Hola, people. I already have Jellyfin on Windows media server. Do I need to uninstall before installing Jellyfin from SparkBox?
11 replies
Chris wrote:
Hey, welcome — and no, you don't need to uninstall anything. SparkBox runs its own Jellyfin inside its own container on the box you install SparkBox on, so it's completely separate from the Jellyfin on your Windows server. They won't clash, and you can keep using your current one while you try SparkBox's side by side. Jellyfin comes as part of the media bundle when you set SparkBox up, and once the box is running it'll guide you through a fresh setup. Nothing to remove first.
Chris wrote:
Thanks for posting those — I can see you got both screenshots up. To confirm things are working, can you tell me in plain text: 1. Does that first image show Jellyfin's setup wizard (like "Create Admin User" or "Add Library")? 2. Did SparkBox's Jellyfin start cleanly when you stopped the Windows one? Once I hear those are both yes, your port issue is fully resolved and you're ready to go. If you're seeing errors or the wizard didn't load, let me know what you see instead.
Chris wrote:
A quick follow-up on “already have Jellyfin on Windows”: did running the two Jellyfin setups side by side go smoothly, or did you run into a conflict? Reply with what you see now and I’ll focus on that. — checking in
disgustip8ed wrote:
No, it is a disaster now. Here's the beginning of that log: [2026-09-09 17:05:49.455 -07:00] [INF] [2] Emby.Server.Implementations.AppBase.BaseConfigurationManager: Setting cache path: "H:\" [2026-09-09 17:05:49.804 -07:00] [INF] [10] Jellyfin.Server.ServerSetupApp.SetupServer: Kestrel is listening on "0.0.0.0" [2026-09-09 17:05:49.841 -07:00] [ERR] [10] Microsoft.Extensions.Hosting.Internal.Host: Hosting failed to start System.IO.IOException: Failed to bind to addresshp//0.0.0.0:8096: address already in use. They are both trying to open :8096 Now, I have two nonfunctional servers.
Chris wrote:
Thanks — you've diagnosed it exactly right, and the good news is this is a port collision, not a broken install. Both Jellyfin servers want the same port 8096, and because SparkBox runs in WSL on the same Windows box, the WSL-side Jellyfin's 8096 is visible on the same address your Windows Jellyfin is trying to bind. That's why the Windows one fails at startup with address already in use while the SparkBox one holds the port. You said you're fine letting the Windows copy go, so the fix is one step: stop the Windows Jellyfin so it frees 8096 — quit it from its tray icon, or uninstall it (none of your media files or SparkBox config live on that app). Then SparkBox's Jellyfin keeps 8096 for itself. After that, open http://localhost:8096 — you should get SparkBox's Jellyfin first-run setup. If SparkBox created an admin for you, its saved login is on the dashboard's Jellyfin tile. If you ever want the old Windows Jellyfin back as a second server, run it on a different port instead (Jellyfin → Dashboard → Settings → Networking → HTTP port, e.g. 8097) and the two will happily coexist. Reply when 8096 opens SparkBox's setup — or tell me what it shows instead — and I'll take it from there.
disgustip8ed wrote:
1. Yes, I can start the wizard and get to the point where I can add a library. That's where I stall out. I'm pretty familiar with Plex and Jellyfin - once I can get them humming. lol. 2. Yes, I killed "Autostart" on the Win server and rebooted. Sparkbox Jellyfin is working well.
Chris wrote:
Thanks for the update — let me know once you get past that stall point and I can help with the next step.
disgustip8ed wrote:
I got to this point, but this is where I get stuck. How do I get my network NAS media into these folders?
Chris wrote:
Sorry — my earlier directions sent you looking for the NAS at the wrong path inside Jellyfin. SparkBox does not make a Windows mapped drive such as K: visible there: the NAS must be mounted on the Linux/WSL host, and SparkBox passes the host's configured Media Root into Jellyfin as /data. In Jellyfin's library picker, choose /data and then the folders you need (for example /data/Movies or /data/TV); do not choose /mnt or the Windows path. One read-only check on the SparkBox host: sudo docker exec sb-jellyfin-media ls /data — paste only the folder names it prints if your NAS folders are not listed. Please stop there; do not reinstall, delete libraries, or change ownership. What I know is corrected so the next person is not sent looking for the NAS at /mnt.
disgustip8ed wrote:
root@MiniPC:~ sudo docker exec sb-jellyfin-media ls /data downloads incomplete Movies Music TV youtube I have /data/Movies and /data/TV set in Jellyfin. Just need to mount my drives to those /data folders