AFS/AEQ not set and WinMX window all white and not responding ?

[Igor]

-When I start WinMX, it won't list all my downloads in the transfer window, but only a small fraction of them;

-When I click the "Load Incomplete" button it finally lists all the files, but AFS/AEQ is not set for them;

-When I try to set AFS/AEQ for them, WinMX stops responding and its window goes all white for several minutes, eventually either crashing for good, or responding in a very erratic and slow manner (e.g. the online timer in the window title jumps about 5-6 numbers each time instead of going second by second, and if I click on anything it'll take several seconds until it reacts at all).

What can be done ?

I am using WinMX 3.54b4 with community patch and Windows XP Pro SP3.

[Max™]

do you have a large number of incompletes?
as i have known winmx to stop responding during loading too many incompletes,
winmx should laod them automaticly unless there is a large amount, the larger the amount of incompletes, the slower it will load, or even stop responding.

[White Stripes]

What can be done ?

d/l in 'chunks' .... create a new subdirectory to your download directory and move a batch of incompletes into it...

start winmx again and load incomplete set the AEF/AEQ and let those d/ls finish (if winmx locks up again move more files into the new subdirectory) ... as the d/ls finish move the incompletes in smallish batches back into the regular download directory and then let them finish.... ....rinse and repeat...

[Joshua203]

sounds to me like you re using mx monitor ... are you?

[Igor]

I tried with and without MX Monitor, same results. No other third party stuff here.

I do have a lot of incompletes - over 1000 files. And yeah, if I only load a small portion of them, everything is ok. I guess it's really a WinMX limitation then... the program and its UI simply is unable to deal with a relatively large number of files. I suspected as much, but I was hoping there'd be a fix or a workaround ?

It's a real killer limitation for any P2P system... P2P tends to involve collecting, and collecting means large numbers of files, heh.

[Joshua203]

the reason i asked if you used mx moni is because i used to see what you described when i was mainly on XP, XP has some sort of memory leak bug and maybe thats what you experience now (even without moni running?)

you might want to try downloading >>this<< patch for XP and installing it

goodluck,
...Joshua203

[Joshua203]

i am curious if this fixes your problem ...please do let me know 

[Igor]

Thanks, I did come across that fix before as I searched around before posting. The fix is already included in XP SP3, which I'm using - trying to run the installer will result in a message saying exactly that.

[Igor]

Aaanyway, are you saying this problem DOESN'T occur in Windows 7 ? You ARE able to load thousands of incompletes in WinMX if on Win7, without the non-responding white window thing ? I'd love confirmation on this. Anyone ? Thanks a lot!

If it is the case, I'd really hate having found a reason to finally DOWNgrade my OS yet once again to a newer one which requires more RAM to run the exact same programs, but slower... 

[Joshua203]

what a pitty this was not the cause

what i m saying is that i did not even have this problem on XP (i may not have had a list of thousands that is just silly.. but i used to have a big list in the past ...right now on 7 i don t doanload much anymore on mx but i don t expect to see this problem if i do)

could it be that you do n t need a newer OS but a new faster PC??

[Joshua203]

could it be that you do n t need a newer OS but a new faster PC??

or just a few newer better memory cards?

[White Stripes]

this isnt a computer or os problem it is a problem with winmx itself... winmx leaks... not windows... run winmx in a debugger sometime to see the massive amount of program goofs... esp with 3.54b4....

winmx simply cannot handle very large amounts of files....

winmx was written in a time when win9x was still common and most users simply couldnt have that many files... esp large files... it was aimed mostly at mp3 sharing on low end machines... ....if you notice in the speed selection options '14.4k' is there.... anyone remember the last time they used a 14.4k modem?


as for running winmx in windows 7 ... first if win 7 is 64bit then winmx would be running in a virtual machine 'NTVDM'... same as running 16bit code on 32 bit XP.... second win7 has in-memory 'shims' for flaky/buggy apps that it automatically applies when said bugs are detected...

[Joshua203]

well Stripes it quite simple to me .. i saw the blanc unresponsive winmx with my own  eyes the XP fix took that away some years ago and i have not seen this back ever again (my list used to go up to about 1000 files i think.. more than that is just crazy in my opinion [even a thousand is in my opinion])

why would xp have a fix for a non existand leak??
sure winmx has leaks too i m not doubting that 

and i really think we can t know if it s a memory problem unless we would know the exact specifications of this machine imho

yes winmx is old, yes it was designed with an old point but it still can work just fine for most of us Stripes.. i hope you agree 

[Joshua203]

point = point of view

still early in my country/ my eyes are still quite sticky or whatever excuse you can think of for messy typing .... LOL

[Igor]

Unless WinMX is more demanding than Crysis @2048x1538, it's not the PC, ha ha.

