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[caniac23]

Background -> I'm setting up a dedicated music server for playing music. Window 10 Pro with remote desktop access from other machines around our house as well as from the MO 4Media android app. I have this working with MC where the dedicated machine is remotely accessing an MC library server running on another Windows 10 pro machine (our 'main' desktop).  There is not enough disk space on the dedicated machine to clone the library.  All is generally working but is not very stable in the form of music play stopping randomly or MC locking up entirely.

Here are the list of issues I've noted:

• Player randomly stops playing.  Stop then play fixes (unless there's been a total lockup as mentioned in problem 3).  Pause doesn't seem to work to get things restarted where song left off.  This happens no matter how I start playing music be it from the phone app or remote desktop.
• Remote control using android app -> similar symptoms as 1.  Set up to play something and it doesn't actually start playing. Have to press stop and play to get playing started.
• Random total lock up.  Have to shutdown and restart.
• Get Album Art randomly stops working.  Shutdown/restart fixes.  Allows art to be found but never saves it.
• Windows remote desktop disconnect causes player to stop.  This is known issue that Microsoft is unlikely to fix but that can be worked around by application with new code to detect the microsoft flaw. At least one other player has implemented this workaround.  Would be nice

So ... any advice/info/how best to collect data?  Is MC really just this unstable?  A couple of notes: 1) I'm pretty sure (75%) I saw similar instability when I first tried on just on our main desktop. 2) Issues I listed are roughly in priority order.  3) I've attached logs and system info I collected for issue 1. The others are less re-creatable.

Thanks in advance.

[JimH]

Don't use Remote Desktop to share media.  It's not a reliable solution.

Use Library Server (part of MC) to share the library from your server.  See the wiki topic called Media Network for more details.

[BryanC]

Sounds like antivirus problems too. Check out the stickies for "taming Windows defender" and "AV problems".

[caniac23]

Thanks for the replies. 
I am using the library server.  Audio connections are to the client machine.  Remote desktop is only used for managing including selecting songs and playing.  The remote desktop connection stays up.  I'm seeing the same problems whether using remote desktop or not.

I'll try to learn more about defender and AV problems.  I know a decent amount about AV as I've developed and supported windows system software (drivers, file system filters, middleware) for a long time.  I'm not seeing performance issues nor any messages from the AV software.  Others seem to have said they are running fine without AV tweaks.  This doesn't feel like an AV issue to me.  I definitely could be wrong.

I just had a lock up.  New logs are attached. Scenario is that I tried to start a new playlist from my phone after previous one finished.  It wouldn't start playing.  Came to my main desktop with the remote desktop session active to the dedicated music machine.  Tryed to play from there.  Windows said program not response wait/close.  Waited a little while then tried again to play.  Same windows popup.  This time chose close.  Then restarted and collected logs.

[JimH]

I am using the library server.  Audio connections are to the client machine.  Remote desktop is only used for managing including selecting songs and playing. 

Don't do that.  Remote Desktop isn't needed and it's probably causing the problem.  Use MC to play.  Re-read the Media Network topic and how to use Library Server.

You can set up MC itself on a client (Tremote) or use any remote control (Remotes topic on the wiki).  Start with Panel.  It's free and the least trouble to set up.

Don't use Remote Desktop.

[JimH]

"dedicated music machine" isn't clear.  If it's the server, please call it the server.  If it's a client that plays from the server, then call it a client.

[JimH]

I'm not seeing performance issues nor any messages from the AV software. 

They're evil that way.

[caniac23]

I'm not using RDC to share music.  At least not in my mind.  I'm just using it to access a headless machine that is running media center client which is attached to a remote mc server/library. No keyboard, monitor or mouse.  I want/need it that way.  I need a solution that will work in that configuration. I don't think RDC is really asking that much other than the known issue for WASAPI apps with play stopping when a RDC client disconnects. I can avoid that for the most part and/or live with it. I'm not expecting the audio being played to come back through remote desktop. 

Curious if the logs show anything.

[caniac23]

Just wanted to update after figuring out something (never liked it when our customers reported something and we never heard from them again or only heard from them after issue became a crisis).

I found that I had a bad ethernet switch.  About once every 2 hours, the machines would disconnect and then 3 seconds later immediately reconnect.  I found this using the windows system event logs trying to find clues for what might be going on. Did some diagnostics to detect whether issue was switch or one of the machines and found the switch was the culprit. Replaced it and everything with MC on both the client, server, and mobile app has been stable since.  Up and running for multiple days at this point.

So...nothing to do with using remote desktop or anti-virus. I think maybe MC could/should have recovered better from the disconnect/reconnect's. Full app hangs and functions not working without restarting the app...at least maybe?  Certainly low priority and am glad to have found the bad switch!