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[Norman24]

Has anyone else had this problem of Media Center 20 not working all of a sudden?  I'm not sure but it may be due to a Windows update the other day... This is the error I'm getting..  Media 19 runs fine...  I've done what it's asking but no luck...

[glynor]

Have you allowed it to reset those things and it still won't run?

If so, then it is likely that some of the program files themselves got corrupted somehow.  This is unlikely to have been a result of the Windows Update, though a computer crash or sudden power outage could have done it.

Download the latest version of the MC installer (currently 20.0.20), reboot, and install again.
If that doesn't work, then uninstall MC, making sure to choose the option to remove registry settings, reboot, and install again.

[Norman24]

Thanks much glynor for your quick reply,  I have done all of that and also installed it on Drive C this last time and nothing..  This all happens when start a song and a few seconds later, the song kinda like shakes and quits... Media 20 worked fine when it was released, then a few days ago, just prior to the last release it all started... Media 19 works flawlessly...  I'll try this all once more..

[Norman24]

Same thing is happening, no changes...

[glynor]

If that doesn't work, then uninstall MC, making sure to choose the option to remove registry settings, reboot, and install again.

You did this?  What did you re-import?

[Norman24]

Re-imported my music library only...

[glynor]

So, that doesn't make a lot of sense.  ?

The error you showed in your original post indicates that you can't launch MC 20 at all.  That error message appears when MC crashes when trying to launch.  But, it appears that you can open and run MC20, if you were able to import your media.  So, please try again to explain exactly what is happening, because I have no idea what we're trying to "fix" here.

[Norman24]

My apologies if I was not clear... I am able to launch MC20, the error occurs after a few seconds into a song, the song kinda reverbs/stutter then MC20 shuts down and those error messages appear.  I have no problems with MC19..  The initial release of MC20 was fine...

[JimH]

Try to duplicate the settings from MC19.

Read the wiki audio setup topic.

[glynor]

Okay.  Now I understand.

To explain one thing: That error dialog will appear any time MC does not exit properly.  It is intended as a tool to help you get back running again, by allowing you to reset MC back to defaults.

In this case, the crash occurs during playback of audio.  That narrows things down.  Does it happen only with a particular song, or does it seem to happen with basically any song?  Also, it only crashes during playback, correct?  If you launch MC and just leave it not doing anything, does it crash then?

Assuming it is during playback only, and not related to a particular file, please follow this:
http://wiki.jriver.com/index.php/Audio_Troubleshooting_Guide

If going through the Audio Setup process doesn't help, and you've confirmed that the same audio device is working fine in MC19 on the same computer with the same files (sounds like it), then please follow through this:
http://wiki.jriver.com/index.php/Troubleshooting_Guide

If you then determine it isn't caused by Anti-Virus application interference and you have the current version of MC20 installed and all of that, then post the ZIP file of the log in this thread, as is described in the Troubleshooting Guide.  After a crash, the Log ZIP file could be quite large.  You can use a service like Dropbox or WikiSend to make a public link to the file so that you can post it to this forum.

[Norman24]

It only crashes during playback of any song and is fine by itself..  I'll look into these possible fixes and see what comes up....  Many thanks...

[glynor]

Okay, good.

Go through the Audio Setup guide, as referenced in the Audio Troubleshooting Guide.  This is to make sure it isn't just a configuration setting.

If that doesn't solve it, then I'd try removing any anti-virus application as a test as described in the general Troubleshooting Guide.  I realize it is a pain, but it is also a pain to try to diagnose an issue caused by interference by an AV application.  If you only use Windows Defender (which can't be uninstalled), then try applying the exclusions described here:
http://wiki.jriver.com/index.php/Troubleshooting_Solutions#Tame_Your_Anti-Virus

Assuming none of that helps, then follow the guide to post a log.

[Norman24]

I am using Norton and have tried some of these and failed to fix it.... I have a post in Dropbox of the last 2 log ons to Media Center 20... Hopefully the link will work...

[glynor]

We need the entire ZIP package file, not just one of the log files.

[Norman24]

ok...

[glynor]

Also, as I said before, please try it with Norton completely uninstalled.  If that doesn't help anything, you can reinstall it.  That is the only way to conclusively rule the AV application in or out as a possible cause.  Many applications, and Norton is one of them, don't fully disable all their behavior when you simply "disable" them.