I'd love to be the other way around, but I'm afraid Stripes might be right.   

[White Stripes]

having an all white window is common for a program that has stopped responding (crashed but not closed) in XP and earlier...

winmx is too old to handle what todays computers can throw its way... its not its fault... and yes winmx is still very usable... just have to work within its 'quirks' to get it to do so...

[Joshua203]

it s a pitty the xp fix was no good for this problem ..i would have loved it if it would have helped .. was worth a shot i guess

[White Stripes]

the fix you linked to is in XP SP3 ... which im using too...

an adhoc fix ive found for some winmx problems (at least it makes it run a bit longer) is to run winmx in the ntsd debugger... however winmx is so buggy that you have to tell the debugger to 'go' several times before the winmx window even shows....

wanna see some 'fun' ?

Code: [Select]

C:\>cd \progra~1\winmx

C:\PROGRA~1\WinMX>ntsd winmx.exe

new console window opens with;

note: each time you see '0:000> g' i had to type the 'g' to get the program to continue because the program had technically crashed and was asking the os (a total of 11 times) if it could 'try again' .... TBH im surprised winmx starts at all...

Code: [Select]

Microsoft (R) Windows User-Mode Debugger  Version 5.1.2600.0
Copyright (c) Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

CommandLine: winmx.exe
Loaded dbghelp extension DLL
The call to LoadLibrary(ext) failed with error 2.
Please check your debugger configuration and/or network access
Loaded exts extension DLL
The call to LoadLibrary(uext) failed with error 2.
Please check your debugger configuration and/or network access
Loaded ntsdexts extension DLL
Symbol search path is: *** Invalid *** : Verify _NT_SYMBOL_PATH setting
Executable search path is:
ModLoad: 00400000 009e4000   image00400000
ModLoad: 7c900000 7c9b2000   ntdll.dll
ModLoad: 7c800000 7c8f6000   C:\WINDOWS\system32\kernel32.dll
ModLoad: 71ab0000 71ac7000   C:\WINDOWS\system32\WS2_32.dll
ModLoad: 77dd0000 77e6b000   C:\WINDOWS\system32\ADVAPI32.dll
ModLoad: 77e70000 77f03000   C:\WINDOWS\system32\RPCRT4.dll
ModLoad: 77fe0000 77ff1000   C:\WINDOWS\system32\Secur32.dll
ModLoad: 77c10000 77c68000   C:\WINDOWS\system32\msvcrt.dll
ModLoad: 71aa0000 71aa8000   C:\WINDOWS\system32\WS2HELP.dll
ModLoad: 76b40000 76b6d000   C:\WINDOWS\system32\WINMM.dll
ModLoad: 77f10000 77f59000   C:\WINDOWS\system32\GDI32.dll
ModLoad: 7e410000 7e4a1000   C:\WINDOWS\system32\USER32.dll
ModLoad: 763b0000 763f9000   C:\WINDOWS\system32\comdlg32.dll
ModLoad: 5d090000 5d12a000   C:\WINDOWS\system32\COMCTL32.dll
ModLoad: 7c9c0000 7d1d7000   C:\WINDOWS\system32\SHELL32.dll
ModLoad: 77f60000 77fd6000   C:\WINDOWS\system32\SHLWAPI.dll
ModLoad: 73000000 73026000   C:\WINDOWS\system32\WINSPOOL.DRV
ModLoad: 6b540000 6b565000   C:\PROGRA~1\WinMX\oledlg.dll
ModLoad: 71ad0000 71ad9000   C:\WINDOWS\system32\WSOCK32.DLL
ModLoad: 774e0000 7761e000   C:\WINDOWS\system32\ole32.dll
ModLoad: 77120000 771ab000   C:\WINDOWS\system32\OLEAUT32.dll
Break instruction exception - code 80000003 (first chance)
eax=00241eb4 ebx=7ffd4000 ecx=00000001 edx=00000002 esi=00241f48 edi=00241eb4
eip=7c90120e esp=0012fb20 ebp=0012fc94 iopl=0         nv up ei pl nz na pe nc
cs=001b  ss=0023  ds=0023  es=0023  fs=003b  gs=0000             efl=00000202
