No visuals after navagating away from "Playing Now"

Unmonitored G-Force bug reporting

Moderators: andy55, b.dwall

brentwoods
Posts: 1
Joined: Mon Oct 02, 2006 9:30 am

No visuals after navagating away from "Playing Now"

Post by brentwoods »

I am using GF 3.5.6 with JRMC 11.1.196. When I play a song from the library and then go to "Playing Now", gforce is displayed as it should be. If I go away from "Playing Now" (within MC) and back again, the area where gforce should be displayed retains whatever was on that part of the screen where I'd just come from. Eg. If I go to "Playing Now" now from this forum page (having previously navigated away from it WITHIN Media Center), the visualisation rectange would show the part of this web page that was "over" the visualisation part of media center.

Right clicking gives me the appropriate context menu, but it stays permanently on the screen, until navagating away and back again, but still to gforce display. Fullscreen only works on the first visit to "Playing Now" also. After that double clicking in the visualisation area brings up the top and bottom bars like in fullscreen, but no visualisation - now however the context menus appear and stick over the whole screen, until double clicking again (to leave fullscreen mode), when "Playing Now" comes backs with just the frozen visualisation rectange as before.

Would appreciate any help fixing this as it makes gforce essentially unusable. Thanks!

User avatar
juxtiphi
Moderator
Posts: 1451
Joined: Sat Jan 15, 2005 1:29 pm

Post by juxtiphi »

to find out if the problem is with your comp or player or GF , install another player like winamp and Re- install GF , if GF works within winamp with no probs then its more than likely that J river is the culprit.

User avatar
glynor
Posts: 22
Joined: Mon Mar 21, 2005 10:44 pm
Location: Bar Harbor, Maine, USA

Post by glynor »

I'm suddenly having this exact same issue with MC12. I've tried multiple builds of MC, completely un/reinstalled both G-Force and MC all to no avail.

The issue appears on two of my machines at home (both are AMD systems with ATI video cards). However, neither of the two machines I have at work where I tested it (with identical JRiver Registry settings) manifest the issue. Both of these "work" machines are Intel based (one's a P4 and ones a Pentium D), but one has an ATI video card and the other has an nVidia.

All four of the machines have a similar software setup, though the Catalyst driver version for the ATI card on the work machine is much older. I'm trying right now to install the newest Catalyst on that box to see if it has any effect.

This issue is certainly new, though I can't figure out what I might have done to cause it to start. I'm running the newest G-Force, but I'm sure it's worked for me on those machines since I installed it. I really can't think of much that I've installed on both of the machines recently that could be causing it, except for ATI Catalyst drivers (which is why I'm testing that) and .NET Framework 2.0 (which is now required for the newest Catalysts).

Others at Interact (J. River's forum) don't appear to be seeing the same thing, more here: http://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php?topic=36885.0
"Some cultures are defined by their relationship to cheese."

User avatar
glynor
Posts: 22
Joined: Mon Mar 21, 2005 10:44 pm
Location: Bar Harbor, Maine, USA

Post by glynor »

glynor wrote:I'm suddenly having this exact same issue with MC12.
All four of the machines have a similar software setup, though the Catalyst driver version for the ATI card on the work machine is much older. I'm trying right now to install the newest Catalyst on that box to see if it has any effect.
I found it!

On my work machine (which until just now worked just fine with MC12 and G-Force) in testing I systematically installed .NET 2.0 and all the applicable Windows Updates, checking G-Force each time. None of them caused the problem to show up. Okay, so .NET 2.0 isn't the culprit.

Next on my list is a newer version of ATI's Catalyst Drivers (currently 6.10). Installed that on my test machine, reboot. Try G-Force and it freezes!

It really looks like something is conflicting with newer versions of the ATI Catalyst drivers. I have 6.10 on two of my machines now (one of them at home and the one at work that I just intentionally "broke"), and one of my machines at home is running Catalyst 6.9... None of them work properly.

Not sure what version of Catalyst started causing the problems, but I might keep testing and track it down.
"Some cultures are defined by their relationship to cheese."

User avatar
juxtiphi
Moderator
Posts: 1451
Joined: Sat Jan 15, 2005 1:29 pm

Post by juxtiphi »

glynor wrote:
glynor wrote:I'm suddenly having this exact same issue with MC12.
All four of the machines have a similar software setup, though the Catalyst driver version for the ATI card on the work machine is much older. I'm trying right now to install the newest Catalyst on that box to see if it has any effect.
I found it!

On my work machine (which until just now worked just fine with MC12 and G-Force) in testing I systematically installed .NET 2.0 and all the applicable Windows Updates, checking G-Force each time. None of them caused the problem to show up. Okay, so .NET 2.0 isn't the culprit.

Next on my list is a newer version of ATI's Catalyst Drivers (currently 6.10). Installed that on my test machine, reboot. Try G-Force and it freezes!

It really looks like something is conflicting with newer versions of the ATI Catalyst drivers. I have 6.10 on two of my machines now (one of them at home and the one at work that I just intentionally "broke"), and one of my machines at home is running Catalyst 6.9... None of them work properly.

