Sorry it took me so long to reply. I thought I'd try documenting the definitive list of steps I've taken to get this working pretty reliably, both for you guys and for myself so I don't have to try and remember next time I rebuild my PC.
They're a slightly modified series of steps from what marko outlined, but only because I'm using a .reg file instead of the hive file he mentions. I've attached a zip file to this post with a set of four .reg files. One each for MC 19 and 20 on 32bit and 64bit versions of Windows. Just unzip the one that matches your combination of versions to your Desktop or wherever. Then follow the rest of the steps below.
I've noticed that the download link for this plugin has been taken down and I know the project has been passed onto somebody else (although I don't know who), so hopefully you already have the milkdrop2.zip file that contains the plugin already downloaded. I'd be willing to host it somewhere if it won't be stepping on anybody's toes for me to do so.
First, it's easier to do this if you log in with an Administrator account. However, if you're like me and don't run your PC as Admin, you're probably experienced enough to know how to manage UAC and Run As to follow these steps under your normal account.
These assume you've installed MC to the default Program Files folder on your C: drive. If you haven't, substitute accordingly.
1. Unzip the contents of the milkdrop2.zip to the Visualizations folder in your MC installation folder. That should be as follows (substituting your version number for XX) :
- 32bit: C:\Program Files\J River\Media Center XX\
- 64bit: C:\Program Files (x86)\J River\Media Center XX\
You should have a structure similar to this:
Media Center XX
|_
Visualizations
|_
Milkdrop2
|_
Milkdrop2
|_
data
|_
docs
|_
presets
|_
textures
Just to make sure you have everything in the right location.
2. Open command prompt (cmd.exe) up -
be sure to Run As Administrator - you won't be able to run the necessary command if you don't. On Vista-Windows 8, even if you are the Administrator, you still need to specifically run cmd.exe as Administrator in order for it to perform Administrator functions. Once in there type (again substituting your version number for the XX):
- 32bit: cd C:\Program Files\J River\Media Center XX\Visualizations\Milkdrop2
- 64bit: cd C:\Program Files (x86)\J River\Media Center XX\Visualizations\Milkdrop2
Now run the following command:
regsvr32 vis_milk2.dllYou should receive a message box that says "DLLRegisterServer in vis_milk2.dll succeeded." If you didn't, make sure you're running the command prompt as Administrator. If you are and you still get this message... I dunno.
3. Now find the .reg file from the zip file attached to this post that matches your version of MC and Windows. Unzip it somewhere if you haven't already and double click it. It'll prompt for confirmation that you want to import it. Say Yes. You should get a message box indicating success. If you don't, it's likely because you're not running as an Administrator account. If you aren't running as an Administrator account, either log in as one, or run regedit as Administrator and import it manually by using the File -> Import menu.
4. Now just be sure to restart MC. If Media Server is running, close that as well before restarting. When it comes back up, start playing some music and right click in the Display window, Milkdrop2 should now show as an option.
5. I have run into an issue where switching to the Milkdrop vis caused MC to crash after first setting it up. A reboot seems to have to taken care of it for me, though.