Topic: occasional freezes that require forced termination of MC [Solved] (Read 1835 times)

comox · « **on:** October 16, 2021, 06:39:05 pm »

I'm seeing an occasional freeze (crash?) of MC that does recover despite waiting 60 seconds or more.

Occurs when I double click an mp3 file to play it.

I see it maybe once every 3 days of heavy use.

Remedy is forced termination with task manager.

Good news is I've never experienced a data loss other than the last few tag edits made just prior to the freeze.

I can't figure out how to reproduce it.

Perhaps if others see it we can collaborate on this thread to figure out what's going on.

Jamil · « **Reply #1 on:** October 16, 2021, 06:58:33 pm »

This actually just happened to me. A song from Playing Now just finished with complete silence. I took a look at MC28, and it was frozen showing near the beginning of the song that had ended. I was able to close the application, so it was not hung.

JimH · « **Reply #2 on:** October 17, 2021, 07:51:20 am »

Please include the full version of MC that you're using, and what type of file you're playing.

comox · « **Reply #3 on:** October 19, 2021, 09:51:47 pm »

I'm wondering if this might be a Windows problem that could be addressed by MC being a little more tolerant?

I've observed a couple random freezes that occurred when I opened a file with Windows Explorer. I saw it once with a jpg and once with a pdf. The associated app froze and then came back to normal after about 10 seconds. I was actively using the system so I have no reason to suspect a sleeping drive.

The difference with MC is that it never comes back to life. Is it possible something is timing out too quickly when waiting for Windows to open a file?

JimH · « **Reply #4 on:** October 20, 2021, 08:10:31 am »

What are you using for antivirus. Did you configure it? Version of MC?

flac.rules · « **Reply #5 on:** October 26, 2021, 02:14:28 am »

Quote from: comox on October 19, 2021, 09:51:47 pm

I'm wondering if this might be a Windows problem that could be addressed by MC being a little more tolerant?

I've observed a couple random freezes that occurred when I opened a file with Windows Explorer. I saw it once with a jpg and once with a pdf. The associated app froze and then came back to normal after about 10 seconds. I was actively using the system so I have no reason to suspect a sleeping drive.

The difference with MC is that it never comes back to life. Is it possible something is timing out too quickly when waiting for Windows to open a file?

Yeah, i have had similar problems. To be hones, MC isn't the best at handling trouble, it has a bigger tendency to freeze up the UI when something goes "wrong" (and by wrong i mean, having problems accessing the files due to it being on the network or similiar, or some sort of very CPU-intensive task).

DocLotus · « **Reply #6 on:** October 26, 2021, 09:16:49 am »

Quote from: flac.rules on October 26, 2021, 02:14:28 am

Yeah, i have had similar problems. To be hones, MC isn't the best at handling trouble, it has a bigger tendency to freeze up the UI when something goes "wrong" (and by wrong i mean, having problems accessing the files due to it being on the network or similar, or some sort of very CPU-intensive task).

Same here. Could not agree more.

This has been an old problem for me for many years. I have cussed at MC hundreds of times over the years due to hang ups. I have gone to other programs to get away from the erratic behavior that MC sometimes exhibits only to come back due to MC's feature set.

Really wish MC was more tolerant of the little things that Windows can throw at you.

JimH · « **Reply #7 on:** October 26, 2021, 09:18:54 am »

The machine has to work for MC to work.

Report a problem with details that allow us to reproduce it and we'll fix it.

DocLotus · « **Reply #8 on:** October 26, 2021, 09:34:02 am »

That's the problem. it's not reproducible but random in nature; I never know when it's going to happen & have never been able to intentionally reproducible it.

A log file is hopeless unless I keep it running at all times which produces a very big file with overwhelming amounts of data.

Is it possible to configure the Log file to start anew when MC loads then save the Log only after a crash so it does not get deleted on the next MC load?

JimH · « **Reply #9 on:** October 26, 2021, 09:48:43 am »

In the logging settings, you can have MC reset it when it reaches a certain limit.

If it's not reproduceable, it's impossible to fix and it's not likely to be an MC problem.

Most problems like that are related to antivirus and driver bugs. Corrupt files, failing drives, etc., also cause problems. Windows can, but in my view, it's the least likely suspect.

Heat is another source of joy. So is power. We also seem to see more problems with external drives.

The Weird Problems thread is full of these problems.

https://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php/topic,24031.0.html

So ... you find it, we fix it.

