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[sottalfix]

Hello
All my MC installations (from 21 to 24) are almost inusable... every 5 minutes the program freezes and goes to "not responding" state.
I always hoped that with new releases this would have been fixed, but it never happened.
I use MC via remote desktop on a WIN 7 (4GB RAM, 32 SSD no swap memory) machine where I stripped off most of the services... maybe this is the reason, but MC is the only software that has problems in that configuration, any idea or suggestion?
It is so frustrating.
Thank you for your support
Carlo (Italy)

[~OHM~]

tell us more about the "machine"

[JimH]

What happens if you use a monitor and keyboard instead of remote desktop?

[sottalfix]

tell us more about the "machine"

Intel Celeron G1610 on Intel DH61AG motherboard, 4GB kingston SODimm 1 DDR3 1066, 120 GB Samsung SSD.
Connected via LAN cable to a Netgear AC1200 WiFi Range Extender where there are also 3 WD MyCloud NAS (3+4+6 TB).
THanks
Carlo

[sottalfix]

What happens if you use a monitor and keyboard instead of remote desktop?

Jim I will test this scenario asap and let you know.
Thanks
Carlo

[sottalfix]

What happens if you use a monitor and keyboard instead of remote desktop?

The lock appears anyway, and it stays even for longer.
During the lock the music goes, and the rest of the system works fine (other apps) but MC is not reachable by any means.
Thanks
C

[RoderickGI]

All my MC installations (from 21 to 24) are almost inusable

WIN 7 (4GB RAM, 32 SSD no swap memory) machine where I stripped off most of the services

MC is designed to work on standard Windows installations. If you have had this problem  with all versions since MC21 in 2015, then I would suspect you have removed something MC needs, and that is causing the problem.

https://wiki.jriver.com/index.php/Windows_System_Requirements

[JimH]

Try backing up your library and setting up a new test library.  See if it happens with the test library.

[sottalfix]

MC is designed to work on standard Windows installations. If you have had this problem  with all versions since MC21 in 2015, then I would suspect you have removed something MC needs, and that is causing the problem.

https://wiki.jriver.com/index.php/Windows_System_Requirements

Roderick, the same problem happens even in a clean full win 10 environment.
I reckon too it is most likely a LAN problem. The Library is quite big (> 10 TB, 350'000 files) so reading it takes its time.
I will try with a new lighter library
Thank you all for your support
Carlo

[sottalfix]

Try backing up your library and setting up a new test library.  See if it happens with the test library.

Jim, this is a good hint... I tried with a small portion of the entire storage (15'000 files out of 350'000) and all goes flawlessly, no lock no "not responding".
The entire library is on 3 NAS drives (2+4+6 TB) attached to a NETGEAR 1200 range extender and the PC is linked to the router via cable. The PC itself is controlled via Remote desktop... do you have any suggestion on how to improve network performance?
Thanks
Carlo

[sottalfix]

I made a single library for each single NAS, and this seems to work: no more lock and all flows fine.
The entire library was 130 MB weight, maybe too much over the LAN... any idea on how to improve the behavior of the system with the entire library?
Thanks
C

[RoderickGI]

It is good that you listed how big your library is, plus the configuration and connection of the NAS disks.

The entire library was 130 MB weight, maybe too much over the LAN...

Can we just confirm terminology here.
Your actual music files are on the three NAS disks. I would call those either Media Files, and not the Library, because...
The index of all your Media Files is called the MC Library. A 130MB MC Library isn't so big that it would slow MC down.

Given the above quote, it sounds like your MC Library is also on one of the NAS disks with the Media Files. That is not an ideal configuration. The MC Library is accessed often by MC and it is best of that Library (which is just a collection of files) is stored on the SSD of the MC Server PC, so that fast access is ensured. You have an SSD in the Server, so if the MC Library is on a NAS Disk, move it to the SSD.

As further proof, when you did the following;

I made a single library for each single NAS, and this seems to work: no more lock and all flows fine.

If you set up the new MC Libraries on the SSD, that would probably explain why that single NAS Libraries worked correctly.

Of course, having the NAS disks connected wirelessly and via a range extender doesn't help the situation, as range extenders typically halve the real network throughput. But if the wireless network is fast enough that shouldn't be the bottleneck. That would have a large impact if the MC Library was on the wireless network though, rather than on the SSD.

[sottalfix]

It is good that you listed how big your library is, plus the configuration and connection of the NAS disks.


Can we just confirm terminology here.
Your actual music files are on the three NAS disks. I would call those either Media Files, and not the Library, because...
The index of all your Media Files is called the MC Library. A 130MB MC Library isn't so big that it would slow MC down.

Given the above quote, it sounds like your MC Library is also on one of the NAS disks with the Media Files. That is not an ideal configuration. The MC Library is accessed often by MC and it is best of that Library (which is just a collection of files) is stored on the SSD of the MC Server PC, so that fast access is ensured. You have an SSD in the Server, so if the MC Library is on a NAS Disk, move it to the SSD.

As further proof, when you did the following;

If you set up the new MC Libraries on the SSD, that would probably explain why that single NAS Libraries worked correctly.

Of course, having the NAS disks connected wirelessly and via a range extender doesn't help the situation, as range extenders typically halve the real network throughput. But if the wireless network is fast enough that shouldn't be the bottleneck. That would have a large impact if the MC Library was on the wireless network though, rather than on the SSD.

Hello Roderick and thank you for your reply.

indeed all my MC Libraries are stored in local SSD, @appdata\roaming\JRiver\MediaCenter24\Library\ so access should remain swift in all cases. (BTW: for the all 3 NAS with a total of 10 TB media, 349000 files, the MC Library is 130 MB, for a single 2 TB NAS with 77000 files the MC Library is 14,7 MB, for a single 4 TB NAS with 125000 files the MC Lib is 24,2 MB, for the 6TB NAS with 145000 files the MC Lib is 28,4 MB)

Also the entire sub-network is cat 7 cabled: the PC is cabled to the router and so are the 3 NAS... I only reach the PC from a separate laptop via Remote Desktop.
Maybe there is some setting in the MC application not rightly set.

THank you again for your advice

Carlo

[RoderickGI]

Carlo, your descriptions of your setup are excellent. Based on those, you shouldn't be having any trouble. You should probably run the JRiver Benchmark (Help > Benchmark) and report the result for your machine.

I am wondering if there is some corruption in your Library. Given that the single NAS libraries you created work fine and are quite large, corruption could be the case. Identifying that and fixing it could be difficult.

You could try;
1. Backing up the original 349,000 file Library.
2. Clearing that Library using the function under the Library Manager, which is under Playing Now, or on the menu under "File > Library > Clear Library".
3. Restoring the backup you just made, including settings.

The Restore process may fix any corruption by ignoring bad records, but that is a bit of a guess on my part.

The only other way I know to fix a broken Library would be to make sure all tags are written to media files and/or Sidecar files, export all views and Playlists, then clear the Library and re-import everything, including Playlists and Views. But that would be a long process, and if you have custom fields and Views it may not be particularly successful.


The other thing you could try to do is identify what process is causing MC to become non-responsive. You could use the Windows Task Manager and Resource Manager to see if anything is obvious, or get Microsoft's "Process Explorer" and see if you can identify the problem. That is a complex path to take though, and time consuming, even just to learn how to use Process Explorer. I would be looking at network and CPU load when the problem happens, and maybe GPU load as well. You will need something like GPU-Z to view GPU load.

That is about all I can suggest at the moment. Maybe someone else has some other ideas.