|
Replies
:
16
-
Pages
:
2
[
1
2
|
Next
]
-
Last Post
:
Dec 7, 2005 8:28 PM
by: ScottJ
|
|
|
Posts:
2,322
Registered:
Oct 25, 2003
|
|
|
|
FIX - iTunes Crash while "Determining Song Volume"
Posted:
Sep 4, 2005 9:50 PM
|
|
|
I figured out how to make iTunes stop crashing on "Determining Song Volume". This may not fix it for everybody, but if you have a Dual-Core processor, it's worth a try.
iTunes' SoundCheck scanning process (aka determining song volume) is not fully thread-safe. When it's trying to scan several songs, it launches each one in a separate thread. On a dual-core or dual-processor machine, this means that the scans happen simultaneously. My guess is that the decoding/scanning is perfectly fine, but the bit where it's writing the updated information into iTunes database is not. And so it eventually hits a case where both threads try to write at the same instant and bam, crash. Probably because a lack of mutex locking on the database routines.
Anyway, if you're experiencing this problem, and have dual-cores, try this:
1. Start iTunes. If it starts scanning immediately, hit the X icon to the right of where it says "determining song volume" to make it stop and not crash.
2. Go to preferences and turn off SoundCheck. Also turn off "Use soundcheck when burning CDs" or something like that.
3. Open the Task Manager (CTRL-SHIFT-ESC). Click the Processes Tab.
4. Right click on the iTunes.exe process, and select "Set Affinity..."
5. You should have checkmarks beside CPU0 and CPU1. Turn off the CPU1 checkmark.
6. Back in iTunes, turn on SoundCheck again. It'll start determining song volume, and this time, it should not crash.
If this works for you, then you can make it semi-permanent with this little program: http://www.activeplus.com/us/freeware/runfirst/
It's called RunFirst.exe and what you do is to put a copy of it in the iTunes directory. Then change the shortcut you use to start iTunes to have the full path to runfirst.exe followed by the normal path to iTunes.exe. SO change the shortcut's properties to look like this:
"C:\Program Files\iTunes\RunFirst.exe" "C:\Program Files\iTunes\iTunes.exe"
This makes the shortcut launch RunFirst, which launches iTunes with the CPU Affinity forced to one core only.
That should fix it for a lot of people. It worked for me. So enjoy! 
Apple can fix this in future revisions of iTunes, if somebody tells them to check that all the bits are totally thread-safe, because clearly that's where the issue lies.
|
|
Posts:
20,706
From:
USA
Registered:
Dec 27, 2004
|
|
|
|
RE: FIX - iTunes Crash while "Determining Song Volume"
Posted:
Sep 4, 2005 10:05 PM
in response to: Otto42
|
|
|
Hello, what an interesting, albeit scary, post!
I totally understand the concept of threads, CPU and TCPIP, but not in the context of iTunes
"When it's trying to scan several songs"
It seems to do this song-by-song on my PC, and I've got hyperthreading.
What is dual core? Do you mean dual processors?
Anyway, you get points for writing that up.
|
|
Posts:
2,322
Registered:
Oct 25, 2003
|
|
|
|
RE: FIX - iTunes Crash while
Posted:
Sep 4, 2005 10:25 PM
in response to: Katrina S.
|
|
|
It seems to do this song-by-song on my PC, and I've got hyperthreading.
Yes, in iTunes it does look like it's going "song-by-song", but it ain't. When I look in the Task Manager, I can see both cores working on it. Also, when I limit it to one core only, it definitely slows down and doesn't scan as fast.
What is dual core? Do you mean dual processors?
HyperThreading is sort of a halfway method. It allows certain types of things to be run simultaneously. Dual Core is basically what it sounds like: There's two actual cores in that single chip. It's basically the same thing as dual processors, but with only one chip in the box.
The difference between HyperThreading and DualCore is... well.. it's hard to explain is what is really is. HyperThreading likely doesn't cause this same sort of problem, because in HyperThreading, you still only have one core, it's just sometimes able to do two things at the same time. DualCore is just like having two separate chips, almost. It's not totally the same as Dual Processors, but it's close enough that the difference there is hard to explain too. If you want more info, Google for "HyperThreading Dual Core" to find pages explaining the differences in detail.
