Winamp 5.2 and 5.21 crash when starting up

stevage · 16th March 2006, 08:38

Hi all,
Had Winamp 5.2 running for a few days, imported about 40,000 songs into the library. It kept running. However, now when I try and launch it, the following happens:
1. Windows freezes for a few seconds, then recovers
2. The Winamp window appears, but is totally unresponsive (and does not play)
3. Roughly a minute later, I get the message about sending Microsoft an error report. It offers to take me to the winamp download page.

Tried 5.21 but it's the same. Any ideas anyone? Is there something I could delete to try and get it back to the state it was in before?

FWIW, XP (in French), some cheapo internal sound card, Media Player runs fine, tried with various sound files, but it's the same. No extensions, skins, plugins or anything.

Steve

stevage · 16th March 2006, 09:12

Oops, didn't see the bit about including detailed system specs

Crash report:
AppName: winamp.exe AppVer: 5.2.1.497 ModName: gen_ml.dll
ModVer: 0.0.0.0 Offset: 00036363

System specs:
-PC or Motherboard make/model
Pentium 4, 2GHz

-CPU & RAM
1024MB

-Sound card or chip
Soundmax Integrated Digital Audio

-Videocard
RAGE 128 PRO Ultra GL AGP (Microsoft Corporation)

-Windows OS (including Service Pack, eg. WinXP sp2)
WinXP Pro SP2

-DirectX version (start > run > dxdiag)
9.0c

-Winamp version (eg. 5.2)
5.2 and 5.21

-Confirmation of the Winamp installation type (Pro, Full, Bundle, Lite)
Full

siebe83 · 16th March 2006, 09:22

Hi,

An error in gen_ml is often caused by a corrupt ml database.

Try deleting the file main.dat in C:\Program Files\Winamp\Plugins\ml while Winamp is closed.
This will clear the ML database: all ratings/playcounts will be lost.

If that doesn't help, delete the entire folder ml and if that doesn't help, also the file gen_ml.ini (both in C:\Program Files\Winamp\Plugins). All views and playlists in the ML will be deleted. If you want you can backup the ML playlists. They are in the ml folder and are called plf****.m3u. Just copy them to another location.

stevage · 16th March 2006, 09:47

Strange thing: I don't *have* a plugins/ml directory. I was actually looking for that after seeing some other threads. Under "plugins", I have:
avs
DPS_SPS
freeform
Milkdrop
Predixs MusicMagic

EDIT: no gen_ml.ini file either. Under c:\program files\winamp there are a total of 5 ini files - 3 in Winamp, and 2 in Plugins (milk_img and milk_msg).

and that's it. Now I certainly didn't delete that directory, so are there any circumstances where Winamp might have deleted it, possible due to untidy Windows shut down? I have had a couple of problems recently with the computer not coming back from hibernate mode and me having to hard shut it down.

I mean, I don't mind re-importing the library...it takes like an hour with that many songs, but I don't have much choice. Guess I'll uninstall Winamp and reinstall and hope it doesn't happen again?

siebe83 · 16th March 2006, 10:00

In the latest versions, settings can be stored in the Application Data folder as well (depending on whether you selected 'keep separate settings for each user').
I keep forgetting to add that, heh...

Have a look here:
C:\Documents and Settings\<yourusername>\Application Data\Winamp

And yes, the cause of a corrupt ml database can indeed be an improper shut down (or a crash). If you want, you can make a backup of the ml database, so you won't need to rescan your music folder(s) if it were to happen again.

winamp.ini, studio.xnf, gen_ml.ini, reg entries, backups etc
http://forums.winamp.com/showthread.php?threadid=158332
http://forums.winamp.com/showthread.php?threadid=209601

Backing-up Media Library database ratings/playcounts:
http://forums.winamp.com/showthread.php?threadid=182413
http://forums.winamp.com/showthread.php?threadid=158332
http://forums.winamp.com/showthread.php?threadid=221054

stevage · 16th March 2006, 10:10

ah, brilliant. ok, I've moved all that stuff to another directory, Winamp now starts. once I've reimported, I'll back up that directory, lest this happean again.
Many thanks!

siebe83 · 16th March 2006, 10:13

You're welcome

empees · 16th March 2006, 10:47

Hi!!!
well... it didn`t work for me
i`ve done everythin that Siebie told to do and nothing changed
i still have an about minute or so, winamp freeze when i`m turning my media library on

it`s a 5.21 ofcourse... i`m going to use 5.1 version for now cause it`s working fine for me and see if anythin change with newer version shows up or if somebody would came up with any other idea solving this problem.