*** ERROR: Symbol file could not be found.  Defaulted to export symbols for ntdl
l.dll -
ntdll!DbgBreakPoint:
7c90120e cc               int     3
0:000> g
ModLoad: 76390000 763ad000   C:\WINDOWS\system32\IMM32.DLL
ModLoad: 629c0000 629c9000   C:\WINDOWS\system32\LPK.DLL
ModLoad: 74d90000 74dfb000   C:\WINDOWS\system32\USP10.dll
ModLoad: 773d0000 774d3000   C:\WINDOWS\WinSxS\x86_Microsoft.Windows.Common-Cont
rols_6595b64144ccf1df_6.0.2600.6028_x-ww_61e65202\comctl32.dll
Access violation - code c0000005 (first chance)
eax=00000007 ebx=0012fd30 ecx=6b5592e7 edx=0058f6b8 esi=00001000 edi=0058f6bb
eip=7c809f54 esp=0012f0f4 ebp=0012f120 iopl=0         nv up ei pl zr na po nc
cs=001b  ss=0023  ds=0023  es=0023  fs=003b  gs=0000             efl=00010246
*** ERROR: Symbol file could not be found.  Defaulted to export symbols for C:\W
INDOWS\system32\kernel32.dll -
kernel32!IsBadWritePtr+3b:
*** ERROR: Symbol file could not be found.  Defaulted to export symbols for C:\W
INDOWS\system32\WS2_32.dll -
7c809f54 8802     mov [edx]{WS2_32!connect (71ab4a07)},al ds:0023:0058f6b8=07
0:000> g
Access violation - code c0000005 (first chance)
eax=00000040 ebx=0012fd30 ecx=6b5592e7 edx=0058f6bc esi=00001000 edi=0058f6bf
eip=7c809f54 esp=0012f0f4 ebp=0012f120 iopl=0         nv up ei pl zr na po nc
cs=001b  ss=0023  ds=0023  es=0023  fs=003b  gs=0000             efl=00010246
kernel32!IsBadWritePtr+3b:
7c809f54 8802      mov [edx]{WS2_32!accept (71ac1040)},al ds:0023:0058f6bc=40
0:000> g
Access violation - code c0000005 (first chance)
eax=0000006f ebx=0012fd30 ecx=6b5592e7 edx=0058f690 esi=00001000 edi=0058f693
eip=7c809f54 esp=0012f0f4 ebp=0012f120 iopl=0         nv up ei pl zr na po nc
cs=001b  ss=0023  ds=0023  es=0023  fs=003b  gs=0000             efl=00010246
kernel32!IsBadWritePtr+3b:
7c809f54 8802        mov [edx]{WS2_32!recv (71ab676f)},al ds:0023:0058f690=6f
0:000> g
Access violation - code c0000005 (first chance)
eax=0000009d ebx=0012fd30 ecx=6b5592e7 edx=0058f698 esi=00001000 edi=0058f69b
eip=7c809f54 esp=0012f0f4 ebp=0012f120 iopl=0         nv up ei pl zr na po nc
cs=001b  ss=0023  ds=0023  es=0023  fs=003b  gs=0000             efl=00010246
kernel32!IsBadWritePtr+3b:
7c809f54 8802 mov [edx]{WS2_32!WSAAsyncGetHostByName (71abe99d)},al ds:0023:0058
f698=9d
0:000> g
Access violation - code c0000005 (first chance)
eax=000000f7 ebx=0012fd30 ecx=6b5592e7 edx=0058f6d8 esi=00001000 edi=0058f6db
eip=7c809f54 esp=0012f0f4 ebp=0012f120 iopl=0         nv up ei pl zr na po nc
cs=001b  ss=0023  ds=0023  es=0023  fs=003b  gs=0000             efl=00010246
kernel32!IsBadWritePtr+3b:
7c809f54 8802    mov [edx]{WS2_32!recvfrom (71ab2ff7)},al ds:0023:0058f6d8=f7
0:000> g
Access violation - code c0000005 (first chance)
eax=00000051 ebx=0012fd30 ecx=6b5592e7 edx=0058f6ac esi=00001000 edi=0058f6af
eip=7c809f54 esp=0012f0f4 ebp=0012f120 iopl=0         nv up ei pl zr na po nc
cs=001b  ss=0023  ds=0023  es=0023  fs=003b  gs=0000             efl=00010246
kernel32!IsBadWritePtr+3b:
7c809f54 8802      mov [edx]{WS2_32!sendto (71ab2f51)},al ds:0023:0058f6ac=51
0:000> g
Access violation - code c0000005 (first chance)
eax=00000055 ebx=0012fd30 ecx=6b5592e7 edx=0058f6c0 esi=00001000 edi=0058f6c3
eip=7c809f54 esp=0012f0f4 ebp=0012f120 iopl=0         nv up ei pl zr na po nc
cs=001b  ss=0023  ds=0023  es=0023  fs=003b  gs=0000             efl=00010246
