View Full Version : Grrr Media Player Grrr
Sailor Steve
12-29-10, 11:55 PM
I've already left a message at MS's forums, so all I'm really doing here is venting my frustration.
I have a rather large music collection, all on Windows Media Player, and I love fooling around and organizing it. Tonight it suddenly changed, and without any warning.
One of the features is of course that it displays Album Info, including the cover of the album. I keep a copy of the picture in the folder for each album, as in the past I had problems with it changing the artwork on me. All irrelevant, as that's not why I'm so frustrated.
Tonight, out of the blue, all the Album Art in the individual sections just up and disappeared! If I'm on the main Album page all the thumbnails are there. If I'm on the main Artist page all the thumbnails are there. But if I go into the Artist section to look at all the albums by that artist - no pictures! If I click on an individual album - no picture!
It happened just as I was settling in and getting ready for some more work on it, so I assume I clicked something, but for the life of me I can't think what it might have been. I've been all through the help sections and can't anything relating to this problem. As I said, I've asked on the MS forums for WMP, and expect an answer sometime.
I posted here mainly to rant, and maybe to see if anyone has seen this before and has a quick answer.
You would need other alternatives to Windows media player, here is one that you sure know where it is,
http://www.videolan.org/vlc/
and there is no cost
I've already left a message at MS's forums, so all I'm really doing here is venting my frustration.
I have a rather large music collection, all on Windows Media Player, and I love fooling around and organizing it. Tonight it suddenly changed, and without any warning.
One of the features is of course that it displays Album Info, including the cover of the album. I keep a copy of the picture in the folder for each album, as in the past I had problems with it changing the artwork on me. All irrelevant, as that's not why I'm so frustrated.
Tonight, out of the blue, all the Album Art in the individual sections just up and disappeared! If I'm on the main Album page all the thumbnails are there. If I'm on the main Artist page all the thumbnails are there. But if I go into the Artist section to look at all the albums by that artist - no pictures! If I click on an individual album - no picture!
It happened just as I was settling in and getting ready for some more work on it, so I assume I clicked something, but for the life of me I can't think what it might have been. I've been all through the help sections and can't anything relating to this problem. As I said, I've asked on the MS forums for WMP, and expect an answer sometime.
I posted here mainly to rant, and maybe to see if anyone has seen this before and has a quick answer. Did you find any solution for the Media Player? And the problem in general?
kiwi_2005
12-30-10, 05:18 AM
In the right hand corner of media player (11) there is a search option, click on the arrow next to it for the menu and choose 'Expanded Tiles' - album art should reappear. If it doesn't then its something more serious.
kiwi_2005
12-30-10, 05:32 AM
Eleven, I uses twelve!
I dont even use it :) I use KM Player, but I loaded up MP 11 and went to the view options and played around with it. 'Expanded tiles' if that's unchecked the album art will not appear.
I dont even use it :) I use KM Player, but I loaded up MP 11 and went to the view options and played around with it. 'Expanded tiles' if that's unchecked the album art will not appear. To be honest I do not use either WMP, but 12 is too W7, which I did not think of first, :yep:
Sailor Steve
12-30-10, 01:31 PM
Did you find any solution for the Media Player? And the problem in general?
Yes I did. I was just coming back to report that it is fixed.
In the right hand corner of media player (11) there is a search option, click on the arrow next to it for the menu and choose 'Expanded Tiles' - album art should reappear. If it doesn't then its something more serious.
And that's exactly the advice I got on the WMP forums. And it worked. And I replied there with a thank you and my favorite quote I made up myself - "Some people are born stupid. I've had to work hard my whole life to get this way. And I'm proud of the job I've done."
Eleven, I uses twelve!
To be honest I do not use either WMP, but 12 is too W7, which I did not think of first, :yep:
Exactly. I have a five-year-old computer (almost six now) with XP Home. I won't upgrade to 7 until I get a new PC.
I tried a couple of others while I was waiting, but I still like the way WMP organizes and looks. Probably just because I'm used to it, but there it is. :D
Gargamel
12-30-10, 02:58 PM
As mentioned, VLC is a wonderful player, but it doesnt do organization as well as WMP does. BUt I keep VLC around to play video, as there is no format it can't handle easily.
frau kaleun
12-30-10, 07:35 PM
I have a rather large music collection, all on Windows Media Player, and I love fooling around and organizing it.
OMG I'm so glad I'm not the only person who wastes, I mean, spends quality time doing this!
My big thing is that when I rip music from, say, a greatest hits or some other type of CD, I like to edit the file properties to reflect the original release (album, year, etc.) of each song. And then I spend a bit of time googling around looking for the original album cover and pasting it into the album art. And I also usually save a copy of the pic just in case it reverts to something else so I can "fix" it again.
Yes I did. I was just coming back to report that it is fixed.
