My Winamp 2.72 fast-forwards in almost every song I put on. I have Windows Me, and I'm on a proxy in our home LAN to the computer. The song just stops midway, and I can see the bar moving quickly to the end of the song. It just suddenly stops and visibly fast forwards. Any ideas?

I am experiencing this problem also. I am not sure that it is isolated to Winamp 2.72 since Windows Media Player 7.00.00.1958 and Goldwave 4.12 also experience this problem. The problem is easiest to manifest when the player is NOT on top and usually doesn't appear in the first song or two. A bad codec perhaps? (WAG) I am using Windows ME preinstalled on a new Compaq Presario 5005CL. I did not experience the problem on my old Compaq Presario 4850 (300 mhz) running either Windows 95 or 98.

Make sure you are not using the Disk Writer plug-in.

In Winamp
Ctrl+P (for Preferences) > Plug-ins > Output > Select Nullsoft waveOut or Nullsoft DirectSound

It's unlikely that this is the cause. If DiskWriter had been selected then none of the trax would play properly at all . . . not the first 2 in a playlist . . . and not the first half of any track either.
It could have something to do with the selected output device in the Output plugin config? (WaveOut especially). It'd probably be best to use DirectSound Output instead.
Are either of you using any 3rd party plugins? Particularly any General Purpose (gen_*.dll) or DSP/FX (dsp_*.dll) plugins, or do you just use the default installation & settings?
In Zinger's case, if it's happening with other players too, then it sounds more like a bug in your soundcard drivers or DirectX. Make sure you have the latest drivers for your soundcard and that they are compatible with WinME. Also, look for the DirectX 8.0a upgrade patch if you've just got the default v8.

Compaq shows no driver updates for my SoundMAX Integrated Digital Audio. The driver is version 5.12.01.2509 dated Aug 8, 2000. I can find nothing that reveals whether I have DirectX much less the version. Microsoft Windows Update has not referenced DirectX explicitly. Winamp is the vanilla install; no 3rd party plugins. My WInamp preferences appear to be as recommended also.

C:\Windows\System\DXDIAG.EXE = DirectX Diagnostic Tool

If it's not there, or if you have an old version, or if there's any problems listed:

Get v7 here : http://www.webattack.com/essential.shtml

OR

Get v8.0a here : http://www.microsoft.com/directx/

IMPORTANT:
Note that WinME should come with DirectX 8 pre-installed.
Apparently, you cannot uninstall v8 or downgrade to earlier versions.
(That's why I'm sticking with v7.0a for now!)

You should also consider getting a proper PnP soundcard,
eg. SBLive / Diamond MultiMedia / Guillemot Hercules Platinum / etc.