Media Library memory leak?

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  • damenace
    Member
    • Aug 2003
    • 53

    Media Library memory leak?

    Winamp 5.621 (build 3173)
    Clean install, no 3rd-party skins or plugins
    Also happened in 5.62


    OS: Windows 7 Ultimate (64-bit)
    Locale: English US
    CPU: core [email protected] GHz
    Memory: 3GB RAM
    DirectX 11

    Problem:
    Winamp crashes due to RAM overconsumption when adding huge library

    Method of Reproduction:
    - Select a folder with more than 2000albums as a Watched Folder
    - Scan
    - RAM will fill up and then at around 1500MB RAM Winamp will crash
  • MrSinatra
    Forum King
    • Dec 2004
    • 5899

    #2
    i have seen that as well, and i think its somehow related to winamp not closing when exiting too. i don't know if its a memory leak, or if winamp is just trying to load too much at one time into memory?
    PENN STATE Radio or http://www.LION-Radio.org/
    --
    BUG #1 = Winamp skips short tracks
    Wish #1 = Multiple Column Sorting
    Wish #2 = Add TCMP/Compilation editing

    Comment

    • Aminifu
      Forum King
      • Aug 2011
      • 4963

      #3
      Hi damenace,

      I suggest you increase your RAM to at least 4GB. I think this is more Windows' fault
      than Winamp's, unless it's a memory leak. Windows memory management (real and
      virtual) is supposed to handle an app's demand for memory. The worst that is supposed
      to happen is a slow down of performance as data in RAM is swapped to and from the
      hard drive. In any event, more real RAM is better than virtual.

      I have not experienced excessive RAM use when doing a simple scan of watch folders
      with this version of Winamp. I have seen dramatic RAM use increases, to the level you
      stated and more, when doing certain scans involving Gracenote. However, I have 4GB
      of RAM installed with Win 7 Home Premium 64-bit and have not had a crash. The high
      memory levels slowly drop after these scans complete.

      I close other foreground apps when doing something with Winamp that I know (from
      past experience) will reguire a lot of memory. I also have my system set to give priority
      to background tasks (have not noticed a drop in performance of foreground tasks). I've
      shut down a lot of not needed things (services and tasks), but Win 7 still has a lot of
      random stuff going on in the background. I want to be sure these things can execute
      and get out of the way as soon as possible.

      These work-arounds should not be needed on a fast system and may not help in your
      case.

      Hi MrSinatra,

      on July 29, 2011 you stated,

      "i have 50k+ and NEVER had it crash scanning my files. not saying it doesn't happen,
      but it def doesn't happen to me."

      In that post you went on to state a crash may be related to something in the files. Has
      something changed or were you referring to a different Winamp version?
      Winamp v5.9.2.10042 - Quinto Black CT v4.1 skin
      Windows 11 Home 64-bit v23H2 desktop - Logitech Z906 5.1 speaker system

      Comment

      • MrSinatra
        Forum King
        • Dec 2004
        • 5899

        #4
        there is a difference between a crash and ram over-consumption. it doesn't crash, but i do see the ram used get bigger and bigger over time.
        PENN STATE Radio or http://www.LION-Radio.org/
        --
        BUG #1 = Winamp skips short tracks
        Wish #1 = Multiple Column Sorting
        Wish #2 = Add TCMP/Compilation editing

        Comment

        • damenace
          Member
          • Aug 2003
          • 53

          #5
          it's winamp for sure. not windows. and increasing ram would not help anything.

          winamp just keeps using more and more ram and just does not stop. at some point it will crash. in my case it's usually around 1.5gb of ram. i reckon the system then prevents winamp from using any more and winamp crashes.

          if winamp worked properly it would occasionally empty the ram used. it would not flood ram.

          this is definetly a bug. i use other database programs and they use up maybe 200mb of ram doing the same operation.
          but winamp just keeps filling ram until it crashes.

          of course if your database is small enough, it won't happen. or if your database is already built and it only needs to refresh.

          but if you, like me, have a 2000 album library with hundreds of artists and you build it from scratch, then it will crash everytime.
          only way to prevent it is stop the scan before winamp crashes and then shutdown winamp. the ram will be emptied and i can reopen winamp and it will start at 100mb or so again. then scan until it reaches critical ram and stop the scan again....and so on and so on...

