Winamp Wont Start

rydeordie02 · 25th May 2004, 04:42

Hello. I was wondering if anyone can help me. My Winamp wont start up and it a small message box with Debug at the title with the message: Unknown field type encountered.
Im wondering if anyone knows how to remedy this problem and possibly get my Winamp working again. I think its a bug but who knows. All suggestions and ideas will help. Thanks!

LordRatner · 25th May 2004, 08:13

Have you gone through the uninstall/reinstall procedures yet?

rydeordie02 · 25th May 2004, 22:07

I'll try dat. Thanks but i think it may be some sort of bug. I tried it but it didnt work. Do you have any other suggestions?

siebe83 · 25th May 2004, 22:22

how do you try to start winamp?
maybe the shortcut isn't right...

maybe try double-clicking winamp.exe in your winamp folder through explorer
if this works, make a new shortcut

if it doesn't, please include system specs in your reply... (ie, windows version, winamp version, soundcard, etc)
did you install any extra 3rd-party plugins?
maybe try a clean install:
http://forums.winamp.com/showthread....29#post1212729
after that, install the update patch:
http://forums.winamp.com/showthread....179096#posttop

also, include all error details

JonnyMac · 25th May 2004, 22:47

The error usually indicates a corrupted media library file. If you have not tried the uninstall/reinstall yet try the following instead...

While Winamp is not running try deleting the main.dat file in the media library folder (usually C:\Program Files\Winamp\Plugins\ml). If that does not work try deleting the contents of the media library folder. Unfortunately that will result in the lost of media library data, so you will have to rescan the folders.

If there are any media library playlists back them up by copying or moving them to another folder. Media Library playlists have a randomly generated filename.
Example: plf****.m3u (where **** represents a set of numbers and letters).

If you have not upgraded to 5.03, please do so. Also install the Winamp 5.03 update patch as siebe83 suggested.

JonnyMac · 26th May 2004, 12:03

Whoops, I see by your second post you did try the uninstall/reinstall. Try deleting the main.dat file or the library contents. If that does not work try the clean install as suggested by siebe83.

Still no luck? Please Post a reply with answers to siebe83's spec questions.

rydeordie02 · 26th May 2004, 23:43

Got it to finally worked. I uninstalled the program and reinstalled it again. Actually worked. Thanks everybody. Appreciate it.

deneu · 3rd June 2004, 18:09

I had the exact same problems. Solved by deleting main.dat . Pitty that all stats are gone :-(

JonnyMac · 3rd June 2004, 19:05

Media Library data is stored in the ml folder of Winamp's plug-in folder (example C:\Program Files\Winamp\Plugins\ml). There is also a ML settings/config file (gen_ml.ini) in the plug-ins folder.

You may want to consider periodically backing up the data folder and ML config file, incase the ML database becomes corrupted or ML data is lost.

Additional info on where Winamp stores its settings...
http://forums.winamp.com/showthread.php?threadid=158332

25th May 2004, 04:42	#1
rydeordie02 Junior Member Join Date: May 2004 Location: UC Riverside Posts: 3	Winamp Wont Start Hello. I was wondering if anyone can help me. My Winamp wont start up and it a small message box with Debug at the title with the message: Unknown field type encountered. Im wondering if anyone knows how to remedy this problem and possibly get my Winamp working again. I think its a bug but who knows. All suggestions and ideas will help. Thanks!

25th May 2004, 22:22	#4
siebe83 Forum King Join Date: Feb 2004 Posts: 9,229	how do you try to start winamp? maybe the shortcut isn't right... maybe try double-clicking winamp.exe in your winamp folder through explorer if this works, make a new shortcut if it doesn't, please include system specs in your reply... (ie, windows version, winamp version, soundcard, etc) did you install any extra 3rd-party plugins? maybe try a clean install: http://forums.winamp.com/showthread....29#post1212729 after that, install the update patch: http://forums.winamp.com/showthread....179096#posttop also, include all error details If you're bored go here or, if the boredom is more serious, here.

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25th May 2004, 08:13	#2
LordRatner Junior Member Join Date: Mar 2003 Posts: 19	Have you gone through the uninstall/reinstall procedures yet?

25th May 2004, 22:07	#3
rydeordie02 Junior Member Join Date: May 2004 Location: UC Riverside Posts: 3	I'll try dat. Thanks but i think it may be some sort of bug. I tried it but it didnt work. Do you have any other suggestions?

25th May 2004, 22:47	#5
JonnyMac Moderator Join Date: Dec 2000 Posts: 14,385	The error usually indicates a corrupted media library file. If you have not tried the uninstall/reinstall yet try the following instead... While Winamp is not running try deleting the main.dat file in the media library folder (usually C:\Program Files\Winamp\Plugins\ml). If that does not work try deleting the contents of the media library folder. Unfortunately that will result in the lost of media library data, so you will have to rescan the folders. If there are any media library playlists back them up by copying or moving them to another folder. Media Library playlists have a randomly generated filename. Example: plf.m3u (where **** represents a set of numbers and letters). If you have not upgraded to 5.03, please do so. Also install the Winamp 5.03 update patch as siebe83 suggested.

26th May 2004, 12:03	#6
JonnyMac Moderator Join Date: Dec 2000 Posts: 14,385	Whoops, I see by your second post you did try the uninstall/reinstall. Try deleting the main.dat file or the library contents. If that does not work try the clean install as suggested by siebe83. Still no luck? Please Post a reply with answers to siebe83's spec questions.

26th May 2004, 23:43	#7
rydeordie02 Junior Member Join Date: May 2004 Location: UC Riverside Posts: 3	Got it to finally worked. I uninstalled the program and reinstalled it again. Actually worked. Thanks everybody. Appreciate it.

3rd June 2004, 18:09	#8
deneu Junior Member Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: netherlands Posts: 4	I had the exact same problems. Solved by deleting main.dat . Pitty that all stats are gone :-(

3rd June 2004, 19:05	#9
JonnyMac Moderator Join Date: Dec 2000 Posts: 14,385	Media Library data is stored in the ml folder of Winamp's plug-in folder (example C:\Program Files\Winamp\Plugins\ml). There is also a ML settings/config file (gen_ml.ini) in the plug-ins folder. You may want to consider periodically backing up the data folder and ML config file, incase the ML database becomes corrupted or ML data is lost. Additional info on where Winamp stores its settings... http://forums.winamp.com/showthread.php?threadid=158332