DocLotus · « **Reply #10 on:** October 26, 2021, 12:25:42 pm »

Thanks, Jim 😎

Quote

In the logging settings, you can have MC reset it when it reaches a certain limit.

Looks promising as a starting point.

Let me think about all that for a while. Maybe something will come up after going through The Weird Problems thread.

comox · « **Reply #11 on:** October 30, 2021, 06:45:33 pm »

Just wanted to add that this is not a serious or frequent problem.

I have been using MC 8+ hours every day since I reported this problem 14 days ago and have not seen another freeze.

mkolmar · « **Reply #12 on:** October 31, 2021, 09:10:39 pm »

The biggest, consistent problem I run into is that the GUI is blocked by background activity. It's not always clear why MC will become semi-responsive at the specific moment that it does. For example, just now, MC was writing cover art to FLAC files on a NAS. I am clicking on other albums and files. At a specific moment, I click and nothing happens very quickly. I click again a couple seconds later, like maybe the trackpad didn't pick up the tap. Well, now I have double-clicked because in about 5 more seconds, MC acts on both those separate clicks, and playback begins. But I cannot stop playback because MC is not responsive. I click on the stop button a couple more times. Playback stutters (like buffer contents stuck) and MC terminates. I can create scenarios like this frequently with some effort.

JimH · « **Reply #13 on:** October 31, 2021, 10:05:11 pm »

Could be the NAS not responding.

Could be antivirus.

(From above_

The Weird Problems thread is full of these problems.

https://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php/topic,24031.0.html

johnso515 · « **Reply #14 on:** November 07, 2021, 11:00:29 am »

I see this issue almost daily. it happens the first time I try and play anything back. I get a "buffering" message and then MC freezes and I have to re-start using task manager. After re-start I dont see issues. I'll see if I can capture a log and additional details. I am not running any 3rd party anti-virus and i've gone through the "Taming defender" steps.

JimH · « **Reply #15 on:** November 07, 2021, 11:03:07 am »

Could be a drive starting up or not available. Are you using a NAS drive?

Check your auto import settings and the drive settings in Options > File Locations.

flac.rules · « **Reply #16 on:** November 08, 2021, 02:48:26 am »

Quote from: JimH on November 07, 2021, 11:03:07 am

Could be a drive starting up or not available. Are you using a NAS drive?

Check your auto import settings and the drive settings in Options > File Locations.

That sounds probable, but shouldn't the UI be made so the whole thing doesn't freeze up because it can't read a file? I think that is part of the problem here, it is not handled that gracefully from the program.

comox · « **Reply #17 on:** November 15, 2021, 12:56:18 pm »

update with 28.0.80...

I'm continuing to push MC hard every day and have not seen another lockup since reporting this on October 16 with 28.0.75.

I'm thinking that either a Windows 11 update or a change in MC 28.0.76+ fixed this.

mkolmar · « **Reply #18 on:** November 16, 2021, 10:46:58 am »

Occasionally, on a big directory or when metadata will be displayed, an Explorer window will throw the spinning blue circle long enough to be a bother, definitely moreso on NAS than local disk. Such delays happen on a relatively powerful notebook too, where I don't run MC. I have to wonder if Explorer faces a shorter, low-stakes version of the same underlying issue with I/O vs. user input when that happens.

JimH · « **Reply #19 on:** November 16, 2021, 11:13:43 am »

Quote from: mkolmar on November 16, 2021, 10:46:58 am

Occasionally, on a big directory or when metadata will be displayed, an Explorer window will throw the spinning blue circle long enough to be a bother, definitely moreso on NAS than local disk. Such delays happen on a relatively powerful notebook too, where I don't run MC. I have to wonder if Explorer faces a shorter, low-stakes version of the same underlying issue with I/O vs. user input when that happens.

That could be your antivirus.

comox · « **Reply #20 on:** November 16, 2021, 11:19:21 am »

Quote from: mkolmar on November 16, 2021, 10:46:58 am

Occasionally, on a big directory or when metadata will be displayed, an Explorer window will throw the spinning blue circle long enough to be a bother, definitely moreso on NAS than local disk. Such delays happen on a relatively powerful notebook too, where I don't run MC. I have to wonder if Explorer faces a shorter, low-stakes version of the same underlying issue with I/O vs. user input when that happens.

I still see this occasionally too, but MC now recovers after about 2 seconds.
I'm also seeing VLC occasionally hesitate for about 2 seconds when I play a video with it and I'm pretty sure my drive has not spun down.

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Author Topic: occasional freezes that require forced termination of MC [Solved] (Read 1835 times)