Can no longer connect to Emby server (*was* working fine...)

[RogerO 5]

I've been running Emby for just a day or two.  I've loaded all my media and was gradually fixing the missing metadata, and everything's been looking great.  I was accessing from a PC on the LAN and from my phone over wireless and 4G, and a family member could access it externally as a test.

 

Then a few hours ago, everything suddenly stopped working.  I was in the throes of metadata editing at the time, so I can't think of anything I was doing at the time that could have caused the problem. 

 

Now, I can't even start the server on my QNAP NAS, just getting the error "This site can't be reached" if I try via 192.168.1.100:8096, or "We're unable to connect to the selected server right now...", if I try to connect via app.emby.media.  I get the same errors if I try to connect via either Chrome or the Emby app on my phone (on the same network via via wifi).

 

Some facts and observations:

• my clients are a Windows 10 PC via app.emby.media (and I'm pretty sure I also connected directly via 192.168.1.100:8096), and an Android Galaxy S8 phone via the Emby app
• my server is a a QNAP TVS-871, running the latest version of Emby downloaded 1-2 days ago.  It has a statically assigned IP address and has been that way forever
• I have unblocked ports 8096 and 8920 on my router in exactly the same way that I have unblocked port 32400 for Plex.  However, if I test with canyouseeme.org it says it could not see 8096/8920, even though it can see 32400 (and Plex still works fine, either locally or remotely).  I've attached a screenshop of that config page.  There's gotta be a clue there!  But I'm not sure what else to try.  (I have put a call into my ISP to see if they block 8096 and/or 8920, and am waiting for a reply.  But since this problem also occurs on my LAN, I guess that's not the problem)
• I don't recall setting the "Bind to local network address" field in "server dashboard - advanced", and I can't do that now because I can't connect to Emby at all
• I tried turning off the Windows firewall on my client PC, which makes no difference
• I tried turning off the SPI firewall on my TP-LINK AC1750 router, which made no difference
• I have tried putting the server 192.168.1.100 in the DMZ, which made no difference
• I tried turning off-then-on my PC, NAS, router and modem all at the same time, and for maybe 15-30 seconds everything worked!  But then it just stopped again, with the same errors described above
• I then tried turning off each item one by one, but no single off/on process made any difference.  I should probably try turning everything off/on at the same time again, but even if it worked for another 15-30 seconds, I'm not sure what that would tell me about the problem

I'm worried that I'm missing something terribly simple.  Do you have any ideas what's going on, or what I might try next?

 

[mastrmind11 722]

Sounds to me like your server isn't running at all.  

[RogerO 5]

Indeed.  But if that's the case, how do I restart it?  I realise how dumb that sounds, but I may in the midst of a giant brain fade.  When I click on the "Emby Server" icon on the QNAP GUI, it opens a new tab at 192.168.1.100:8096, with the error:
 

This site can’t be reached

192.168.1.100 refused to connect.

 

• Search Google for 192 168 100 8096

ERR_CONNECTION_REFUSED"

[mastrmind11 722]

I don't know anything about QNAPs but in vanilla Linux, you'd ssh into the NAS and restart the service.  At the very least, you should ssh in and check the system error logs and the emby logs to get an idea of why it's not starting.  Perhaps someone w/ more QNAP experience will come along and chime in.

[RogerO 5]

Thanks.  Being reasonably new to Linux/Emby, how do I restart the service? 

 

(I'm OK to ssh in and find the relevant folder etc, but don't know how to go about starting the service.)

[mastrmind11 722]

Thanks.  Being reasonably new to Linux/Emby, how do I restart the service? 

 

(I'm OK to ssh in and find the relevant folder etc, but don't know how to go about starting the service.)

Yeah, I don't know what init daemon QNAP uses to control processes.  You might have to google around.  There is also a QNAP section on here that might be able to help.  But again, I'd first check logs on your NAS to figure out why Emby is crashing.  Can you even get to the box?  Might not even be an Emby issue, might be a network issue.

[RogerO 5]

Yes, the box itself is fine, I can run Plex and my backups etc.  I'll check the QNAP forum.  Thanks for your help.  

[RogerO 5]

There is also a QNAP section on here that might be able to help.

 

Holy moly you're a genius.  A quick perusal of the QNAP forum showed me how to easily stop/start Emby from the GUI.  I feel a bit dumb now, but thanks for pointing me in the right direction!