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I'm having troubles with the Playlist generator. It crashes every single time, during step 4/4. To be honest, I have little hope that this problem can be easily solved, as I understand that the Playlist generator is a plugin from Gracenote, and that the Winamp developers don't have much influence over it. Nevertheless I will share my experiences here, and the approach that I took to narrow down the problem, in the hope that it might be useful for others, and in the hope that someone might hand me a useful tip.
My situation:
I have quite a large MP3 database (although I think that the term large is very relative on this forum) of ~ 13.000 MP3 files. The database only contains MP3 files, no other media files. MP3 files are sorted by albums, and for each album the tags are checked with Tag&Rename. Up to a few weeks ago, I was able to use the playlist generator without any problem. However, I have recently reinstalled Windows, and with that installed the latest Winamp version. Unfortunately I cannot figure out anymore which version of Winamp I was using before, but it must have been a version that was at least 2 years old (that was at least the time since my previous Windows reinstall).
The problem:
I perform a clean install of the latest version (5.666) of Winamp. No 3rd party plugins. Then I add the folder which contains my MP3 collection to the local library. When this folder is completely scanned, I go to Plugins > Media Library > Nullsoft Playlist Generator v1.8 > Configure selected plug-in and choose Scan to build the database. The plugin starts to do its work, which will take some time. But then during the 4th step, Winamp crashes. This happens every time that I try it. Each time that I perform a test, I reset Winamp to its original state, by replacing the Winamp profile folder (AppData\Roaming\Winamp\) with a copy of the fresh profile folder.
What I have tried:
If have read in other topics that some users were able to identify faulty MP3 files by dividing their collection in halves. And when Winamp crashed while scanning that half of the files, again dividing it in halves etc. Quite a time laborious process. I took a slightly different approach. I used the Process Monitor from Sysinternals. This program allows you to monitor which files Winamp accesses. In Process Monitor, you can set filters so that it only shows processes related to winamp.exe.
Using Process Monitor, I could see that Winamp would each time crash on the same single MP3 file. I could also see that before crashing, there would still be internet traffic to service.gracenote.com. This could sometimes even take something like 15 mins. So for instance, I could see that the last MP3 file was scanned at 22:00, after that only internet activity to service.gracenote.com, while Winamp would finally crash at 22:15 (as example). This long delay between the access to the last MP3 file, and the eventual crash does not happen if I only add a small collection of MP3 files.
At least Process Monitor helped me to narrow down the offending file. As an extra test I have tried to add only this album to the media library (starting again with a fresh profile folder) and scan the library to build the playlist generator. In this case Winamp would indeed crash immediately, which shows that the problem has nothing to do with memory issues. In this case, with adding only a single album, there would also not be a long delay between the scanning of the last file, and the moment that Winamp crashes.
An issue with the MP3 file?
I took a close look at the MP3 file which caused the problem, but could not find any issue with it. Both MP3Val and MP3Diags could not find any problem with the file. The file contains no embedded folder art, and has correct ID3v2 tags. There are also no strange symbols in the filename. I have temporary removed this file from the MP3 collection, and tried again. And also this time, Winamp crashed. And this time, the offending MP3 file came from the same album. So perhaps there is some problem with this complete album?
Re-encoding the files / removing tags.
Since it may actually be a problem associated with this entire album, maybe it's the MP3 encoding, or there is something wrong with the tags. So I tried two things; one folder with the same files, but with all the MP3 tags removed completely (with Tag&Rename), and one folder in which I have re-encoded the MP3 files (Lame). Again, Winamp crashed, in both cases! So it apparently has nothing to do with the MP3 tags, and also reencoding the files did not solve the issue.
So how does the playlist generator work?
From what I read, the playlist generator scans all MP3 files with Gracenote's "music recognition". As I understand, this means that it actually tries to determine which song it is based on the music itself, and does not use the MP3 metadata. Is this correct? Does it also take into account which album a specific song belongs to, or does it evaluate each MP3 file separately? Could it be that, for some reason, specific albums are problematic?
I think that I performed some elaborate tests, which at least helped to rule out a number of issues, but nevertheless did not solve the problem. And I'm out of ideas how to continue. I hope that this topic is helpful for others who experience similar problems, and welcome any feedback or suggestions.
For the sake of completeness I list below the crash log, and the details of my setup:
Setup:
Windows 7 x64, SP1
CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E600
RAM: 4 GB
Winamp crash log (only first part);
My situation:
I have quite a large MP3 database (although I think that the term large is very relative on this forum) of ~ 13.000 MP3 files. The database only contains MP3 files, no other media files. MP3 files are sorted by albums, and for each album the tags are checked with Tag&Rename. Up to a few weeks ago, I was able to use the playlist generator without any problem. However, I have recently reinstalled Windows, and with that installed the latest Winamp version. Unfortunately I cannot figure out anymore which version of Winamp I was using before, but it must have been a version that was at least 2 years old (that was at least the time since my previous Windows reinstall).
