Random computer pauses caused my MM

[shuck]

I am currently running MM 3.0.7.1191. It seems to be causing periodic pausing or freezing of my computer. The pauses last about a second and happen about every 15-20 seconds while music is playing. As I am typing this, every few words, the Mediamonky.exe process hops up to #3 on the process list (1-2%, sorted by CPU usage) and at the same time, my letters stop appearing. It seems to get worse when it is switching to the next song. This behavior is across all applications, whether I am typing, scrolling, or anything else while music is playing.

I keep my music files and database on a network server, but no other applications cause this problem while accessing the network. I have also tried moving my database on to the local computer with similar results.

I am running a dual Xeon 3.2HT with 4GB of RAM - Windows XP (32 bit), Nvidia GF 9500, and SAS hard drives.

Ryan

[Lowlander]

Maybe you should try switching output plugins or try a different input plugin like MAD. 1-2% CPU usage shouldn't cause any hiccups.

[shuck]

It's definitely not a CPU usage issue. I have a total of 4 virtual cores, so even if one of them got pegged it shouldn't affect what I'm doing on the other 3. It has to be something to do with an interrupt request or something along those lines. I'll check out the different input plugins to see if one of those clears it up. In the meantime, any other ideas? Like I said, it's the worst when it's changing to the next song.

Also, even if it is a plugin, I'd like to figure out why that plugin is causing this to happen.

[Lowlander]

When you say virtual cores do you mean you have a software that creates these virtual cores or do you have a multi-core CPU?

As for the plugins, I don't know why they fail/misbehave on some systems, but by what users post on the forum this does happen. If you find a faulty plugin and wish to investigate further you can contact support.

[shuck]

I mean I have Xeons with Hyperthreading. So I have two real CPUs and two virtual CPUs from the HT.

[MeMeMe]

Are you using any scripts?

[shuck]

Nope, it's just a basic install of MM Gold.

[nohitter151]

Does the same lockup occur when playing tracks on a local drive? Maybe your network is bottlenecking MM somehow, just a thought.

[bkothe]

I have the same problem with version 3.0.7.1191 Gold. I am running Win XP SP2, Intel Core 2 Duo 2.0Ghz CPU and 2GB RAM. I did not had this problem until I upgraded to this version on MM. I use MM all day while working and it gets quite annoying. The MM database and library are stored on an external USB 2.0 enclosure housing a Western Digital Caviar SE 160GB 7200 RPM IDE Ultra ATA100 drive. The drive is connected to the machine through a USB hub and I tried bypassing the hub and connected directly to the machine but still had the problems.

I'm at a loss here. Does anyone have an answer for this?

[Lowlander]

Did you try switching output plugins or a different input plugin as suggested in this thread?

[bkothe]

I installed the MAD input plug-in 0.14.2b yesterday morning and still had problems all day.

I am using the MediaMonkey DirectSound output plug-in. I will switch to the waveOut output plug-in v2.0.2a and see what happens.

Any other ideas?

[fadathy]

This sounds very similar to what I have been seeing (I have several posts in the 'Bugs' forum detailing my issue). So far, I've not heard anything in terms of a solution or acknowledgment that there is an issue. It's good to know I'm not the only one experiencing this. I'd really like to keep using MM, but this problem makes it almost unusable for me.

[rovingcowboy]

i seen two of you say windows xp. one says xp sp2.

update to sp3 it is to fix slowness of xp computers Microsoft said as much in their release statement when they
first posted the sp3. and it does speed up the windows OS a little by removing things they found they did not need in the system. and by some other stuff being fixed. sp2 is 2 almost 3 years out of date. sp3 has been released as stable for the last year and a half. there have been several updates to the system files for the computers after sp3 was released so not getting sp3 only stops you from even finding out you need other updates.

i just can not understand why people wont' update their systems unless they have some extreme hardware issue.

my sisters hp computer is even running the sp3 update from windows download. so hp computers don't argue about getting it anymore. as mentioned several times in other posts there are errors being reported here i know are fixed by sp3 and later updates you only find out about after you get the sp3. i know this cause i have had those errors and got them fixed with the updates from windows.
why the mass resistance to updating windows is going on i don't know? there is one update they came out with 3 days ago that will mess up IE 8. but that is only if you have IE 8 which you shouldn't have if you don't have sp3 on your xp system.

i just find it very hard to expect rusty and the others to fix errors they can't find because they have updated their systems and don't get the errors. i have seen rusty say that he can't get them in some of the posts i know they were fixed by Microsoft. I'm not really yelling at anyone here in this post i just can't understand not wanting to get updates to fix errors? to me i get every update from ms and other software producers for the programs i have. and i run maintenance every day on my systems its the only way windows can be kept running with out tons of errors.

even mac OS is not a get in and go merry o lee down the road program it needs updates and maintenance done also.
just not as much as windows.

updates and maintenance the two most needed things on computers and the two most over looked items.

[bkothe]

i just can not understand why people wont' update their systems unless they have some extreme hardware issue.

I get what your saying about the MS updates. I do install all the necessary security updates but I just haven't taken the leap to SP3. It took me until they stopped supporting SP1 until I updated to SP2. Why? You kind of answerd it in your comment I quoted above, if there is no hardware issue Ihave no reason to update because the system is stable. I also believe that the more tech savvy users, those who make a living using their computer, will question the updates and will be more picky as to what they install. This is unlike your normal average everyday user who most likely doesn't even pay attention to the updates MS automatically installs on their machine.

As I pay more attention to my random pauses I realize that it is most likely not MM at least not in my situation. It's happened twice while typing this and I am not even running MM. I am going to do some research on SP3 and then decide if I want to install it. Thanks for the idea.

[DaveStewart]

I've been getting this for months, but recently it's got so bad, sometimes my machine freezes for about 2 - 3 seconds. It is <censored> annoying, and cause me to shout out loud at my computer.

I'm on Vista 64 bit. I don't think this is an OS issue - it's a MM issue.

The music will play on just fine, but every app will become completely unresponsive. I can't remember if you can ALT+tab or not.

C'mon Media Monkey, don't make like Ford and bury your heads in the sand over this one...