Access Violation error on winamp startup

[Claymore]

Every time i open up winamp either by double clicking on a file or by its icon the following error comes up

Access Violation at address 00000038. Read of address FFFFFFFF.

Winamp then hangs and i have to exit it by pressing CTRL+ALT+DEL and selecting end task.

It started happening a while ago and neither re-installing winamp or using a later revision solves the problem.

Has anyone got a solution to this problem.

[DJ Egg]

Full Uninstall -> Reinstall procedure:

Winamp 5.x

1. Backup

i) If you haven't done so already, save your playlist to .m3u via:
Playlist -> List button -> Save
(mainly applicable to people who use one single large playlist all the time)

ii) Close Winamp

iii) Navigate to the Winamp program folder via My Computer
Usually: C:\Program Files\Winamp

Backup the Skins dir

If relevant, also backup:
the bookmark list = winamp.bm
any saved EQ presets = .Q2 & .EQF files
the cddb database = in_cdda.cdb (in the Plugins dir)

Don't backup the Plugins dir, not unless you know for sure there's one or more rare / hard to find plugins or avs presets in there. In which case, just backup the plugins & presets of your choice, not the whole folder.
Naturally, you should still have copies of the setup files for any 3rd-party plugins you've downloaded, so you can always use these to reinstall 3rd-party plugins later.

Winamp 2.9x and 5.x users will also lose all Library data by using the uninstall procedure outlined below.
You can also backup: gen_ml.ini (Winamp\Plugins dir)
and the "Winamp\Plugins\ml" dir before uninstalling,
but please try the default (re)installation before adding any backups.

Note: Winamp 5.x users can use the Library Import/Export Manager plugin
to export the library to xml and re-import it after a clean installation.

This may also work in Winamp 2.9x, but has not been tested.


It is strongly recommended to start fresh with clean settings.
You can always change settings back to taste after Winamp 5 is up and running.
But, if you really need to backup any config files, full details can be found here.


2. Uninstall

i) Check to see if you've installed any other 3rd party plugins that also may have created entries in Add/Remove programs (eg. WildTangent games). If so, uninstall these before Winamp*

ii) Uninstall Winamp via Add/Remove Programs Control Panel

iii) Delete the "C:\Program Files\Winamp" dir
Delete "C:\Windows\winamp.ini"

iv) Reboot


3. Reinstall

Install Winamp 5 (preferably the latest version)

Try the default setup at first**

If this works ok, add your backups one by one, closing & reopening Winamp inbetween.
This way, at the first sign of any trouble, you can be sure that the last 3rd party plugin you reinstalled was the cause of all your problems!


Troubleshooter section:

i) If you experience a freeze-up when trying to run Winamp 5 for the first time,
open Device Manager (Ctrl+Alt+Del) and end process for any running instances of Winamp (winamp.exe), Winamp Agent (winampa.exe), the installer (eg. Winamp5x_Full.exe), and/or Winamp3 (studio.exe / winamp3.exe) and then try to run Winamp 5 again.
Still no joy? Repeat the End Task process and run the installer again.


ii) If the freeze-up occurred before you get to click "Run Winamp" in the final Registration screen (eg. after you fill in your e-mail, select 'connection type' and check/uncheck whether you would like to receive the newsletter),
then open "C:\Windows\Winamp.ini" in Notepad and change the top line to read:

NeedReg=0

End Task for all Winamp processes (see above)
and now try to run Winamp again.


iii) Note: If you installed Sonic CD Burning/Ripping Support, it is strongly recommended that you reboot after installation and before using Winamp. We also advise closing down all running programs before installation, especially any other Sonic Products such as MyDVD, RecordNow, etc.



* Winamp 2.77 and earlier
If you installed support for it, first uninstall MJuice Components.
There will be an entry in Add/Remove Programs for this.
If relevant, you can also delete the "C:\Program Files\MJuice" dir if it's still there after uninstallation.
Note: if you have some MJF files, then you might want to keep this instead.


** Naturally, you can change/uncheck the settings in the setup screens, eg.
Input Screen 1: Uncheck any unrequired components/features/plugins.
Input Screen 2: Uncheck "Associate with files/CD's", "maintain associations", "create shortcuts", "add aol desktop icon", etc, if you so wish.


