Topic: v10 stuttering - troubleshooting (Read 3940 times)

pbreet · « **on:** January 05, 2004, 07:37:17 pm »

I've been having trouble with MC10 stuttering on playback, when doing other minor things on my computer, like simply opening folders in Windows Explorer to compiling using cygwin. And then I'll do the same thing again, no problem. I'm running XP Pro on a 3.0 gig Intel processor. My virus protection says I'm clean, and AdAware also says I'm clean. Hard drives are defragged. Processor load with mc playing, and other stuff running is always below 10%.

My mc audio buffers are set at 2 seconds, but the audio glitchs I get are immediate to an action I take, it does not take those 2 seconds for the audio glitch to happen (when it happens).

Recently I installed MC10 and a new version v7 of Acronis True Image, which I since removed and put back the old version (which did not help btw...).

I've just restored from a hard drive image back on 12/8, pre-mc10 and pre-v7-Acronis, and for the past day, there are no problems. I'll run with mc9 for the next few days, and if no problems, I'll "upgrade" to mv10 again (using up a "restore"... bummer) and try that for a while.

Troubleshooting takes time and energy.

Anyone else having similar audio glitches with v10?

Media Center Registered 9.1.316 -- C:\Program Files\Media Jukebox\

Microsoft Windows XP Workstation 5.1 Service Pack 1 (Build 2600)
Intel Pentium 4 2992 MHz MMX / Memory: Total - 1047 MB, Free - 565 MB

Internet Explorer: 6.0.2800.1106 / ComCtl32.dll: 5.82 (xpsp1.020828-1920) / Shlwapi.dll: 6.00.2800.1276 / Shell32.dll: 6.00.2800.1233 (xpsp2.030604-1804) / wnaspi32.dll: Internal ASPI Layer

Ripping / Drive J: Copy mode:Normal CD Type:Auto Read speed:Max
Digital playback: Yes / Use YADB: Yes / Get cover art: Yes / Calc replay gain: Yes / Copy volume: 32767
Eject after ripping: Yes / Play sound after ripping: Yes Soundfile: chord.wav

Burning / Drive J: CD-R/RW CW099D CD-R/RW Addr: 1:0:0 Speed:52 MaxSpeed:52 BurnProof:Yes
Test mode: No / Eject after writing: Yes / Direct decoding: Yes / Write CD-Text: Yes
Use playback settings: No / Normalization: None

Zarius · « **Reply #1 on:** January 05, 2004, 08:41:08 pm »

I had some audio glitches with v10.0.27 today when I started to move around some of my audio view schemes... and I found that hitting f5 for refresh caused the song to stutter every time. After installed 10.0.28 I've had no problem... but I don't know if that's the new version, or whether a restart of MC10.0.27 would have fixed it. So I guess I'm saying you may have some probable luck by possibly trying out 10.0.28 (maybe) :)
[size=-2]Decisive enough? :)[/size]

pbreet · « **Reply #2 on:** January 05, 2004, 08:43:25 pm »

Thanks for the word about 28.

I will keep using v9 for a few days, just to complete the test under controlled conditions.

Glad to hear .28 solved your problem, could be good news for me too.

NoCodeUK · « **Reply #3 on:** January 06, 2004, 04:17:49 am »

I was getting similar glitches too...I reported in the bug thread but nothing was mentioned in particular for .28 If it has been fixed I will be very pleased as MC has always had rock solid playback that was never interrupted up until the last few version 10 builds hence I felt I could safely use it to DJ knowing that playback quality was always good...

Adam

Matt · « **Reply #4 on:** January 06, 2004, 08:53:42 am »

It sounds like an IRQ sharing or BIOS PCI latency problem. Do a google search maybe.

MC's playback engine hasn't been changing build-to-build lately, so I don't think that's it.