I hope actually

because the latest versions are even better the automatic codec downloading is great !!!

siebe83 · 16th March 2006, 10:55

Hi,

Could you give a more detailed description of your problem?
Do you also get the exact same error message as stevage had?
Please provide system specs as well.

empees · 16th March 2006, 11:02

no... i don`t have any error messeges - after w while winamp goes on and everything works fine until next winamp restart
when the problem occures again

my specs:

MSI K7N2Delta2
Sempron 2400+
512 MB 400 mhz RAM
Sound Blaster Extigy
GeForce FX 5900 XT
WinXP SP2
DX 9.0c

but i don`t think that any of hardware could be any problem

I have also a 5.1 version (just copied from \progfls to another directory which is also good solution for a backing winamp up thread

) and it works perfectly fine.

siebe83 · 16th March 2006, 11:23

It could be one of the new features coming with 5.2+ to blame... Possibly the Portable Media Player plugin, or maybe one of the other Media Library plugins (Online Services, SHOUTcast Wire, Predixis MusicMagic).

You can test whether it's one of the ML plugins to blame by temporarily disabling them. They are the ml_*.dll files in the Winamp plugins folder. Close Winamp, go to the Winamp plugins folder and change the file extension from .dll to .off
You may need to configure Windows to show file extensions:
http://nunzioweb.com/misc/show_file_extensions.htm
To re-enable a plugin, change extension back to .dll

Or simply do a clean install and uncheck those features you don't need in the installer. I suspect Portable Media Player support the most.

If that doesn't help, please attach a my_plugins_list and HijackThis log to your reply. See system specs link above.

empees · 16th March 2006, 11:30

heh... found it

it was a Portable Devices Plugin...
sorry for not checkin it at first

anyways thanks for help

Regards !

stevage · 16th March 2006, 11:48

Well, I'm back up and running again. Yay.

Interesting observation: media player can write Winamp-compatible playlists, but Winamp can't read native Media player playlists. That's got to be a first - MS is compatible with a third party, and not the reverse

siebe83 · 16th March 2006, 12:02

But with an extra third-party, it is!

If you want you can install the Playlist loader plugin by DrO, which allows for asx and wpl (and other) playlists to be loaded in Winamp.

But yes, m3u is more common as a playlist format (for local playlists, anyway), most popular media players support it.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M3U

16th March 2006, 08:38	#1
stevage Junior Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Posts: 7	Winamp 5.2 and 5.21 crash when starting up Hi all, Had Winamp 5.2 running for a few days, imported about 40,000 songs into the library. It kept running. However, now when I try and launch it, the following happens: 1. Windows freezes for a few seconds, then recovers 2. The Winamp window appears, but is totally unresponsive (and does not play) 3. Roughly a minute later, I get the message about sending Microsoft an error report. It offers to take me to the winamp download page. Tried 5.21 but it's the same. Any ideas anyone? Is there something I could delete to try and get it back to the state it was in before? FWIW, XP (in French), some cheapo internal sound card, Media Player runs fine, tried with various sound files, but it's the same. No extensions, skins, plugins or anything. Steve

16th March 2006, 09:22	#3
siebe83 Forum King Join Date: Feb 2004 Posts: 9,229	Hi, An error in gen_ml is often caused by a corrupt ml database. Try deleting the file main.dat in C:\Program Files\Winamp\Plugins\ml while Winamp is closed. This will clear the ML database: all ratings/playcounts will be lost. If that doesn't help, delete the entire folder ml and if that doesn't help, also the file gen_ml.ini (both in C:\Program Files\Winamp\Plugins). All views and playlists in the ML will be deleted. If you want you can backup the ML playlists. They are in the ml folder and are called plf.m3u. Just copy them to another location. If you're bored go here or, if the boredom is more serious, here.

16th March 2006, 10:00	#5
siebe83 Forum King Join Date: Feb 2004 Posts: 9,229	In the latest versions, settings can be stored in the Application Data folder as well (depending on whether you selected 'keep separate settings for each user'). I keep forgetting to add that, heh... Have a look here: C:\Documents and Settings\<yourusername>\Application Data\Winamp And yes, the cause of a corrupt ml database can indeed be an improper shut down (or a crash). If you want, you can make a backup of the ml database, so you won't need to rescan your music folder(s) if it were to happen again. winamp.ini, studio.xnf, gen_ml.ini, reg entries, backups etc http://forums.winamp.com/showthread.php?threadid=158332 http://forums.winamp.com/showthread.php?threadid=209601 Backing-up Media Library database ratings/playcounts: http://forums.winamp.com/showthread.php?threadid=182413 http://forums.winamp.com/showthread.php?threadid=158332 http://forums.winamp.com/showthread.php?threadid=221054 If you're bored go here or, if the boredom is more serious, here.

