Not So Frequently Asked Questions

This page is temporary, and not a replacement for the FAQ. Please only add valuable content (not just typo fixes) that isn't in the FAQ already. The intention is to summarize multiple interesting forum posts, so this information can later easily be found back. This page may later be split into different pages once the necessary categories are fully known.

MediaMonkey Graphical User Interface

Showing lyrics within MediaMonkey

Third Party Programs

• MiniLyrics with MiniLyrics Embedder: Embeds the MiniLyrics program in MediaMonkey, so it minimizes and moves together
• EvilLyrics with EvilTagger: Adds external lyrics text files to the song's lyrics

Independant scripts

• MonkeyRok: displays (not-timestamped) lyrics from your library
• Inline Lyrics: displays (only LRC timestamped) lyrics in a progress bar at the bottom of your MM window
• Lyric Timer: reads your (not-timestamped) lyrics and allows you to easily assign basic timestamps (for use with e.g. the Inline Lyrics script)
• Simple Lyrics Viewer: simply statically shows the lyrics in a panel

Independant skins (starting from MM3)

• Glided: will include a lyrics-viewer in the information screen in future releases.

Fix Strange User Interface Problems

Missing Internal Player

1. Close MediaMonkey
2. Open MediaMonkey's configuration file (normally "MediaMonkey.ini" in folder "My Documents\My Music\MediaMonkey")
3. Locate the category [Appearance]

   Set the values as follows:

   • PlayerPosition=3
   • PlayerSticky=0
   • PlayerVisible=1

   You can also just delete the above 3 lines, with the same effect.

4. After restart MediaMonkey, the player should be back.

The problem can also be fixed if you delete registry key HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Songs-DB\Interface\Toolbars\TBXWinAmpSkin

Purple Squares on the Skin

Set your Windows Display Settings to "High Color" or "Highest Color" through Control Panel > Display > Settings > Color Quality.

After a restart of MediaMonkey, everything should be fine.

Other Problems

1. Close MediaMonkey
2. Delete registry key HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Songs-DB\Interface
3. After restart MediaMonkey, the problem should be fixed.

In rare cases, a re-installation of MediaMonkey may be required.

MediaMonkey Functionality

Customizable Global Hotkeys

Starting from MM3, customizable global hotkeys are built in. For MM2, you have to use external plugins:

• Winamp's default plugin: gen_hotkeys.dll
• HotKeyz: http://www.skynergy.com/hotkeyz.html
• HotKeyControl http://www.digital-miner.com/hkcontrol.html
• Other links (mostly Winamp plugins): http://www.mediamonkey.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=7048

MediaMonkey Is Working Too Slow

Certain actions may require a lot of time:

• Adding new files or doing a startup scan (especially when searching for duplicates is enabled)
• Checking for duplicates
• Checking for unsynchronised tags
• Tagging a lot of tracks as once

So it might be quite normal that MediaMonkey is slow on such tasks.

Is your computer fast enough?

• Is your computer's processor (CPU) fast enough, and do you have enough RAM?
• Is your computer heavily loaded (servers, lots of applications, malware). Check out Windows' Task Manager. CPU should be significantly less than 100%, and you should have enough RAM left.
• Is your hard drive not to fragmented? Use Windows Defragmenter to defragment your hard drive.

Is your library clean and compact?

• See if compacting MediaMonkey's library helps though menu File > Maintain Library ... > Compact database
• Although MediaMonkey supports huge libraries (depending on your system of course), there is a limit.

Are Plugins or Scripts slowing causing slowdowns?

• See if disabling scripts helps:
  • Rename MediaMonkey's Plugins folder to disable all scripts (including input and output plugins)
  • OR disable only specific plugins by change their file extension (e.g. from .dll to .dll.off)
• See if disabling scripts helps:
  • Rename MediaMonkey's Scripts\Auto folder to disable all auto scripts
  • OR disable only specific auto-scripts by changing their file extension (e.g. from .vbs to .vbs.off)
  • Rename MediaMonkey's Scripts\Scripts.ini file and create a new empty Scripts.ini file.

Always restart MediaMonkey to see the result.

Trim MP3 Silence

MediaMonkey3 default input plugin (Monkey's audio player (v3.99+) in_ape.dll) is able to trim silence at the beginning of tracks and also fade-in/out.

MediaMonkey2 on the other hand can't trim silence of mp3's, but some input plugins (including DirectSound Output plugin) can remove it for playback. To trim silence of mp3 files, you best use a specialized (but free) tool that preserves all audio quality (by directly working on the compressed mp3 file):

• MPTrim (simple interface): Trimming, fading, volume amplification and cleaning of mp3 files.

  For the astronomical price of $70, the Pro version can do batch operations.

