Media Player hangs while using Limewire
 

Whenever I have Limewire running, I can't use Windows Media Player or Realplayer without it hanging. The player will sit there with a blank screen and the machine freezes up (though the audio part of the clip does still play). Hitting CTRL-ALT-DEL and closing Media Player or Realplayer works, but it takes a LONG time (as much as a minute) for the task manager to appear. This happens with any media type I try, though VLC player DOES work. Any suggestions?

System specs:

3.2 GHz P4
1 GB RAM
Limewire Pro 4.4.5 (4.4.4 also had the problem)
Windows Media Player 9 (10 also froze so I rolled back to test 9)
JRE 1.4.2 (1.5.0 also locks up)

Spyware and virus scans are negative and memory test shows no RAM problems.

It sounds like you may be missing the proper codecs.

Check out this link. http://www.gnutellaforums.com/showth...ghlight=codecs

It provides some insight and a useful link to some codecs.

No, the exact same files play perfectly if Limewire isn't running.

It sounds now as though it may be a resource issue, are you trying to preview the movie as it is d/l. Or is it a complete movie.

Are you also d/l while trying to play the movie.

What does your task manager show for CPU & RAM usage when this happens.

Also does your CPU have HT technology and if it does are you using it. This normally needs to be configured in your bios setup.

It doesn't seem normal that task manager takes that long to come up without it being a possible resource issue.

It definitely seems to be resource related, but I can't monitor CPU usage because everything freezes up, including any monitoring utilities. Even when I get the task manager up, I have only a couple seconds before that freezes too to click End Task on Media Player... and it usually takes several tries.

And yes, I have HT enabled. The CPU graph for one logical processor spikes to 100% and then everything freezes (instantly) so I can't see what happens next.

Also, it doesn't matter what file I play or whether it is a preview. Even a lousy 1MB 16 second AVI freezes up the whole system if Limewire is running (just running, no uploads or downloads or even searches). If Limewire isn't running, the file plays fine.

Fabion would suggest it's a Video card issue with drivers that need updating. Go to the website of that company to see available driver updates. Secondly, my thoughts are DirectX version. 3rdly, did you change any video card settings for games or change your monitor settings.

Do you run as an Ultrapeer?

Do you use the Resume button on many files?

DirectX is 9.0c
Video is GeForce 6600GT with the 2nd-newest drivers (the newest have some gaming issues)
Same video settings I've always used.

And I typically don't end up as an ultrapeer. I do sometimes resume a lot of files but the hangups happen regardless of what files I am transferring. Even disconnecting won't matter... if Limewire is running, Media Player won't.

And before I upgraded from the earlier Limewire Pro, this didn't happen, so I assume it's a Limewire issue.

I just tried to duplicate your problems on this comp. for 3 hours

I'm running LimeWire Pro 4.6.0 and JRE 1.5.0_01
DirectX 9.0c

I tried to get something to freeze, and had no success.

I was running Task manager while doing this. Both left and right CPU usgae spiked then settled. With WMP the RAM usage increased. I also started a second video player at the same time.
I got the same results. My max RAM usage was appx. 900 MB at the spike.

The only time there was a change in performance is when I opened a video in MC. LW went from Ultrapeer to Leaf and I lost my connection on this browser. My d/l stayed constant and u/ls decreased. (I thought I would lose LW or crash but did neither)

All my drivers were up to date as of two days ago.

I'm not positive, but my best guess is that it is a video resource issue. LW adjusted to the various conditions placed on it.

Don't know if this applies but if you see these: http://www.gnutellaforums.com/showth...threadid=30703 (I know you're not suffering the blue screen of death.)

The other option is rolling your Java back to 1.4.2: Sun 1.4.2: http://java.sun.com/j2se/1.4.2/download.html (Choose the JRE) & see if that makes any difference.

Fixed!!!
 

Yes! I finally fixed the problem. I still don't know exactly what was wrong, but after reinstalling Limewire, reinstalling Media Player 10, and reinstalling my graphics drivers I can play movies again. I guess something got corrupted in one of those programs (I remember a system crash while watching a movie a few days back... that might have done it).

Thanks for the suggestions everyone.