sync guide.

Downloader-specific troubleshooting

The Downloaders section has per-client tips pages covering the failures users hit most:

The unRAID Mover entries matter if your downloads and library sit on different unRAID shares: the Mover can move files between cache and array in a way that breaks hardlinks or atomic moves. The port forwarding pages apply when torrents stall at "downloading metadata" or show no incoming connections.

Plex streaming, buffering, and 4K transcoding

The Plex section covers playback problems rather than *arr import problems:

• Suggested Plex Media Server Settings and Optimal Plex Client Settings — baseline configuration to rule out settings as the cause.
• What does my media player support — check whether the client can direct play your file before blaming the server.
• Streaming and Buffering Troubleshooting — work through buffering causes.
• Stop 4k Video Transcoding — the specific case where 4K content transcodes when it shouldn't, usually a client compatibility or subtitle issue.

How to use the guides effectively

1. Identify the symptom precisely: import failure, duplicate files, stalled torrent, or playback buffering.
2. Open the matching page above and follow its verification step first — for hardlinks, that's the check page; for path errors, confirm the mapping matches what the downloader reports.
3. Change one setting at a time and re-run the check, so you know which change fixed it.
4. If the problem is a wrong quality profile or custom format rather than a path or playback issue, the Quality Profiles and Custom Formats pages under Radarr/Sonarr are the right starting point instead.

The site's navigation groups everything by tool (Radarr, Sonarr, Prowlarr, Downloaders, Plex, File and Folder Structure), so the fastest route is usually: pick your tool, then the page whose title names your symptom.