16th March 2006, 10:13	#7
siebe83 Forum King Join Date: Feb 2004 Posts: 9,229	You're welcome If you're bored go here or, if the boredom is more serious, here.

16th March 2006, 10:55	#9
siebe83 Forum King Join Date: Feb 2004 Posts: 9,229	Hi, Could you give a more detailed description of your problem? Do you also get the exact same error message as stevage had? Please provide system specs as well. If you're bored go here or, if the boredom is more serious, here.

16th March 2006, 09:47	#4
stevage Junior Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Posts: 7	Strange thing: I don't have a plugins/ml directory. I was actually looking for that after seeing some other threads. Under "plugins", I have: avs DPS_SPS freeform Milkdrop Predixs MusicMagic EDIT: no gen_ml.ini file either. Under c:\program files\winamp there are a total of 5 ini files - 3 in Winamp, and 2 in Plugins (milk_img and milk_msg). and that's it. Now I certainly didn't delete that directory, so are there any circumstances where Winamp might have deleted it, possible due to untidy Windows shut down? I have had a couple of problems recently with the computer not coming back from hibernate mode and me having to hard shut it down. I mean, I don't mind re-importing the library...it takes like an hour with that many songs, but I don't have much choice. Guess I'll uninstall Winamp and reinstall and hope it doesn't happen again?

16th March 2006, 10:10	#6
stevage Junior Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Posts: 7	ah, brilliant. ok, I've moved all that stuff to another directory, Winamp now starts. once I've reimported, I'll back up that directory, lest this happean again. Many thanks!

16th March 2006, 10:47	#8
empees Junior Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Poland Posts: 3	Hi!!! well... it didn`t work for me i`ve done everythin that Siebie told to do and nothing changed i still have an about minute or so, winamp freeze when i`m turning my media library on it`s a 5.21 ofcourse... i`m going to use 5.1 version for now cause it`s working fine for me and see if anythin change with newer version shows up or if somebody would came up with any other idea solving this problem. I hope actually because the latest versions are even better the automatic codec downloading is great !!!

16th March 2006, 11:02	#10
empees Junior Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Poland Posts: 3	no... i don`t have any error messeges - after w while winamp goes on and everything works fine until next winamp restart when the problem occures again my specs: MSI K7N2Delta2 Sempron 2400+ 512 MB 400 mhz RAM Sound Blaster Extigy GeForce FX 5900 XT WinXP SP2 DX 9.0c but i don`t think that any of hardware could be any problem I have also a 5.1 version (just copied from \progfls to another directory which is also good solution for a backing winamp up thread ) and it works perfectly fine.

16th March 2006, 11:23	#11
siebe83 Forum King Join Date: Feb 2004 Posts: 9,229	It could be one of the new features coming with 5.2+ to blame... Possibly the Portable Media Player plugin, or maybe one of the other Media Library plugins (Online Services, SHOUTcast Wire, Predixis MusicMagic). You can test whether it's one of the ML plugins to blame by temporarily disabling them. They are the ml_.dll files in the Winamp plugins folder. Close Winamp, go to the Winamp plugins folder and change the file extension from .dll to .off You may need to configure Windows to show file extensions: http://nunzioweb.com/misc/show_file_extensions.htm To re-enable a plugin, change extension back to .dll Or simply do a clean install and uncheck those features you don't need in the installer. I suspect Portable Media Player support the most. If that doesn't help, please attach a my_plugins_list and HijackThis log to your reply. See system specs link above. If you're bored* go here or, if the boredom is more serious, here.

16th March 2006, 11:30	#12
empees Junior Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Poland Posts: 3	heh... found it it was a Portable Devices Plugin... sorry for not checkin it at first anyways thanks for help Regards !

16th March 2006, 11:48	#13
stevage Junior Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Posts: 7	Well, I'm back up and running again. Yay. Interesting observation: media player can write Winamp-compatible playlists, but Winamp can't read native Media player playlists. That's got to be a first - MS is compatible with a third party, and not the reverse

16th March 2006, 12:02	#14
siebe83 Forum King Join Date: Feb 2004 Posts: 9,229	But with an extra third-party, it is! If you want you can install the Playlist loader plugin by DrO, which allows for asx and wpl (and other) playlists to be loaded in Winamp. But yes, m3u is more common as a playlist format (for local playlists, anyway), most popular media players support it. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M3U If you're bored go here or, if the boredom is more serious, here.

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