The problem:
I perform a clean install of the latest version (5.666) of Winamp. No 3rd party plugins. Then I add the folder which contains my MP3 collection to the local library. When this folder is completely scanned, I go to Plugins > Media Library > Nullsoft Playlist Generator v1.8 > Configure selected plug-in and choose Scan to build the database. The plugin starts to do its work, which will take some time. But then during the 4th step, Winamp crashes. This happens every time that I try it. Each time that I perform a test, I reset Winamp to its original state, by replacing the Winamp profile folder (AppData\Roaming\Winamp\) with a copy of the fresh profile folder.
What I have tried:
If have read in other topics that some users were able to identify faulty MP3 files by dividing their collection in halves. And when Winamp crashed while scanning that half of the files, again dividing it in halves etc. Quite a time laborious process. I took a slightly different approach. I used the Process Monitor from Sysinternals. This program allows you to monitor which files Winamp accesses. In Process Monitor, you can set filters so that it only shows processes related to winamp.exe.
Using Process Monitor, I could see that Winamp would each time crash on the same single MP3 file. I could also see that before crashing, there would still be internet traffic to service.gracenote.com. This could sometimes even take something like 15 mins. So for instance, I could see that the last MP3 file was scanned at 22:00, after that only internet activity to service.gracenote.com, while Winamp would finally crash at 22:15 (as example). This long delay between the access to the last MP3 file, and the eventual crash does not happen if I only add a small collection of MP3 files.
At least Process Monitor helped me to narrow down the offending file. As an extra test I have tried to add only this album to the media library (starting again with a fresh profile folder) and scan the library to build the playlist generator. In this case Winamp would indeed crash immediately, which shows that the problem has nothing to do with memory issues. In this case, with adding only a single album, there would also not be a long delay between the scanning of the last file, and the moment that Winamp crashes.
An issue with the MP3 file?
I took a close look at the MP3 file which caused the problem, but could not find any issue with it. Both MP3Val and MP3Diags could not find any problem with the file. The file contains no embedded folder art, and has correct ID3v2 tags. There are also no strange symbols in the filename. I have temporary removed this file from the MP3 collection, and tried again. And also this time, Winamp crashed. And this time, the offending MP3 file came from the same album. So perhaps there is some problem with this complete album?
Re-encoding the files / removing tags.
Since it may actually be a problem associated with this entire album, maybe it's the MP3 encoding, or there is something wrong with the tags. So I tried two things; one folder with the same files, but with all the MP3 tags removed completely (with Tag&Rename), and one folder in which I have re-encoded the MP3 files (Lame). Again, Winamp crashed, in both cases! So it apparently has nothing to do with the MP3 tags, and also reencoding the files did not solve the issue.
So how does the playlist generator work?
From what I read, the playlist generator scans all MP3 files with Gracenote's "music recognition". As I understand, this means that it actually tries to determine which song it is based on the music itself, and does not use the MP3 metadata. Is this correct? Does it also take into account which album a specific song belongs to, or does it evaluate each MP3 file separately? Could it be that, for some reason, specific albums are problematic?
I think that I performed some elaborate tests, which at least helped to rule out a number of issues, but nevertheless did not solve the problem. And I'm out of ideas how to continue. I hope that this topic is helpful for others who experience similar problems, and welcome any feedback or suggestions.
For the sake of completeness I list below the crash log, and the details of my setup:
Setup:
Windows 7 x64, SP1
CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E600
RAM: 4 GB
Winamp crash log (only first part);
code:
Winamp client version: 5.66
winamp caused an Access Violation (0xc0000005)
in module CddbMusicIDWinamp.dll at 0023:0356a550.
Exception handler called in Winamp.
Error occurred at 1/31/2014 22:18:50.
C:\Program Files (x86)\Winamp\winamp.exe, run by Herman.
Operating system: Windows 7 (6.1.7601).
2 processor(s), type 586.
51% memory in use.
4095 MBytes physical memory.
1968 MBytes physical memory free.
0 MBytes paging file.
0 MBytes paging file free.
0 MBytes user address space.
3892 MBytes user address space free.
Read from location 2ba336ac caused an access violation.