          i'm sorry, but that's not normal behaviour

          Comment

          • MrSinatra
            Forum King
            • Dec 2004
            • 5899

            #6
            well, as i've said elsewhere, i have 50k files, 5k albums, and i have never had it crash from a watch folder scan. i have however seen the RAM usage increase over time, and seen winamp slow down quite a lot.

            what kind of files do you have? i think you need to see that not everyone is having your problems, where the ram explodes and crashes predictably, so the thought is it might be something unique about your setup...?
            PENN STATE Radio or http://www.LION-Radio.org/
            --
            BUG #1 = Winamp skips short tracks
            Wish #1 = Multiple Column Sorting
            Wish #2 = Add TCMP/Compilation editing

            Comment

            • damenace
              Member
              • Aug 2003
              • 53

              #7
              did you clear your library and then have it scan including all the meta data? if so and it doesn't flood your memory, then it must be something else.

              i am using windows 7 x64. maybe it's a 64bit problem?
              one way or another, i don't see how it could be a hardware problem. because it would be up to winamp to not use 1.5gb of ram just to scan watched folders. and i googled it and other people seem to have the same problem. that's how i found the "solution" of starting and stopping before winamp crashes.
              so it's not just me

              Comment

              • Aminifu
                Forum King
                • Aug 2011
                • 4963

                #8
                Hi damenace,

                I agree that some scans of very large collections need to be done in stages with
                Winamp. I suggested adding RAM in order to allow for more files in each stage.
                I also agree that this work-around (scaning in stages) is undesirable.

                If you could include the additional info requested by the devs, maybe one of them
                will respond. I copied the following from the 2nd post at the start of this thread.


                "List of Plugins" (required) and "HijackThis" logs attached in zip,
                along with any other related crash logs (if relevant).
                (Attachment feature available via the 'Post A Reply' button)
                Winamp v5.9.2.10042 - Quinto Black CT v4.1 skin
                Windows 11 Home 64-bit v23H2 desktop - Logitech Z906 5.1 speaker system

                Comment

                • MrSinatra
                  Forum King
                  • Dec 2004
                  • 5899

                  #9
                  Originally Posted by MrSinatra View Post
                  what kind of files do you have?
                  ???
                  PENN STATE Radio or http://www.LION-Radio.org/
                  --
                  BUG #1 = Winamp skips short tracks
                  Wish #1 = Multiple Column Sorting
                  Wish #2 = Add TCMP/Compilation editing

                  Comment

                  • damenace
                    Member
                    • Aug 2003
                    • 53

                    #10
                    Adding RAM is
                    a) not sensible (would probably need 16GB looking at the rate winamp is consuming my ram)
                    b) not possible (notebook)

                    I updated to the current Winamp 5.621 and have no plugins installed. Just the cpro_Bento skin which shouldn't be causing any of this.

                    If Winamp created a log I'd post it. The HiJackThis log is simply a list of active processes. Not sure what that's supposed to help. Don't really like sharing that info on a public forum either. If a dev would like one, I can pm it.

                    Comment

                    • Batter Pudding
                      Major Dude
                      • Jun 2008
                      • 1656

                      #11
                      @damenance: I agree, adding RAM would not be needed to "complete a scan". It sounds to me more like you have a few corrupted files in there. I have a 65,000+ track collection which gets scanned without problems - and this is on a 64bit system. (There are many people with much bigger collections than me)

                      I have also had a scan of that same huge collection crash because of a corrupted M4A file. I have also had it crash in the past when the wrong file extension was in use on a file - in both cases these bugs were reported and fixed.

                      RAM gets allocated when a program needs it, and then releases it again when it has finished. It is not something you should worry about. If it is a worry to you, then just buy more RAM. Especially as you are making comments about a tiny 100MB of RAM usage which is nothing in a modern 3GB system.

                      Start a fresh thread, and we can try and trace through your problem. But first just try scanning chunks of your collection and watch where your crash occurs, I expect it is related to a file location more than an amount of memory.

                      Comment

                      • damenace
                        Member
                        • Aug 2003
                        • 53

                        #12
                        100MB? No, I am saying it runs up to more than 1000MB and then crashes somewhere around 1.6GB.
                        I don't know if there are any corrupted files? Winamp scans them all and seems to show and play them all. One way or another, it increases ram steadily.
                        I'll look for a tool to record a small video for you guys to see and believe.