Not sure what version of Catalyst started causing the problems, but I might keep testing and track it down.

i use Omega Display Drivers Its an alternate version of the ati driver that adds options and has a different GUI.

this driver works fine with GF.

User avatar
glynor
Posts: 22
Joined: Mon Mar 21, 2005 10:44 pm
Location: Bar Harbor, Maine, USA

Post by glynor »

I just finished exhaustively testing Catalyst versions, and found which version the problems started with: the winner is Catalyst 6.6.

I tested Catalyst 5.13 - 6.05 and none exhibit the problem.

I tested Catalyst 6.06, 6.08, 6.09, and 6.10 (I skipped 6.07) and all exhibit the problem.

Just to review what happens:

If I switch from one "display" view to another more than once (regardless of from where or to where), G-Force freezes. While switching "modes" usually works the first time, it does not continue to work after I change views a second time. So, for example, if I start playing some music and G-Force comes up in the Display AW, and then I switch to Display View by double clicking on it. G-Force keeps working correctly. However, if I then switch back to Standard View (hit Esc or back or whatever), G-Force crashes. This same type of behavior also includes entering and exiting Playing Now. Oddly enough, using G-Force with MC12's "Detached Display" works properly.

As the parent poster indicated, this essentially makes G-Force unusable because you can't edit your playlist or change tracks without crashing G-Force.
"Some cultures are defined by their relationship to cheese."

User avatar
glynor
Posts: 22
Joined: Mon Mar 21, 2005 10:44 pm
Location: Bar Harbor, Maine, USA

Post by glynor »

juxtiphi wrote: i use Omega Display Drivers Its an alternate version of the ati driver that adds options and has a different GUI.

this driver works fine with GF.
I'd be surprised if the Omega drivers work as well, since (if I understand it correctly) they are essentially just a tweaked version of the official ATI drivers with a different GUI front end (which gives you access to some hidden options which exist in the "real" drivers). I may try installing the current Omega drivers as a test, but I prefer to stick to the official releases and tweak my card with other apps (ATI Tray Tool works just fine).

When you say they "work fine with GF"... What version of Omega's drivers are you using? Are you trying to reproduce the same error I'm referring to, or does it just appear to work generally?
"Some cultures are defined by their relationship to cheese."

User avatar
glynor
Posts: 22
Joined: Mon Mar 21, 2005 10:44 pm
Location: Bar Harbor, Maine, USA

Post by glynor »

Just to format this correctly, according to what's found in the sticky post...

Subject:
Switching Between Views in J. River MC Locks G-Force

Your System Information
Version of your OS: Windows XP SP2
Version of G-Force: 3.5.6
Version of your media player: MC 11.1 - 12.0.106 (current build)
Graphics hardware info: ATI X1900XT, ATI AIW X800XT, and ATI AIW 9600XT all tested
Other system information: Various machines tested, all exhibit problem if ATI Catalyst drivers 6.6 or newer are used.

Detailed Description of Bug:
When using G-Force with J. River Media Center on a system with an ATI GPU and ATI Catalyst version 6.6 or higher installed, switching from one "Display View" to another will lock G-Force until you manually stop playback and start it again (or until you select another display plugin and then switch back to G-Force). It doesn't crash (resulting in any error messages) but it completely stops working.

Description of How to Replicate Bug:
There are many ways to replicate the bug, but for example:
1. In MC12, start playback of music in MC12 with G-Force selected as your active plugin. By default this will show G-Force in the Display Action Window (the small window on the bottom left of the MC interface).
2. Switch to Full Screen view (by double-clicking on the Display AW or any other method), G-Force keeps working normally.
3. However, if you now switch back to "Standard View" (so the Display Action Window should take back over and show G-Force again) by hitting the "Close Display" button or by hitting ESC (or again any other method), G-Force will lock up and fail to update the display area at all anymore. MC continues to work and play but the display area (wherever you might try to view it) will not work again at all unless you stop G-Force and start it up again.

NOTE: This does not happen if you have ATI Catalyst 6.5 or earlier installed. It then works properly.
Last edited by glynor on Mon Nov 06, 2006 4:49 pm, edited 3 times in total.
"Some cultures are defined by their relationship to cheese."

User avatar
glynor
Posts: 22
Joined: Mon Mar 21, 2005 10:44 pm
Location: Bar Harbor, Maine, USA

Post by glynor »

A user named daniel_2k posted about this issue in this thread here: http://forums.soundspectrum.com/viewtop ... highlight=
"Some cultures are defined by their relationship to cheese."

User avatar
juxtiphi
Moderator
Posts: 1451
Joined: Sat Jan 15, 2005 1:29 pm

Post by juxtiphi »

glynor wrote:
juxtiphi wrote: i use Omega Display Drivers Its an alternate version of the ati driver that adds options and has a different GUI.

this driver works fine with GF.
I'd be surprised if the Omega drivers work as well, since (if I understand it correctly) they are essentially just a tweaked version of the official ATI drivers with a different GUI front end (which gives you access to some hidden options which exist in the "real" drivers). I may try installing the current Omega drivers as a test, but I prefer to stick to the official releases and tweak my card with other apps (ATI Tray Tool works just fine).