NoCodeUK · « **Reply #5 on:** January 06, 2004, 09:34:57 am »

As far as I know nothing has changed on my system except I have installed a new cable connection through a router but not sure if that could affect anything...Anyway I think I was getting the glitches before...I'll check...Thanks for the reply Matt...It all started a couple of builds ago when the Handheld icon started flashing and each time it flashed ie whenever a VS changed there was a glitch...it is not repeatable everytime though...

Adam

pbreet · « **Reply #6 on:** January 06, 2004, 11:55:15 am »

I still have the trouble using the restored v9, so the problem I'm having is clearly NOT MC10.

I am beginning to think it's my mb somehow. At boot up, it takes several seconds to "auto detect" my primary master ide drive, which it never did before. I put in a different hd, same thing. I've changed cables, same thing.

I will put in a different hd and copy the data to it, and try it anyway, just to eliminate the current hd.

Not sure what to try after that, maybe reset or reload my bios on the mb ?

JimH · « **Reply #7 on:** January 06, 2004, 12:02:10 pm »

Did you try the search Matt suggested above?

pbreet · « **Reply #8 on:** January 06, 2004, 02:03:51 pm »

Quote from: JimH on January 06, 2004, 12:02:10 pm

Did you try the search Matt suggested above?

I will tonight when I get home. Thanks.

bmunroe · « **Reply #9 on:** January 06, 2004, 03:15:34 pm »

I have the same problem, and in fact the program crashes quite frequently now. I will see if .28 helps any.

BTW - System info lists my proc as 162 Mhz when it should be 700.

Brian

Media Center Registered 10.0.27 -- C:\Program Files\J River\Media Center\

Microsoft Windows XP Workstation 5.1 Service Pack 1 (Build 2600)
Intel Pentium III 162 MHz MMX / Memory: Total - 261 MB, Free - 75 MB

Internet Explorer: 6.0.2800.1106 / ComCtl32.dll: 5.82 (xpsp1.020828-1920) / Shlwapi.dll: 6.00.2800.1276 / Shell32.dll: 6.00.2800.1233 (xpsp2.030604-1804) / wnaspi32.dll: 4.71 (0002) , ASPI for Win32 DLL, Copyright © 1989-2002 Adaptec, Inc. / Aspi32.sys: 4.71 (0002)

Ripping / Drive D: Copy mode:Normal CD Type:Auto Read speed:Max
Digital playback: Yes / Use YADB: Yes / Get cover art: Yes / Calc replay gain: Yes / Copy volume: 32767
Eject after ripping: Yes / Play sound after ripping: No

Burning / No burners found.
Test mode: No / Eject after writing: Yes / Direct decoding: Yes / Write CD-Text: No
Use playback settings: No / Normalization: None

pat1066 · « **Reply #10 on:** January 06, 2004, 03:22:38 pm »

pbreet
I think that MBs' BIOS usually has 2 settings:
either a) auto detect drives every time - takes a couple of seconds
or b) detect once and then use those parameters in future - much faster but perhaps not a good idea if you are drive swapping
Perhaps it got changed from the original b) ?

NoCodeUK · « **Reply #11 on:** January 06, 2004, 03:48:49 pm »

I just reinstalled build number 10.0.25 and I have no stuttering...I install 10.0.28 and I get stuttering...everytime I cahnge a view scheme ther is skipping...this is definitely something in the last couple of builds and not a hardware problem with my PC...

Adam

Snarglefarg · « **Reply #12 on:** January 06, 2004, 03:59:12 pm »

Is your hard drive plugged into a Promise controller?

NoCodeUK · « **Reply #13 on:** January 06, 2004, 04:01:26 pm »

No I have three HDs all on IDE ports...I have added a new HD recently but it is not used in MC at all...