                        Comment

                        • Aminifu
                          Forum King
                          • Aug 2011
                          • 4963

                          #13
                          Hi,

                          I did not say adding memory would fix the problem. I said it is an undesirable
                          way to work-around the problem when scanning in stages (less stages).

                          And in addition to high memory use when scanning, I recalled reading a post
                          recently that reported having the library panel open with hi-res album cover
                          art will consume a lot of memory.

                          I use art, it's not hi-res, but I decided to check what happens on my system.

                          I use 9 or 10 non-standard plugins and only play MP3s with Winamp. I don't
                          install the video playback stuff and only the basic plugin for support of mobile
                          devices. The skin (+ plugin) I prefer only displays the art for the track that is
                          playing and keeps the library panel closed unless I open it. This configuration
                          initially uses less than 38,000 KB on my system and climbs to about 70,000 KB
                          when I open the library panel. My panel is set up to display 10 covers at a time.

                          Almost double memory use just sitting there looking pretty. Memory use climbs
                          to over 102,000 KB when I start playing a track. It pretty much stays within a
                          1,000 KB of that just playing the playlist, even if I toggle the library panel with
                          the initial 10 covers. However if I scroll more covers into view memory use climbs
                          and it takes a long time to drop. If I had hi-res art and scrolled through a good
                          portion of my covers, I have no doubt memory use would exceed 1 GB.

                          If I never open the library panel and just play the playlist, avg memory is around
                          77,000 KB.

                          Some of this may be Win 7 keeping stuff in memory in case of short term reuse.
                          But, the devs definitely need to look into this non-release of not needed memory,
                          memory leak, or whatever. Especially with the 'push' to use the Big Bento skin.
                          Winamp v5.9.2.10042 - Quinto Black CT v4.1 skin
                          Windows 11 Home 64-bit v23H2 desktop - Logitech Z906 5.1 speaker system

                          Comment

                          • Batter Pudding
                            Major Dude
                            • Jun 2008
                            • 1656

                            #14
                            Originally Posted by damenace View Post
                            100MB? No, I am saying it runs up to more than 1000MB and then crashes somewhere around 1.6GB.
                            I don't know if there are any corrupted files? Winamp scans them all and seems to show and play them all. One way or another, it increases ram steadily.
                            I'll look for a tool to record a small video for you guys to see and believe.
                            I took the 100MB comment from a later post. Have now re-read your original and see the 1500MB comment. Still nothing to worry about. Programs use memory, that is what it is there for, and if some other program needs that memory, then it will be allocated to it. And there is no real need for your video, that is a waste of your time. Memory is used by all computer programs.

                            Just for my own curiosity, I am going to get Winamp installed on my Win7 64-bit laptop as that only has 3GB like your PC. I'll point it at my music store on the network and watch the RAM use.

                            There are many people with huge music collections who are noticeably not here reporting issues, so I am still pretty certain you will find more of a file issue than your "running out of RAM" theory. (Basically - it is almost impossible to run out of RAM. Even if Winamp did go memory chomping mad... all you would see is an ever increasing amount of Virtual Memory.)

                            I am not trying to be a "fanboi" making excuses for Winamp, I am trying to help you trace your problems. And I know when I had those corrupted files in my collection, everything "looked" fine. All the other tracks seemed to be read okay. Just these odd ones would lead to a crash.

                            Comment

                            • Aminifu
                              Forum King
                              • Aug 2011
                              • 4963

                              #15
                              Hi Batter Pudding,

                              Glad you're gonna test this on your laptop.

                              Your statements about memory management are basically what I posted on
                              the 10th.

                              I have had no crashes with v 5.621, but I did have to scan in stages for the
                              initial scan using the Gracenote playlist generator with previous versions in
                              order to get a successful scan of my small (6000+) collection. The memory
                              use rose to a very high level and the scan would stall out if I tried scanning
                              all the files at once.

                              I know that's not the same scanning issue damenace is reporting, but they
                              may be related.
                              Winamp v5.9.2.10042 - Quinto Black CT v4.1 skin
                              Windows 11 Home 64-bit v23H2 desktop - Logitech Z906 5.1 speaker system

                              Comment

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