Could it have something to do with my router? It always worked before.
Help! I miss my G-Force!
Toolbar crashing on 3.7.5
Toolbar crashing on 3.7.5
New PC build, new installation. When G-Force is started, toolbar starts to load but usually freezes. When it DOES load completely there are no selections within any field. Visualizer works perfectly, even when toolbar is turned off from task manager. I understand that this sounds like a firewall issue, but it happens even with my firewall turned completely off!
Could it have something to do with my router? It always worked before.
Help! I miss my G-Force!
Could it have something to do with my router? It always worked before.
Help! I miss my G-Force!
Well, I'm having a very very similar issue. And I've tried 3.74 as well as 3.75, but same failure. Winamp 5.51.
I don't actually want to run the Toolbar, and normally inhibit it by turning off the "start with Winamp" option. However for some reason on this newly reinstalled [WinXP Pro] system I'm getting TWO error messages from Toolbar about 10 seconds after the MP3 playback starts:
"The Toolbar failed to connect to G-Force in "Winamp (running on DFW)".
Firewalls and network security software can interfere with the toolbar's ability to establish a connection to G-Force. Try modifying your network security settings in order to fix the problem."
I have no idea what this is really saying, since Winamp and G-Force and Toolbar are running on one and the same machine (DFW).
I've never had any problem with suppressing Toolbar, and in fact the Toolbar Preferences show "do not start with Winamp". So why is it even starting??? I've been running Winamp 5.51 and G-Force 3.75 for almost three months without any problem, on two machines! This problem has now only appeared on the reinstall of WinXP Pro on one of those two machines. There was not problem on the reinstall of WinXP Pro on the other machine.
Ok... what is the real problem here, and how can I fix it???
Thanks.
Incidentally... the visualization window continues to run normally. It's only Toolbar which issues TWO identical error message windows, and actually sometimes cause Winamp and the desktop to corrupt when I push the OK button. In other words, sometimes when I try to close Winamp half of the GUI is left on the desktop. Or, same garbage out of the Toolbar itself which does not fully disappear. I have to re-boot to clean things up.
I don't actually want to run the Toolbar, and normally inhibit it by turning off the "start with Winamp" option. However for some reason on this newly reinstalled [WinXP Pro] system I'm getting TWO error messages from Toolbar about 10 seconds after the MP3 playback starts:
"The Toolbar failed to connect to G-Force in "Winamp (running on DFW)".
Firewalls and network security software can interfere with the toolbar's ability to establish a connection to G-Force. Try modifying your network security settings in order to fix the problem."
I have no idea what this is really saying, since Winamp and G-Force and Toolbar are running on one and the same machine (DFW).
I've never had any problem with suppressing Toolbar, and in fact the Toolbar Preferences show "do not start with Winamp". So why is it even starting??? I've been running Winamp 5.51 and G-Force 3.75 for almost three months without any problem, on two machines! This problem has now only appeared on the reinstall of WinXP Pro on one of those two machines. There was not problem on the reinstall of WinXP Pro on the other machine.
Ok... what is the real problem here, and how can I fix it???
Thanks.
Incidentally... the visualization window continues to run normally. It's only Toolbar which issues TWO identical error message windows, and actually sometimes cause Winamp and the desktop to corrupt when I push the OK button. In other words, sometimes when I try to close Winamp half of the GUI is left on the desktop. Or, same garbage out of the Toolbar itself which does not fully disappear. I have to re-boot to clean things up.
Well I was finally able to manually correct "Global Preferences" and "Toolbar Preferences" myself, forcing Toolbar not to autostart.
I compared the two problematic installed file versions (which I know cause the problematic autostart of Toolbar with G-Force, something I've complained about ever since Toolbar... which I don't use... was first invented) of the preferences files against the same two files on my other machine's "working" version of G-Force (where Toolbar is disabled).
Though I changed two values in Toolbar Preferences as well, I believe it was forcing ATol=0 in Global Preferences that seems to have done the trick. Toolbar no longer autostarts and my problem is resolved.
Now the only real remaining mystery is what might have caused the problem in the first place. I thought it might have something to do with NTFS Security access rights and owner, but I've checked everything in all relevant files and folders in \Documents and Settings and there doesn't seem to be any "access denied" so I don't see how this could be a factor. Plus, I was able to manually change the files, so surely the program could also do it. Anyway, this still wouldn't explain the "cannot connect..." error message.