[Norman24]

You need that directory where the log file resides and the sub-directories as well?

[Norman24]

Understood on Norton as it comes from Comcast and can be a pain to re-implement...

[glynor]

You need that directory where the log file resides and the sub-directories as well?

None of that.  We want the log zip file generated when you click the Report a Problem button in the Logging dialog.
http://wiki.jriver.com/index.php/Logging

Make sure to do the following first, before you generate it.

1. Open MC.
2. Play a file and wait for it to crash.
3. Re-open MC.  Generate the Log zip file immediately, and then give us that.

[glynor]

Understood on Norton as it comes from Comcast and can be a pain to re-implement...

What OS are you using?  Assuming it is Windows 7 or Windows 8, you almost certainly don't need whatever Norton crap Comcast is providing you.  Windows Defender (aka Microsoft Security Essentials) and the built-in Windows Firewall are well behaved, free, and generally plenty effective for most user's needs.  The most important factors in preventing serious malware infections are:

1. User behavior.  Almost no security suite can protect against a "misbehaving user", and those that try are usually the ones most troublesome with legitimate applications.  Practice safe computing and you'll almost always be okay.

2. Unpatched systems and software.  It is annoying when Windows, or Adobe Flash, or Java is constantly asking to update itself.  But unpatched systems are the ones that get infected, and often timing is pretty critical.  When new vulnerabilities are discovered, there is a race between those who try to scan and hijack systems, and those writing patches.  Once vulnerabilities are discovered and widely reported, they very quickly get built into the "attack toolkits" out there that are used to do automated scans for victims.  Unfortunately, persistent malware often continues to spread even long after the vulnerabilities have been patched because people don't update their systems.

Another tip in this regard is to not have a whole bunch of software you don't use installed, especially those things that "touch the Internet".  For example, I still see users with Java installed (and enabled in their browsers) all the time, though people actually needing to use Java (especially within their browsers) is becoming quite rare.  If you don't need Java, uninstall it.  If you need it, but only for a specific banking website, Citrix server, or whatever that you need to use, then enable it ONLY in a specific browser that you use only for this purpose.  For example, if you use Chrome or Firefox as your "main browser", make sure Java is disabled in those browsers, and keep it only enabled in IE.  Then, use IE as your "Java-enabled ghetto" when you need to visit those particular sites.  Java is a huge source of many infections (along with Adobe Flash and Adobe Acrobat).

[glynor]

But, if you want to continue using Norton, that's fine.  Just make sure you have a copy of the installer (you can probably just download it from Norton themselves) and your License key (or username and password) and you should be able to remove it without too much trouble, and then put it back on if it doesn't help.

Sorry to be insistent on this, but you wouldn't believe how many of these kinds of issues are caused by misbehaving AV applications.  If this does turn out to be the case, that also doesn't mean you need to abandon use of Norton (though, again, you might want to consider it anyway, as described above)... We can help you to get exclusions set up that should fix it up.  But doing that, when it isn't the cause of the issue is just a waste of time and effort.  And trying other things to solve the problem, when it is caused by the AV application, is also a huge waste of time.

Because they so commonly cause weird crashing issues, if you're getting a weird crashing issue you can't easily solve, step #1 is to uninstall the AV application and just rule it in or out once and for all.

[Norman24]

UPDATED Link 10/05/14

I'm using Windows 7 Ultimate... Here is the log file... https://www.dropbox.com/s/bmghc1uql9cvuo3/JRiver%20Log%202014-10-04%2018-58-10.zip?dl=0

I generally don't have JAVA activated..

[glynor]

There's a bunch missing from that.  You just zipped up the Log file in your AppData directory.  We do NOT want that.