Context:
EDI: 0x75db3e59 ESI: 0x09e894a0 EAX: 0x09d90ef0
EBX: 0x00000000 ECX: 0x03568a0a EDX: 0x00000000
EIP: 0x0356a550 EBP: 0x043efce0 SegCs: 0x00000023
EFlags: 0x00010213 ESP: 0x043ef94c SegSs: 0x0000002b
Bytes at CS:EIP:
8b 84 85 0c fe ff ff 3b c3 74 1e 8b 4d 10 8b 09
Stack:
0x043ef94c: 043ef94c 043ef950 043ef954 043ef958 .F.D............
0x043ef95c: 043ef95c 043ef960 043ef964 043ef968 ................
0x043ef96c: 043ef96c 043ef970 043ef974 043ef978 ................
0x043ef97c: 043ef97c 043ef980 043ef984 043ef988 ................
0x043ef98c: 043ef98c 043ef990 043ef994 043ef998 ................
0x043ef99c: 043ef99c 043ef9a0 043ef9a4 043ef9a8 ................
0x043ef9ac: 043ef9ac 043ef9b0 043ef9b4 043ef9b8 ................
0x043ef9bc: 043ef9bc 043ef9c0 043ef9c4 043ef9c8 ................
0x043ef9cc: 043ef9cc 043ef9d0 043ef9d4 043ef9d8 ................
0x043ef9dc: 043ef9dc 043ef9e0 043ef9e4 043ef9e8 ................
0x043ef9ec: 043ef9ec 043ef9f0 043ef9f4 043ef9f8 ................
0x043ef9fc: 043ef9fc 043efa00 043efa04 043efa08 ................
0x043efa0c: 043efa0c 043efa10 043efa14 043efa18 ................
0x043efa1c: 043efa1c 043efa20 043efa24 043efa28 ................
0x043efa2c: 043efa2c 043efa30 043efa34 043efa38 ................
0x043efa3c: 043efa3c 043efa40 043efa44 043efa48 ................
0x043efa4c: 043efa4c 043efa50 043efa54 043efa58 ................
0x043efa5c: 043efa5c 043efa60 043efa64 043efa68 ................
0x043efa6c: 043efa6c 043efa70 043efa74 043efa78 ................
0x043efa7c: 043efa7c 043efa80 043efa84 043efa88 ................
0x043efa8c: 043efa8c 043efa90 043efa94 043efa98 ................
0x043efa9c: 043efa9c 043efaa0 043efaa4 043efaa8 ................
0x043efaac: 043efaac 043efab0 043efab4 043efab8 ................
0x043efabc: 043efabc 043efac0 043efac4 043efac8 ................
0x043efacc: 043efacc 043efad0 043efad4 043efad8 ................
0x043efadc: 043efadc 043efae0 043efae4 043efae8 ................
0x043efaec: 043efaec 043efaf0 043efaf4 043efaf8 ................
0x043efafc: 043efafc 043efb00 043efb04 043efb08 ................
0x043efb0c: 043efb0c 043efb10 043efb14 043efb18 ................
0x043efb1c: 043efb1c 043efb20 043efb24 043efb28 ................
0x043efb2c: 043efb2c 043efb30 043efb34 043efb38 ................
0x043efb3c: 043efb3c 043efb40 043efb44 043efb48 ................
0x043efb4c: 043efb4c 043efb50 043efb54 043efb58 ................
0x043efb5c: 043efb5c 043efb60 043efb64 043efb68 ................
0x043efb6c: 043efb6c 043efb70 043efb74 043efb78 ................
0x043efb7c: 043efb7c 043efb80 043efb84 043efb88 ................
0x043efb8c: 043efb8c 043efb90 043efb94 043efb98 ................
0x043efb9c: 043efb9c 043efba0 043efba4 043efba8 ................
0x043efbac: 043efbac 043efbb0 043efbb4 043efbb8 ................
0x043efbbc: 043efbbc 043efbc0 043efbc4 043efbc8 ................
0x043efbcc: 043efbcc 043efbd0 043efbd4 043efbd8 ................
0x043efbdc: 043efbdc 043efbe0 043efbe4 043efbe8 ................
0x043efbec: 043efbec 043efbf0 043efbf4 043efbf8 ................
0x043efbfc: 043efbfc 043efc00 043efc04 043efc08 ................
0x043efc0c: 043efc0c 043efc10 043efc14 043efc18 ................
0x043efc1c: 043efc1c 043efc20 043efc24 043efc28 ................
0x043efc2c: 043efc2c 043efc30 043efc34 043efc38 ................
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0x043efc4c: 043efc4c 043efc50 043efc54 043efc58 ................
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0x043efc7c: 043efc7c 043efc80 043efc84 043efc88 .0..zjV..jV.....
0x043efc8c: 043efc8c 043efc90 043efc94 043efc98 g...............
0x043efc9c: 043efc9c 043efca0 043efca4 043efca8 ................