When you say they "work fine with GF"... What version of Omega's drivers are you using? Are you trying to reproduce the same error I'm referring to, or does it just appear to work generally?

Im glad this came up.

I checked my specs

I did try the omega driver and had no problems running GF or other graphicaly intese progs. but have since then updated my driver to catalyst 6.3 which is what I am using now.

sorry for the confusion I tried the omega driver last year and forgot that I went back to AtI when catalyst 6.3 came out. its been a while since I had to update or tweak my card.

User avatar
glynor
Posts: 22
Joined: Mon Mar 21, 2005 10:44 pm
Location: Bar Harbor, Maine, USA

Post by glynor »

FWIW, I just received word back from my email to SoundSpectrum Support that this has been filed as G-Force bug#119.

I've also discovered some additional details about this bug.

New findings:
  1. This bug applies to both MC11.1 and MC12 (up to and including the current 12.0.110 build).
  2. This bug applies to SoftSkies 1.0 too!
  3. This bug does NOT apply to WhiteCap 4.7.4 with either MC11.1 or MC12 (I manually installed it in MC12).
"Some cultures are defined by their relationship to cheese."

User avatar
glynor
Posts: 22
Joined: Mon Mar 21, 2005 10:44 pm
Location: Bar Harbor, Maine, USA

Post by glynor »

Just to note...

1. 3.5.7 did not fix this. It wasn't mentioned in the change log though so I'm not surprised (plus the bug was just filed very recently). I'm sure they're working on it now though!

2. Disabling OpenGL acceleration does make the problem go away so that you can use G-Force without downgrading your ATI drivers. Of course then G-Force won't perform as well, but if you have a good CPU then this shouldn't be a huge problem really. You can do this like so:
To turn off the OpenGL capabilities within G-Force, please start the Standalone version of G-Force (from the Start menu in Windows) and press "Shift O" once the G-Force screen appears (a text message should appear informing you that OpenGL has been turned off). If this does not work for any reason, please follow the instructions below:
(i) Please open the following folder: C:\Documents and Settings\YOUR_USER_NAME\G-Force
(ii) Open the file "Global Preferences.txt"
(iii) Add the following text as the last line within the file "nOGL=1"
Also note: In G-Force 3.5.7 the folder mentioned above was moved to:
C:\Documents and Settings\YOUR_USER_NAME\Application Data\G-Force
"Some cultures are defined by their relationship to cheese."

User avatar
glynor
Posts: 22
Joined: Mon Mar 21, 2005 10:44 pm
Location: Bar Harbor, Maine, USA

Post by glynor »

Update:

ATI/AMD released Catalyst 6.11 yesterday.

This did not solve the problem unfortunately. Not that I'm surprised, but I figured it was worth a shot! :?

One thing I hadn't thought of before is submitting this to ATI as well. If the bug can be clearly described, ATI has been pretty good about fixing things. You can submit a Support Ticket to ATI here: https://support.ati.com/ics/support/TSFolder.asp

I can do it, but I think it would help to know exactly where the problem lies before submitting it.

I also found this in their Release Notes for the new Catalyst drivers:
Known Issues:
* Attempting to maximize an OpenGL application window may result in either the OpenGL window maximizing slowly or the system failing to respond. Further details can be found in topic number 737-23717
Unfortunately, topic number 737-23717 doesn't appear to exist in their Knowledge Base so I can't find the "further details". I don't know if it's related to this problem, but it seems like it possibly could be from that brief note.
"Some cultures are defined by their relationship to cheese."

RiderFan
Posts: 11
Joined: Sat Feb 12, 2005 12:34 am

Post by RiderFan »

Well I hate to burst your bubble but I am using an Nvidia Gforce 6600GT and I am seeing this exact same problem. Updated the drivers tonight and still no joy. My other computer has an ATI 9800 Pro and does the exact same thing so I think it may be a different problem.

I also wanted to note that on both machines, If I uninstall MC 12 and reinstall and then reinstall gforce then it will work 100% for a while (couple days) then all of a sudden switching views will go back to the goofy behaviour.

It will only correct itself if I uninstall MC 12 first then reinstall, not if I just reinstall over the old version.

User avatar
glynor
Posts: 22
Joined: Mon Mar 21, 2005 10:44 pm
Location: Bar Harbor, Maine, USA

Post by glynor »

None of my three ATI systems "work", even if I uninstall and then reinstall MC (and it applies to MC11.1 as well). I've also tried completely uninstalling G-Force and WhiteCap (including deleting the settings folders and removing any residual Registry entries I could find) and then reinstalling everything from scratch.

I have not been able to reproduce the problem on my one nVidia system (and it is 100% reproducible on all three of the ATI systems I tried it with), so... Perhaps these are different problems.

The behavior seems very similar though!
"Some cultures are defined by their relationship to cheese."

Post Reply