Adam

Snarglefarg · « **Reply #14 on:** January 06, 2004, 04:12:16 pm »

Oh ok. I had a problem with bad stuttering, not only in MC but any sound source (even the starup boot sound). It took me about a week but traced it to a setting of my Promise card. Boy was that annoying but now it works great. I was about 10 minutes from completely reinstalling Windows when I finally figured it out.

pbreet · « **Reply #15 on:** January 06, 2004, 04:19:37 pm »

Quote from: Sikes on January 06, 2004, 04:12:16 pm

Oh ok. I had a problem with bad stuttering, not only in MC but any sound source (even the starup boot sound). It took me about a week but traced it to a setting of my Promise card. Boy was that annoying but now it works great. I was about 10 minutes from completely reinstalling Windows when I finally figured it out.

What did you have to change in the Promise setup? I'm close to reinstalling windows if something doesn't fix it soon. No wait, assuming the delay to detect my primary ide is part of the problem, that can't be windows, windows is not loaded yet.

Snarglefarg · « **Reply #16 on:** January 06, 2004, 04:29:53 pm »

I'm not at the machine where I did the fix, but I went into the machine's Device Manager, and went to the properties of my Promise controller. There was a tab that said something about flushing a buffer on a per-drive basis. A note also appeared that you should only UNCHECK the box if you need optimium performance. I unchecked, hit ok and the stutter was gone.

It was like magic and I was was extremely happy, though felt like Inigo Montoya at the end of the movie "The Princess Bride" after he killed the 6-fingered man. I was looking for a solution for so long that I forgot what it was like not to look. Well, it wasn't quite that bad. After 3 minutes I was over the moment I cranked up the tunes.

pbreet · « **Reply #17 on:** January 06, 2004, 10:31:29 pm »

Quote from: Matt on January 06, 2004, 08:53:42 am

It sounds like an IRQ sharing or BIOS PCI latency problem. Do a google search maybe.

I searched and the problem appears to be for older via chipsets, pre 2002. I've got an Intel chipset, about 6 months old. And when I first set up this system, Mc was rock solid for playback, the audio problems started a few weeks ago.

No matter what I do, my system hangs for about 5 seconds on each boot trying to autodetect the primary master ide hd, it never did this before. I've tried other hard drives at that location, same delay. Of course I'm not sure if this is related, but it is something that changed recently.

I've reset the bios with no help. This is a weird one.

pbreet · « **Reply #18 on:** January 06, 2004, 10:38:12 pm »

Quote from: Sikes on January 06, 2004, 04:29:53 pm

I'm not at the machine where I did the fix, but I went into the machine's Device Manager, and went to the properties of my Promise controller. There was a tab that said something about flushing a buffer on a per-drive basis. A note also appeared that you should only UNCHECK the box if you need optimium performance. I unchecked, hit ok and the stutter was gone.

Thanks, but I rememberd this drive is my primary master ide, on the motherboard, not on a promise controller.

pbreet · « **Reply #19 on:** January 06, 2004, 10:39:45 pm »

Quote from: pcorker on January 06, 2004, 03:22:38 pm

pbreet
I think that MBs' BIOS usually has 2 settings:
either a) auto detect drives every time - takes a couple of seconds
or b) detect once and then use those parameters in future - much faster but perhaps not a good idea if you are drive swapping
Perhaps it got changed from the original b) ?

I don't seem to have this option, it always tries to remember the settings, and does for all my other drives. They fly by on bootup, just the primary master, I have no slave on the primary.

Snarglefarg · « **Reply #20 on:** January 06, 2004, 11:45:16 pm »

You may have the jumper set incorrectly. If you've got two drives on one cable, set one to Master and the other to Slave (or both to cable select). If it's only one, then don't set it to Master. Set it to Cable Select or you can move the jumper to a configuration listed in the hard drive manual.

JimH · « **Reply #21 on:** January 07, 2004, 09:07:18 am »

Quote from: Sikes on January 06, 2004, 11:45:16 pm

You may have the jumper set incorrectly. If you've got two drives on one cable, set one to Master and the other to Slave (or both to cable select).

Doesn't the connector on the cable also need to be correct (master vs slave)?