0x043efcac: 043efcac 043efcb0 043efcb4 043efcb8 p.......$.>.e...
0x043efcbc: 043efcbc 043efcc0 043efcc4 043efcc8 ....||>.4.2.H4!.
0x043efccc: 043efccc 043efcd0 043efcd4 043efcd8 x.......D.>.;.\.
0x043efcdc: 043efcdc 043efce0 043efce4 043efce8 ....P.>.l.V.....
0x043efcec: 043efcec 043efcf0 043efcf4 043efcf8 ,.>. .>.5G.D....
0x043efcfc: 043efcfc 043efd00 043efd04 043efd08 ....l.......P.>.
0x043efd0c: 043efd0c 043efd10 043efd14 043efd18 ................
0x043efd1c: 043efd1c 043efd20 043efd24 043efd28 ................
0x043efd2c: 043efd2c 043efd30 043efd34 043efd38 ........t{>..0..
0x043efd3c: 043efd3c 043efd40 043efd44 043efd48 ..........>.Y.\.
0x043efd4c: 043efd4c 043efd50 043efd54 043efd58 ......>...W.x+..
0x043efd5c: 043efd5c 043efd60 043efd64 043efd68 .G.D....x+...+..
0x043efd6c: 043efd6c 043efd70 043efd74 043efd78 x+..............
0x043efd7c: 043efd7c 043efd80 043efd84 043efd88 T.>.............
0x043efd8c: 043efd8c 043efd90 043efd94 043efd98 ....x...........
0x043efd9c: 043efd9c 043efda0 043efda4 043efda8 ||>.....h...x+..
0x043efdac: 043efdac 043efdb0 043efdb4 043efdb8 ......>.(.\.....
0x043efdbc: 043efdbc 043efdc0 043efdc4 043efdc8 ..>.<[email protected]
0x043efdcc: 043efdcc 043efdd0 043efdd4 043efdd8 ..>...>.iD.D.+..
0x043efddc: 043efddc 043efde0 043efde4 043efde8 x+...........+..
0x043efdec: 043efdec 043efdf0 043efdf4 043efdf8 [email protected]
0x043efdfc: 043efdfc 043efe00 043efe04 043efe08 ......>.L.\.....
0x043efe0c: 043efe0c 043efe10 043efe14 043efe18 $.>...W..Q......
0x043efe1c: 043efe1c 043efe20 043efe24 043efe28 [email protected]>...W.
0x043efe2c: 043efe2c 043efe30 043efe34 043efe38 .Q..x+..x+......
0x043efe3c: 043efe3c 043efe40 043efe44 043efe48 ....P.>.;.W..Q..
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0x043efe5c: 043efe5c 043efe60 043efe64 043efe68 .Q...,..x+..."Xw
0x043efe6c: 043efe6c 043efe70 043efe74 043efe78 (,....>..f......
0x043efe7c: 043efe7c 043efe80 043efe84 043efe88 .,...Q..h.......
0x043efe8c: 043efe8c 043efe90 043efe94 043efe98 x+....>.06..p.q.
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0x043efecc: 043efecc 043efed0 043efed4 043efed8 ................
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0x043efefc: 043efefc 043eff00 043eff04 043eff08 ................
0x043eff0c: 043eff0c 043eff10 043eff14 043eff18 ................
0x043eff1c: 043eff1c 043eff20 043eff24 043eff28 ................
0x043eff2c: 043eff2c 043eff30 043eff34 043eff38 ................
0x043eff3c: 043eff3c 043eff40 043eff44 043eff48 .....]....>..z..
0x043eff4c: 043eff4c 043eff50 043eff54 043eff58 e2G.............
0x043eff5c: 043eff5c 043eff60 043eff64 043eff68 ....p.q..da..L..
0x043eff6c: 043eff6c 043eff70 043eff74 043eff78 .........z......
0x043eff7c: 043eff7c 043eff80 043eff84 043eff88 ......>.?/G.....
0x043eff8c: 043eff8c 043eff90 043eff94 043eff98 j3.up.q...>.2.Yw
0x043eff9c: 043eff9c 043effa0 043effa4 043effa8 p.q....s........
0x043effac: 043effac 043effb0 043effb4 043effb8 p.q......v.u.v.u
0x043effbc: 043effbc 043effc0 043effc4 043effc8 ..>...>.....eq]w
0x043effcc: 043effcc 043effd0 043effd4 043effd8 !9........>...Yw
0x043effdc: 043effdc 043effe0 043effe4 043effe8 5/G.p.q.........
0x043effec: 043effec 043efff0 043efff4 043efff8 ........5/G.p.q.
0x043efffc: 043efffc
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