______________________________________________________________________


Legacy Support for 2.8x and earlier:

After reinstalling, we also recommend that you install this official patch:
Winamp 2x Update (v2.8x only)
(Updates both out_wave & out_ds plugins to Peter's latest versions, also updates in_midi.dll | in_wave.dll | in_ogg.dll)
Further details: (READ THIS FIRST)

http://forums.winamp.com/showthread.php?threadid=68811

2.9x users should NOT install the wa2update patch.
It is intended for 2.8x installations only.

All older versions of Winamp 2.x are available from:
www.winampheaven.tk | www.oldversion.com


______________________________________________________________________


Legacy Support for Winamp3 v1.0:

1. Backup

i) In Winamp3, go to Playlist -> Playlist button -> Save...
and save your playlist(s) to M3U files. You can change it to this instead of the default B4S via the drop-down menu*

ii) Go to: Prefs (Ctrl+P) -> System -> Media
Click the "select none" button.
This will make sure Winamp3 is no longer associated with any filetypes.

iii) Close Prefs and exit Winamp3

iv) If you saved any playlist or mp3 files in the Winamp3 dir
then move them out of there now!
Move them to a new folder, eg. C:\Music
and leave them there.
Do NOT store personal data files in Program folders.

Playlist paths are relevant paths, so if you keep the same parent & sub folder structure, then the playlists will still work.


If relevant, also backup the bookmarks file.
This is winamp.bm in the main Winamp3 dir.


2. Uninstall

i) If relevant, uninstall any extra/3rd party components first (eg. Plugin Mgr)
ii) Uninstall Winamp3 via Add/Remove Programs Control Panel
iii) Delete the Winamp3 folder


* If you already saved heaps of playlists to B4S and don't want to re-save them all to M3U, then you can use the Library Import/Export Manager plugin to import all B4S playlists after Winamp 5.x is installed.


3. Install Winamp 5.x

Install Winamp 5.x

either to the default C:\Program Files\Winamp dir (recommended)
or to a NEW folder of your choice (eg. C:\Winamp or C:\Winamp5)


Note: You do not have to uninstall Winamp3 in order to use Winamp 5.0.

Winamp (0.x, 1.x, 2.x, 5.x) and Winamp3 (Wasabi.Player) are two entirely different products, and both can quite happily co-exist on the same system.
The only known issues are that you might experience a problem if trying to run the Agent (winampa.exe) for both players at the same time (where it might only control one player, not the other), and Winamp3 will keep stealing WAL association (Modern Skins).


Winamp3 v1.0 is still available at www.winampheaven.net
Winamp3 internal developer builds are available here
Latest Wasabi.Player builds are available here

Unlike Winamp, you must NOT install Winamp3/Wasabi.Player on top of any previous build. Either use the backup/uninstall procedure above first, or install to a new dir.

And most importantly, DO NOT install Winamp 5.x to the same folder where Winamp3 was installed. You can install Winamp 5.x straight on top of Winamp 2.x, but not on top of Winamp3.


Winamp3 v1.0 Support Forums (read-only for legacy support)


______________________________________________________________________


If the problem persists, report back in the forums, confirming you've carried out all instructions in this post & we'll take things from there.

Please include your full sys specs, including:
Motherboard, CPU, RAM, Soundcard, Videocard, Windows OS, DirectX,
plus a list of all concurrently running programs (including those in systray)
and full details of any error messages.
Also confirm whether you are setting Winamp 5 up on an administrator account, or on a limited user account (not recommended).

______________________________________________________________________

Updated for Winamp 5 - Dec 2003

[StephenA]

thanks guys -- it worked -- not done yet though

The complete uninstall / reinstall of Winamp (backing up plugins and stuff) worked -- now Winamp Runs and I have rp7 installed and they both work fine. Now i gotta reinstall the plugins and stuff and btw where was that Hellsoft Realized? i saw a link earlier today but forgot where it was.

[edit - inserted by DJEgg]
Tara's Real Audio/Video plugin
Hellsoft Realized plugin (mirror)
Innover InnoReal plugin (mirror)