:yeah:
That's a good tip to know, I haven't even begun checking through my collection since I installed Win7. At first glance it looks okay but I'm sure I'll have to edit a few things.
I tried a couple of others while I was waiting, but I still like the way WMP organizes and looks. Probably just because I'm used to it, but there it is. :D
Same here. Way back when I had Win98/ME I had some third party freeware that I used to play and organize music, but during one upgrade or another I wanted to hear something before I'd reinstalled it and starting tinkering around in WMP. Once I got accustomed to it I liked it fine, and WTH, it's free and I know how it works.
Sailor Steve
12-31-10, 12:04 AM
OMG I'm so glad I'm not the only person who wastes, I mean, spends quality time doing this!
My big thing is that when I rip music from, say, a greatest hits or some other type of CD, I like to edit the file properties to reflect the original release (album, year, etc.) of each song. And then I spend a bit of time googling around looking for the original album cover and pasting it into the album art. And I also usually save a copy of the pic just in case it reverts to something else so I can "fix" it again.
I found a site that gives me unlimited download privileges for a small monthly fee.
I organize my stuff by date, with the date preceding the title, so everything from classical to today's music appears in the correct order.
An example is my Beatles collection. I recently downloaded the complete 2009 remaster series and also managed to find the rare United Artists US release of A Hard Day's Night. Since the singles never appeared on the British versions of the albums, I have each single release in it's own folder, so Please Please Me and Ask Me Why are in a folder labeled "1963/1/11 - Single" and the album folder reads "1963/3/22 - Please Please Me (UK)". Each folder has its own copy of the album art, so I don't have to go looking for it again if anything goes wrong.
All the singles are mono, with the albums in stereo. I'm doing something similar for The Stones, The Who and The Animals. Most of my American favorites have the singles on the albums, so I'm not quite so meticulous, but the formula is still the same.
I admit it - where my music is concerned I'm just a bit insane.
frau kaleun
12-31-10, 12:18 AM
I only put years in for dates, so I'm not quite so obsessive, lol.
But I've done the same thing with songs that were only released as singles and not on any "original" album (meaning, not a greatest hits or other collection).
Sailor Steve
12-31-10, 12:21 AM
I only put years in for dates, so I'm not quite so obsessive, lol.
Well, I lived through that era, and for me there's a big difference between "A song by so-and-so" and remembering the first time I heard it. Having them in strict release order means a lot to my sorry anal brain.
I'm currently downloading the entire Beach Boys catalogue.
Anal brain, what is it, :hmmm:
Sailor Steve
12-31-10, 12:31 AM
Anal-retentive means your rear is plugged-up; i.e. constipated. In this context it means your brain is acting that same way - everything is stuck inside and you can't get it out no matter how hard you try.
It's a joking way of saying I'm obsessive about certain things, and can't seem to change. :sunny:
Sailor Steve
12-31-10, 09:15 AM
Great.
Just great.
This morning I booted everything up, only to find that now Media Player won't run at all. The desktop icon, the main icon in the folder, the icon at the Start Menu - none of them get any response. I even tried putting in a disc, and when it asked if I wanted to play it using WMP I clicked "Yes", and it just went away. A couple of times it locked up, and Windows Task Manager said it was (Not Responding), but that's as close as it got to even acknowledging its existence.
Sailor Steve
12-31-10, 10:22 AM
Problem solved. It took a complete uninstall/reinstall, but it worked. :sunny:
Sailor Steve
01-02-11, 09:48 AM
Aaaand, I spoke to soon. The next day it wouldn't work again, and another reinstall fixed it again. Today it doesn't work, and nothing seems to help.
Capt. Morgan
01-02-11, 12:30 PM
Have you considered WinAmp (http://www.winamp.com/). IIRC it has enough features to make it a Mediaplayer replacement.
I only put years in for dates, so I'm not quite so obsessive, lol....
Not so much of a Jazz fan, I'm guessing.
Sailor Steve
01-02-11, 09:59 PM
Have you considered WinAmp (http://www.winamp.com/). IIRC it has enough features to make it a Mediaplayer replacement.
So do some of the others I've tried. They all play just about anything, and they all work perfectly well, but WMP 11 has an organization method that, while I may just be used to it, is to me unmatched by any I've seen so far. I really like the way everything I put in shows up with thumbnails and lets me change them quickly and easily.
I mentioned that all my albums are organized by date? WinAmp makes doesn't show the dates, so my albums are all in alphabetical order again. I'll keep fiddling with it, though.
FIREWALL
01-02-11, 10:08 PM
:up: Steve
Sailor Steve
01-12-11, 11:50 AM
Well, I've been living with unistallin and reinstalling WMP every day for a couple of weeks not, and it may finally be solved. I got some help a the Microsoft forums, and after registry cleans and a bunch of other experiments, it seems a System Restore did the trick. I've rebooted the computer three times today just to test, and it has shown up every time; so far at least.
Holding my breath, but it seems to be okay now.
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