You can find out if your processor is Dual Core by right-clicking on My Computer and selecting Properties. In the bottom right corner, where it says your CPU type, it'll say if it's Dual Core or not. Also, in a Dual Core Processor, in the Task Manager, on the Performance tab, the graph at the top that shows CPU activity will be split in two sections, just as if you had Dual Processors.
|
|
Posts:
4
Registered:
Sep 9, 2005
|
|
|
|
RE: FIX - iTunes Crash while "Determining Song Volume"
Posted:
Sep 9, 2005 2:39 PM
in response to: Otto42
|
|
|
Otto42
You the man. I have a dual processor Dell workstation and I've had a devil of a time with iTunes 4.9 and 5.0 crashing on the sound check. I made it through a library rebuild by letting it check a couple and them quitting (long process). Turning off all the sound check stuff seems to have done the trick.
Thanks
Bill
|
|
Posts:
7
Registered:
May 8, 2005
|
|
|
|
RE: FIX - iTunes Crash while "Determining Song Volume"
Posted:
Sep 9, 2005 3:57 PM
in response to: Otto42
|
|
|
This was quite interesting--and educational! Thanks, Otto, for taking the time.
An additional question relating to SoundCheck that I hope you can help me with: Is it possible to undo the effects of SoundCheck even after all one's files have had their +/-dB adjustments made? I'm finding that I still have to make adjustments even after utilizing SC and, if that's the case, why use it in the first place? I'd just as soon love to start over fresh. There was also a recent post about the negative effect an increase in volume (which I almost always have to do since SC usually lowers the volume) may have on audio quality.
Interested in any thoughts you, or anyone else, may have on this subject.
Thanks again,
Sarah
|
|
Posts:
2,322
Registered:
Oct 25, 2003
|
|
|
|
RE: FIX - iTunes Crash while
Posted:
Sep 9, 2005 5:30 PM
in response to: Sarah S.
|
|
|
Sarah: Sound Check (and other volume leveling schemes) usually do lower the volume. There's lot of good technical reasons for this, but the basic gist of it is that songs which are too loud cause distortion. If you want louder music, your best bet is to leave the Sound Check on and crack up the volume knob on the speakers instead. Most audio sources are actually too loud to begin with, because people think loud = better, but this ruins the dynamic range and you don't get the full effect of the audio. CD's really would sound just as good as live performances if it were not for this.
Sound Check doesn't actually change the song's volume itself. It just inserts a tag saying what the volume of the song is. On playback, the volume is auto adjusted to conform to an optimum level. ReplayGain works in much the same way, but it is much more precise. But anyway, turning off the Sound Check option really does turn the effect off. Sound Check doesn't permenantly change the music to begin with.
My suggestion is to *not* use the volume slider on the computer, but to leave Sound Check on, and to instead simply turn up the volume on the speakers. Using the speaker volume won't distort the music in the same way that using a volume slider on the computer will. I could explain why, but it's really technical, having to do with amps and dynamic range and so forth. You're probably not *that* interested. 
But if you are interested, go over to the HydrogenAudio forums and start reading. More technical gibberish there than you can shake a stick at.
|
|
Posts:
2,322
Registered:
Oct 25, 2003
|
|
|
|
RE: FIX - iTunes Crash while
Posted:
Sep 9, 2005 5:34 PM
in response to: William Barnett
|
|
|
Bill: Yeah, turning off Sound Check prevents it from happening, but setting the CPU affinity and/or using the RunFirst program allows Sound Check to actually work correctly on dual processor boxes. Sound Check actually works pretty well, when it works.
|
|
Posts:
4
Registered:
Sep 9, 2005
|
|
|
|
RE: FIX - iTunes Crash while
Posted:
Sep 10, 2005 1:22 PM
in response to: Otto42
|
|
|
Otto
I got the utility, very nice. Actually, I've gotten better performance with affinity assignment for large services like my oracle database.
Along the lines of sound levels, I've always had difficulty with sound level in iTunes (and all the other rippers). Adjusting the volume level at the time I rip the music helps some. iTunes store is particularly bad for low volume. Any thoughts on this?