I compared the two problematic installed file versions (which I know cause the problematic autostart of Toolbar with G-Force, something I've complained about ever since Toolbar... which I don't use... was first invented) of the preferences files against the same two files on my other machine's "working" version of G-Force (where Toolbar is disabled).
Though I changed two values in Toolbar Preferences as well, I believe it was forcing ATol=0 in Global Preferences that seems to have done the trick. Toolbar no longer autostarts and my problem is resolved.
Now the only real remaining mystery is what might have caused the problem in the first place. I thought it might have something to do with NTFS Security access rights and owner, but I've checked everything in all relevant files and folders in \Documents and Settings and there doesn't seem to be any "access denied" so I don't see how this could be a factor. Plus, I was able to manually change the files, so surely the program could also do it. Anyway, this still wouldn't explain the "cannot connect..." error message.
dsperber wrote:Well I was finally able to manually correct "Global Preferences" and "Toolbar Preferences" myself, forcing Toolbar not to autostart.
I compared the two problematic installed file versions (which I know cause the problematic autostart of Toolbar with G-Force, something I've complained about ever since Toolbar... which I don't use... was first invented) of the preferences files against the same two files on my other machine's "working" version of G-Force (where Toolbar is disabled).
Though I changed two values in Toolbar Preferences as well, I believe it was forcing ATol=0 in Global Preferences that seems to have done the trick. Toolbar no longer autostarts and my problem is resolved.
Now the only real remaining mystery is what might have caused the problem in the first place. I thought it might have something to do with NTFS Security access rights and owner, but I've checked everything in all relevant files and folders in \Documents and Settings and there doesn't seem to be any "access denied" so I don't see how this could be a factor. Plus, I was able to manually change the files, so surely the program could also do it. Anyway, this still wouldn't explain the "cannot connect..." error message.
dont know why you wouldnt want to use the toolbar but you can set the toolbar to not open from within the toolbar preferences themselves. once you turn off GF the new settings will be saved. If you try to edit the prefs file while GF is running it will cause the settings to revert to default when you shut it off. also each time you reinstall GF you should delete the folder containg the prefs files because the new instalation will look to the old prefs files in order to maintain your previous settings. If this file is not overwritten propperly GF will not work as has been the case for others.
what firewall do you use? nortons is not that easy to modify and windows firewall uses the ALG.exe (application layer gateway ) to help apps connect to the net there may be a conflict between the two.
some say windows looses its conncectivity when ALG.EXE is not running. I personally dont need to have it running on my computer as I dont use windows firewall but maybe this is related to your probs.
I have no reason to dynamically change anything. My G-Force preferences are customized exactly as I like the program to perform, and I just want it to start and work when I play an MP3 with Winamp. I find the visualization accompanying the music entertaining on one monitor while I do my real work on another. I don't want to be bothered with anything else.juxtiphi wrote:dont know why you wouldnt want to use the toolbar
Also, when I had a single monitor I didn't like the amount of desktop real estate taken up with Toolbar. It didn't exist before what, version 3? I had no problem without it before then, and still don't know what it really can do for me now. I consider the visualization window just an automatically initiated part of Winamp, and that's how I like it.
I know that. The problem is that toolbar was crashing when auto-started by Winamp the first time it was activated after a fresh install (into a previously non-existent \Soundspectrum folder in \Documents and Settings).but you can set the toolbar to not open from within the toolbar preferences themselves. once you turn off GF the new settings will be saved.
And because it crashed, I never could turn off the "autostart with Winamp" setting and save that updated preferences successfully!
So everytime I started Winamp I still got the original Toolbar preferences and Global preferences, which continued to auto-start Toolbar which continued to crash! No way to update it (other than manually with Winamp and Toolbar closed, which I finally decided to do).
Personally, I don't know why Global preferences isn't delivered and installed with the auto-start option OFF by default, instead of ON by default. If you want it, start Toolbar manually (from G-Force) and then change the preferences to auto-start it. This is just as reasonable an idea as delivering it ON by default. Perhaps even providing it as an installation option, if that were possible (but I don't think it is using the standard Winamp installation tool, but I may be wrong).
Of course I would only edit the preferences with GF and Winamp and Toolbar not open.If you try to edit the prefs file while GF is running it will cause the settings to revert to default when you shut it off.
Well, this has frequently not been the case until just recently if I recall correctly.also each time you reinstall GF you should delete the folder containing the prefs files because the new instalation will look to the old prefs files in order to maintain your previous settings. If this file is not overwritten properly GF will not work as has been the case for others.