We want the package generated by MC itself, just after a crash.  It should be several MB in size.  Please read this, as the instructions for Collecting a Log are there:
http://wiki.jriver.com/index.php/Logging

[glynor]

Interestingly, in the log I did manage to get, it shows that this thread is the one that crashed:

0024211: 2860: Playback: CPlayerZoneDisplayInfoUpdateThread::Thread: Start

That could, maybe be a clue, as it would seem to indicate that it could be the visualization (or some kind of GUI display) that is causing the crash, and not the actual playback thread.  I checked, and it looks like your GTX 580's drivers are up to date (based on the System Info thing I did manage to get).  However, I noted that the Intel HD 3000 GPU on your system is also active and its driver is quite old (November 2013 release date).  It's a long shot, but you might want to try updating that driver.  The current version is here:
https://downloadcenter.intel.com/Detail_Desc.aspx?DwnldID=23764&lang=eng&ProdId=3319

It should be 9.17.10.3517.  You have driver 9.17.10.3347.

The only other idea I have from the Log is that you seem to have Memory Playback enabled.  Can you try it with this disabled and see if it makes any difference?

Otherwise, I can repost the crash dump you sent me here so others from JRiver can get it:
* Manually zipped log
* Report problem output

To the JRiver folks: Something else odd is going on here.  The Report problem output ZIP file contains only the System Info text file and the crash dump.  It doesn't include the current or previous log files.  Norman said he didn't modify the ZIP file, so that seems to be what MC spit out in this case.  Any idea why that would happen?

[glynor]

Lastly, if nothing else works, and you don't want to uninstall Norton entirely to see if that helps, you can try excluding MC's processes.  I don't have instructions specific to Norton, but these are the instructions for their "enterprise" version, which might be similar (or might be entirely different, I don't know):

http://wiki.jriver.com/index.php/Taming_Symantec_Endpoint_Protection

[glynor]

He just got me a full log without all the weirdness.

http://glynor.com/files/jriver/Norman24-JRiver%20Log%202014-10-04%2018-58-10.zip

The crash is shown in the Previous Log.txt file here:

Code: [Select]

0006552: 3532: General: TopLevelExceptionFilter: Unhandled exception -- program crashing
0006552: 3532: General: TopLevelExceptionFilter: Message: 15, wParam: 0, lParam: 0
Again, that is this thread:

Code: [Select]

0004539: 3532: Playback: CPlayerZoneDisplayInfoUpdateThread::Thread: Start
In this case, it looks like the Podcast and Handheld engines are doing something in another process and don't shut down immediately when the crash occurs.  But that probably isn't very relevant.  At least this log package includes the crash log and the dump together.

I see nothing else suspicious in the System Info file.

[Norman24]

Thanks so much for taking a look at this, to me and probably most, it's all Greek as they say...  Am I to surmise that there isn't an answer as to why it's happening yet?  I don't know why ver 19 works flawlessly and 20 does not, both installations installed with default settings... And the trouble didn't appear until the last update..

PS: I do not have Norton Endpoint as the directions do not coincide...

[glynor]

I don't know for sure why it is happening.  However, I did make some suggestions above.  Both of these things are long-shots, but might be worth trying.  The first won't hurt and should probably be updated anyway.

However, I noted that the Intel HD 3000 GPU on your system is also active and its driver is quite old (November 2013 release date).  It's a long shot, but you might want to try updating that driver.  The current version is here:
https://downloadcenter.intel.com/Detail_Desc.aspx?DwnldID=23764&lang=eng&ProdId=3319

It should be 9.17.10.3517.  You have driver 9.17.10.3347.

The only other idea I have from the Log is that you seem to have Memory Playback enabled.  Can you try it with this disabled and see if it makes any difference?

The second will let us know if it is something specific to Memory Playback.  That could indicate that either:

* You have bad RAM in that machine.
* Your anti-virus application is interfering.
* Something is broken in the memory playback system in the latest build.

[glynor]

And, again, it is hard to evaluate if we can't rule out Anti-Virus behavior.  The Anti-Virus behavior can be very specific to particular builds of applications (because it is based mostly on heuristic analysis).

So, as you said... It is "weird" that it just started happening with this particular build.  That makes it seem more likely (not less) that it could be AV interference.  It could, also, be that something is broken in the current build.

[Norman24]

Thanks so much, I have updated the Windows files and have not rebooted yet and awaiting a software repair on my cell phone (plugged into my pc) to finish that is taking much longer then normal and they advise to let the repair finish it's thing..

[Norman24]

Where do I find memory playback enable?

[glynor]

Where do I memory playback enable?

Do one thing at a time.  If you updated the driver, reboot first and then try again before doing anything else.