• mp3DirectCut (graphical and/or command line interface): Trimming, splitting (with CUE file creation), cut/copy/paste, fading, volume amplification, normalisation and recording.

Wrong Track Length Display

A similar problem is the inability to seek, or strange problems with seeking within a playing song.

This is usually caused by errors in the music files, or by bugs in the used decoder (input plugin).

To resolve the problem:

• Analyze/repair mp3 files with VbrFix (for VBR files) or Mp3Val (for both CBR and VBR files).
• Try playing the song with another input plugin. For MediaMonkey, you can try MediaMonkey's mp3 plugin (in_wmp3.dll), the MAD plugin (in_mad.dll) or the Mpg123 plugin (in_mpg123.dll).

To identify the plugin used to play the current song, click in the top-left corner of the player and click "Configure current input plug-in".

To force a plugin not to be used (to test other plugins), disable it by changing its extension from .dll to e.g. .dll.off. Restart MediaMonkey to see the changes.

Windows Shell

Remove MediaMonkey from the AutoPlay Launch Dialog

1. Start Regedit.exe (continue with caution! -- create a backup or a System Restore Point first)
2. Browse to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\AutoplayHandlers\EventHandlers\

   In all subkeys (or only those you want), look for and delete the "MediaMonkey...Handler" entries: "MediaMonkeyBurnHandler", "MediaMonkeyPlayCDHandler", "MediaMonkeyPlayHandler", "MediaMonkeyRipCDHandler", "MediaMonkeyStartHandler"

3. Browse to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\AutoplayHandlers\Handlers\

   Delete all the "MediaMonkey...Handler" subkeys (or only the ones you want, e.g. the enties you deleted in the previous step)

The same can be done using Microsoft Powertoys' TweakUI.

Re-enable a disabled Windows Balloon Tip

Starting from MM3, MediaMonkey uses it's own notification window. This information is only applicable for MM2.

1. Start Regedit.exe (continue with caution! -- create a backup or a System Restore Point first)
2. Browse to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced

   Change the value for the EnableBalloonTips entry to 1, or completely delete the EnableBalloonTips entry.

By default, MediaMonkey shows the Balloon Tip when a song starts playing. This can be changed in menu Tools > Options > General > Pop-up track info in tray.

The Windows sound associated with the Balloon Tip is "System Notification" by default.

Using Virtual Drives

Virtual Drives can be used to create a drive letter for a certain directory on your file system. It can be used to put your prefered music folder on the top-level in the My Computer node.

Run the command SUBST T: "C:\Some\Path\Leading\To\My\Music" to create a virtual drive with drive letter T leading to the "C:\Some\Path\Leading\To\My\Music" folder.

This virtual folder exists until you shut down Windows. If you want to have this Virtual Drive always available, you can use a command script to automatically run when Windows starts. Alternatively, you can create an auto-script for MediaMonkey.

Using Differentiated Music File Icons

This works on Windows 2000, Windows XP, and probably also on Windows9x.

• Make sure MediaMonkey is set to *not* automaticly associate itself with certain file extensions. Uncheck "Re-associate..." in menu Tools > Options... > General > File Types.
• Open My Computer and then menu Tools > Folder Options > tab File Types
  • Select the file extension (e.g. FLAC) of which you want to change the icon, press the Delete button and acknowledge.
  • Press the Add button and type in the file extension you want (e.g. FLAC). Make sure there's <New> or no text in the text box (when you have clicked the advanced button). This will add an "independant" file extension that will enable you to change it's file icon independantly. Press OK to add the extension.
  • Then, with the file extension (e.g. FLAC) selected, press the advanced button. Leave the upper text box empty, but change the ico as you wish. Then add the file actions (using the New button):

    Play in MediaMonkey ("C:\Program Files\MediaMonkey\MediaMonkey.exe" "%1")

    Play Last in MediaMonkey ("C:\Program Files\MediaMonkey\MediaMonkey.exe" /ADD "%1")

    Play Next in MediaMonkey ("C:\Program Files\MediaMonkey\MediaMonkey.exe" /NEXT "%1")

For all these actions, select Use DDE and fill in:

• application: MediaMonkey
• subject: System

• Press OK until all dialogs are gone.

The same can be done much faster and easier using a specialized tool, or by following the instructions in this forum post.

Device Support

Using UMS Devices on Windows 98

Windows 98 doesn't support USB Mass Storage Devices out-of-the-box. Therefore you have to install separate drivers from here.

Using iPod Devices on Windows 98

The above drivers should also work for iPods. The following drivers are specifically for iPod:

• http://www.98-drivers.com/ipod.html
• http://www.redchairsoftware.com/anapod/support/proassist.php?c=9899

Complete iPod-on-Windows98 instructions can be found on the iPodLounge Forum