In other words, up until perhaps just 3.74 or 3.75, new installs of G-Force without first deleting the old preferences (all of them) didn't matter at all. The installation automatically replaced all of them with a "from-scratch" default new one, and I had to re-customize everything all over again... including getting into Toolbar preferences via Yoolbar (which auto-started again) and turning it off again. I think that preserving the user's customized preferences and not overlaying them is something quite new.
None. I rely on my hardware Netgear router to be my firewall. I have Windows Firewall turned off.what firewall do you use? nortons is not that easy to modify and windows firewall uses the ALG.exe (application layer gateway ) to help apps connect to the net there may be a conflict between the two.
And besides, we're not talking about remote access here. G-Force and Toolbar are running on the very same machine [DFW] specifically identified in the error message where Winamp is obviously running! It was the launch of Winamp that launched G-Force that launched Toolbar... all on the same machine. It makes no sense to me to "not be able to connect to Winamp".
And clearly, once I suppressed the auto-start of Toolbar by manually editing preferences, the "problem" disappeared! Sure enough G-Force is now able to receive data from Winamp and the visualization behaves perfectly normally and correctly (just as it did, I might add, even when Toolbar was auto-starting and then crashing... the G-Force visualization window continued to behave normally).
Anyway, I've never seen this problem before on any machine I've ever installed G-Force on, with any release of G-force and with any version of Windows. I don't really blame G-Force, although if Andy would explain what it is that was triggering this message perhaps I might be able to explain why I got the error in this first-time-ever situation. Obviously there is something different about this particular system that is different from any other environment I've every worked in before.
For example, maybe it's a memory-related issue. This is the first time I've ever had 4GB on a machine (theoretically supported by WinXP Pro SP2, although System Properties shows only 3GB plus "Physical Address Extension").
Maybe it's something about the 4GB plus hardware features (e.g. DEP) supported by the new X38 chipset on my state-of-the-art Supermicro C2SBX motherboard, which has caused the install of WinXP Pro SP2 to build something unique, that is incompatible with something G-Force is doing and has never run into before my particular situation.
Again... if Andy would chime in here, we might be able to chase down this "cannot connect" error. In the meantime I've overcome it by manually editing Toolbar preferences to turn off auto-start, and for me that's sufficient to consider the problem conquered and case closed.
Well, I had occasion to reinstall WinXP again this week... for a variety of reasons.
This time I was very very careful to watch all of my NTFS security settings (owner, permissions, etc.) on all drives and all folders, especially when restoring previous program folders and settings from a backup tape.
And, not surprisingly, this time even though Toolbar opened again the first time G-Force was started I had no trouble changing the default initial preferences to set "no auto-start". And this time the changed settings got saved properly. And this time there was no "cannot contact Winamp" message.
Not a suprise.
So I'm going to assume that my previous experience was 100% tied to unfortunate "access denied" circumstances on previous files/folders restored from backup tape. This time I was careful to always un-check the "restore NTFS file permissions" before doing the restore, so as to let my new current Windows automatically assign "everyone" or the equivalent to the restored objects.
And everything is now working just fine... like it always did before converting all of my partitions to NTFS.
Case closed.
This time I was very very careful to watch all of my NTFS security settings (owner, permissions, etc.) on all drives and all folders, especially when restoring previous program folders and settings from a backup tape.
And, not surprisingly, this time even though Toolbar opened again the first time G-Force was started I had no trouble changing the default initial preferences to set "no auto-start". And this time the changed settings got saved properly. And this time there was no "cannot contact Winamp" message.
Not a suprise.
So I'm going to assume that my previous experience was 100% tied to unfortunate "access denied" circumstances on previous files/folders restored from backup tape. This time I was careful to always un-check the "restore NTFS file permissions" before doing the restore, so as to let my new current Windows automatically assign "everyone" or the equivalent to the restored objects.
And everything is now working just fine... like it always did before converting all of my partitions to NTFS.
Case closed.
Baffled
Well folks, ten months later and I'm writing about the same problem. My subscription ran out, a few months later I renewed it, installed the new version, now all my options are grayed out again. I have disconnected my router, turned off my AV, turned off my firewall, and still nothing. I've fully uninstalled, deleted the soundspectrum folder, emptied the recycle bin, restarted, and reinstalled only to have that blank toolbar stare back at me every time.
The last time I had this problem, I never found a solution. It just magically fixed itself. Am I missing a step that i should know about? HELP!
Currently trying to install 3.8.5
The last time I had this problem, I never found a solution. It just magically fixed itself. Am I missing a step that i should know about? HELP!
Currently trying to install 3.8.5