If it still doesn't help, find this option:

Tools > Options > Audio > Settings > Play files from memory instead of disk

and UNCHECK it.

But, again, don't do this unless updating the GPU driver doesn't help.

[Norman24]

ok, will do....  Thanks... Still waiting for software update to my cell to finish..

PS: Just checked that setting and it's already unchecked...

[glynor]

ok, will do....  Thanks... Still waiting for software update to my cell to finish..

No worries.

If neither helps, see if you can generate another one of those log packages after it crashes.  That way, we'll have a "clean" one with both of those two possibilities removed.

Feel free to send me the link to it via PM if you're worried about posting your Dropbox link to it publicly (or you're almost out of space on Dropbox so you can only keep it there short-term), and I'll repost it on my web server as I did above.

[Norman24]

Ok, I'll generate another from it's last crash a few minutes ago...

[glynor]

Thanks for trying the Intel GPU drivers update.  I didn't think it was likely it would help, and it didn't, but it was worth a shot.

Unfortunately, I'm out of ideas, aside from the Anti-Virus experiment.  I'm hoping someone from JRiver can take a look at the crash dump in the log file I reposted above and give us more information.

[Hendrik]

The crash appears to be in a plugin called dsp_dfx, which is not a plugin JRiver provides. I would suggest to disable it for now, and contact the author of said plugin.

[glynor]

Awesome.  Thanks, Hendrik.

[Hendrik]

I believe the reason for the crash is that Matt extended the DSP interface to support clean reloading of plugins for loading/saving DSP settings with presets, which means third-party plugins need to be updated for MC20 and won't work as-is.

Matt, do we need to publish the new DSP interface somewhere, or does that happen automatically?

[glynor]

Just FYI, I'm guessing it is this WinAmp plugin:
http://www.fxsound.com/dfx/

It doesn't look like it has gotten a whole bunch of development in the past few years aside from small bug fixes (not shocking), and they don't even list JRiver as a compatible player in any of their marketing collateral (that I could find in 10 minutes of trying anyway).

There is also a note on their support page that Windows 8.1 breaks it, and requires an upgrade to correct, just in case that's the issue here and not Hendrik's guess (though I suspect Hendrik is right).

[Hendrik]

We're listed here:
http://www.fxsound.com/dfx/enhance-computer-audio.php (on the Media Players tab)

However, it appears only the paid  "Plus" version comes with the plugin, the free version doesn't seem to install it, for me anyway.

[Matt]

Next build:
Changed: Reverted DSP interface change so that older plugins will work again (using SetInformation(...) instead of a new function).

[Norman24]

Man, you guys are geniuses, but I have been using DFX pluging for years with previous versions and as mentioned will work again on the next build... M20 did work fine with DFX before the last update... I don't use WinAmp at all, not sure how that got implemented....

Thanks for what you do gents....

Norman

PS: Here are the players that DFX uses...  JRiver Media is listed there as well..

DFX for Media Player Applications

Experience studio quality sound on your favorite movie and music applications: iTunes, Spotify, Windows Media Player, Winamp, VirtualDJ, VLC media player, Media Player Classic, QuickTime Player, RealPlayer, Rhapsody Software, JetAudio, GOM Player, MediaMonkey, DivX Player, foobar2000, KMPlayer, Songbird, BS.Player, JRiver Media Center, Pandora One, Last.fm Scrobbler, and all other media players.

[JimH]

Build 21 is available now:
http://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php?topic=92399.0

[Norman24]

Many thanks, d/l it now..... 

[Norman24]

I'll say it again, you guys are geniuses...  I can't thank you guys enough....  All is well again in the world...., my world anyway's....

[Matt]

I'll say it again, you guys are geniuses... Everything works again...... I can't thank you guys enough....  All is well again in the world...., my world anyway's....

Awesome.  Thanks for letting us know.

[glynor]

I figured I'd mention, Norman, this thread inspired me to make a few changes to the Troubleshooting Guide in the Wiki.  I haven't done it yet, I'm working on it offline in a text editor, but I'm separating a few things out and making the instructions on how to collect and post or email a log much more obvious and explicit.

Hopefully it'll better help the next person.

[Norman24]

Excellent idea...    I'm sure it will help many others as well...