Disconnecting a drive might also be worth testing.

JohnT · « **Reply #22 on:** January 07, 2004, 09:38:30 am »

We've had a report in the past of MC's CD writer registry section getting queried continuously which caused system slow downs. We haven't been able to reproduce the problem here, but maybe you could try disconnecting your CD drive and see if it makes a difference.

Also, check these registry keys:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\JRiver\Media Jukebox\CD Writer\Logger
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\JRiver\Media Jukebox\CD Reader\Logger

and make sure their values are both zero (0).

Also, try running the "Regmon" utility while MC is running. This will monitor access to the windows registry and may point out a registry key that is getting repeatedly queried. This is a free utility that you should be able to find with a quick web search. Let us know if you need more help finding/using it.

- John T.
JRiver, Inc.

Monkeyboy · « **Reply #23 on:** January 07, 2004, 09:50:16 am »

pbreet,
I know this sounds very simple, but have you tried different sound card drivers or maybe a different sound card.
I remember my old SB Live used to stutter and a driver update fixed it.
Rich

pbreet · « **Reply #24 on:** January 07, 2004, 09:52:54 am »

Quote from: JimH on January 07, 2004, 09:07:18 am

Quote from: Sikes on January 06, 2004, 11:45:16 pm
You may have the jumper set incorrectly. If you've got two drives on one cable, set one to Master and the other to Slave (or both to cable select).
Doesn't the connector on the cable also need to be correct (master vs slave)?

Disconnecting a drive might also be worth testing.

The jumper is set for cable select, and is the only ide device on the primary ide channel.

I found last night that it would sometimes instantly detect the drive, other times it took 5-10 seconds. I swap with a spare hd, same thing. I swap with a different cable same thing. Assuming this is a problem, it's looking like the mb.

I swapped the primary and secondary cable connections on the mb, putting my hd on the secondary and my cd-rom and other hd on the primary, works every time, no boot delays.

That was LATE last night, so it will be tonight when I get home before I will know if this affects the audio glitches I'm getting (which I believe are not an MC problem.).

Thanks for all the suggestions, sooner or later I'll find the problem.

pbreet · « **Reply #25 on:** January 07, 2004, 11:56:58 am »

Quote from: JohnT on January 07, 2004, 09:38:30 am

We've had a report in the past of MC's CD writer registry section getting queried continuously which caused system slow downs. We haven't been able to reproduce the problem here, but maybe you could try disconnecting your CD drive and see if it makes a difference.

Also, check these registry keys:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\JRiver\Media Jukebox\CD Writer\Logger
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\JRiver\Media Jukebox\CD Reader\Logger

and make sure their values are both zero (0).

Also, try running the "Regmon" utility while MC is running. This will monitor access to the windows registry and may point out a registry key that is getting repeatedly queried. This is a free utility that you should be able to find with a quick web search. Let us know if you need more help finding/using it.

- John T.
JRiver, Inc.

Thanks, will try these suggestions tonight.

pbreet · « **Reply #26 on:** January 07, 2004, 09:09:22 pm »

Did I ever say "I hate computers...."

Still had problems moving my hd from the primary to the secondary ide channel.

Too weird. Now I suspect the hd itself, again, not a MC problem, some unknown hardware problem on my end.

I put in a spare hd tonight and copied files. time will tell.

Did I ever say "I hate computers...."

pbreet · « **Reply #27 on:** January 11, 2004, 07:41:47 pm »

UPDATE: I have removed all my cd burners, all my unneeded hd's (for music) and all pci cards that are not needed for music and video.

After 2 days, the problem is gone, no more stuttering (for two days anyway).

So now I get to start putting things back, one at a time, wait 2 days and put more back. I've found the longer my system runs, the more likely the problem was to show itself (my system runs 24*7).

"Never assume the obvious is true"

INTERACT FORUM

Author Topic: v10 stuttering - troubleshooting (Read 3940 times)