Bill
|
|
Posts:
2,322
Registered:
Oct 25, 2003
|
|
|
|
RE: FIX - iTunes Crash while
Posted:
Sep 10, 2005 2:24 PM
in response to: William Barnett
|
|
|
What do you mean by "adjusting the volume level at the time I rip"? Ripping should be a digital process, there's no volume level involved.
Generally, I just use Sound Check to volume level my music on the iPod and turn up the volume control on whatever I'm plugged into.
|
|
Posts:
1
Registered:
Oct 27, 2005
|
|
|
|
RE: FIX - iTunes Crash while "Determining Song Volume"
Posted:
Oct 26, 2005 10:58 PM
in response to: Otto42
|
|
|
This seems also applicable to a problem I had.
When I was ripping a CD iTunes would crash with the Windows message
"iTunes has encountered a problem"
This dual core fix seems to fix the problem and it is actually ripping faster than with two cores.
This is my first encounter with Apple software and for a basic defect of this nature to be in a product this mature (version 6) means I will not be recommending Apple products in the workplace. Win XP Pro has been multi-processor aware since launch and this should have been picked up and repaired especially as it is a later version than the original post refers to.
Dual Core AMD X2 4400+, 4Gb Ram, 2.5Tb HDD space on 16 drives, Win XP Pro SP2, Sapphire ATI 800XL 256 DDR3
|
|
Posts:
8
Registered:
Oct 31, 2005
|
|
|
|
RE: FIX - iTunes Crash while
Posted:
Nov 5, 2005 8:21 PM
in response to: David Chamberla...
|
|
|
I followed Otto42's advice, installed that RunFirst thing. So far no more "iTunes has encountered a problem" messages when importing tracks- all working well.
Thanks, Otto42
Keith
|
|
Posts:
2,322
Registered:
Oct 25, 2003
|
|
|
|
Re: FIX - iTunes Crash while "Determining Song Volume"
Posted:
Nov 16, 2005 12:46 PM
in response to: Otto42
|
|
|
UPDATE:
I found a better solution to this particular problem. The problem with RunFirst.exe is that it leaves a blank window up when it runs, which is kind of annoying.
So get this program instead: http://www.robpol86.com/Files/imagecfg.exe
Info about it can be found here: http://www.robpol86.com/Pages/imagecfg.php
The general gist of it is that it can change an executable to be forced to run on one processor only. All you do is to run "imagecfg -u iTunes.exe" at the command prompt. It modifies iTunes.exe to only run on the one processor. Same effect, no extra program or window. Seems to work fine for me.
Same problem, same fix, slightly better than using RunFirst. I figure you guys would want to know.
AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 4200+
Windows XP Pro
|
|
Posts:
6
Registered:
Nov 17, 2005
|
|
|
|
Re: FIX - iTunes Crash while "Determining Song Volume"
Posted:
Nov 17, 2005 8:31 PM
in response to: Otto42
|
|
|
Thanks, this solved all my problems. This is my first experience with iPOD and I was trying to convert my CD collections with iTunes. With the constant crashes I almost gave up on it.
But with this patch things run flawless now. Thanks again!
|
|
Posts:
30,069
From:
Wellington, New Zealand
Registered:
Jul 6, 2005
|
|
|
|
Re: FIX - iTunes Crash while "Determining Song Volume"
Posted:
Nov 19, 2005 7:20 PM
in response to: Otto42
|
|
|
I found a better solution to this particular problem.
may i borrow you again, Otto? young gentleman/lassie (mpie) over here having trouble getting imagecfg to work:
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=1192515#1192515
love, b
gateway, p4
Windows XP
20gb b&w ipod (mauve) 20gb color ipod (attractive beast)
|
|
Posts:
2,322
Registered:
Oct 25, 2003
|
|
|
|
Re: FIX - iTunes Crash while "Determining Song Volume"
Posted:
Nov 19, 2005 10:49 PM
in response to: b noir
|
|
|
No problem dude, but if you want fast response, email me.
otto@ottodestruct.com
AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 4200+
Windows XP Pro
|
|
|