kernel32!IsBadWritePtr+3b:
7c809f54 8802 mov [edx]{WS2_32!gethostbyname (71ab5355)},al ds:0023:0058f6c0=55
0:000> g
Access violation - code c0000005 (first chance)
eax=00000011 ebx=0012fd30 ecx=6b5592e7 edx=0058f6a4 esi=00001000 edi=0058f6a7
eip=7c809f54 esp=0012f0f4 ebp=0012f120 iopl=0         nv up ei pl zr na po nc
cs=001b  ss=0023  ds=0023  es=0023  fs=003b  gs=0000             efl=00010246
kernel32!IsBadWritePtr+3b:
7c809f54 8802      mov [edx]{WS2_32!socket (71ab4211)},al ds:0023:0058f6a4=11
0:000> g
Access violation - code c0000005 (first chance)
eax=0000002b ebx=0012fd30 ecx=6b5592e7 edx=0058f6a0 esi=00001000 edi=0058f6a3
eip=7c809f54 esp=0012f0f4 ebp=0012f120 iopl=0         nv up ei pl zr na po nc
cs=001b  ss=0023  ds=0023  es=0023  fs=003b  gs=0000             efl=00010246
kernel32!IsBadWritePtr+3b:
7c809f54 8802 mov [edx]{WS2_32!closesocket (71ab3e2b)},al ds:0023:0058f6a0=2b
0:000> g
Access violation - code c0000005 (first chance)
eax=00000080 ebx=0012fd30 ecx=6b5592e7 edx=0058f6a8 esi=00001000 edi=0058f6ab
eip=7c809f54 esp=0012f0f4 ebp=0012f120 iopl=0         nv up ei pl zr na po nc
cs=001b  ss=0023  ds=0023  es=0023  fs=003b  gs=0000             efl=00010246
kernel32!IsBadWritePtr+3b:
7c809f54 8802        mov [edx]{WS2_32!bind (71ab4480)},al ds:0023:0058f6a8=80
0:000> g
ModLoad: 71a50000 71a8f000   C:\WINDOWS\System32\mswsock.dll
ModLoad: 76f20000 76f47000   C:\WINDOWS\system32\DNSAPI.dll
ModLoad: 76fb0000 76fb8000   C:\WINDOWS\System32\winrnr.dll
ModLoad: 76f60000 76f8c000   C:\WINDOWS\system32\WLDAP32.dll
ModLoad: 5ad70000 5ada8000   C:\WINDOWS\system32\uxtheme.dll
C++ EH exception - code e06d7363 (first chance)
ModLoad: 74720000 7476c000   C:\WINDOWS\system32\MSCTF.dll
ModLoad: 76fc0000 76fc6000   C:\WINDOWS\system32\rasadhlp.dll
ModLoad: 662b0000 66308000   C:\WINDOWS\system32\hnetcfg.dll
ModLoad: 77c00000 77c08000   C:\WINDOWS\system32\version.dll
ModLoad: 755c0000 755ee000   C:\WINDOWS\system32\msctfime.ime
ModLoad: 71a90000 71a98000   C:\WINDOWS\System32\wshtcpip.dll
C++ EH exception - code e06d7363 (first chance)
C++ EH exception - code e06d7363 (first chance)
C++ EH exception - code e06d7363 (first chance)
ModLoad: 76fd0000 7704f000   C:\WINDOWS\system32\CLBCATQ.DLL
ModLoad: 77050000 77115000   C:\WINDOWS\system32\COMRes.dll
ModLoad: 77c00000 77c08000   C:\WINDOWS\system32\VERSION.dll
ModLoad: 3e1c0000 3ec55000   C:\WINDOWS\system32\ieframe.dll
ModLoad: 3dfd0000 3e1b8000   C:\WINDOWS\system32\iertutil.dll
ModLoad: 78130000 78263000   C:\WINDOWS\system32\urlmon.dll
ModLoad: 7e720000 7e7d0000   C:\WINDOWS\system32\SXS.DLL
C++ EH exception - code e06d7363 (first chance)
ModLoad: 77b40000 77b62000   C:\WINDOWS\system32\appHelp.dll
ModLoad: 3d930000 3da16000   C:\WINDOWS\system32\WININET.dll
ModLoad: 01e10000 01e19000   C:\WINDOWS\system32\Normaliz.dll
ModLoad: 76ee0000 76f1c000   C:\WINDOWS\system32\RASAPI32.dll
ModLoad: 76e90000 76ea2000   C:\WINDOWS\system32\rasman.dll
ModLoad: 5b860000 5b8b5000   C:\WINDOWS\system32\NETAPI32.dll
ModLoad: 76eb0000 76edf000   C:\WINDOWS\system32\TAPI32.dll
ModLoad: 76e80000 76e8e000   C:\WINDOWS\system32\rtutils.dll
ModLoad: 769c0000 76a74000   C:\WINDOWS\system32\USERENV.dll
ModLoad: 71e50000 71e65000   C:\WINDOWS\system32\msapsspc.dll
ModLoad: 78080000 78091000   C:\WINDOWS\system32\MSVCRT40.dll
ModLoad: 767f0000 76818000   C:\WINDOWS\system32\schannel.dll
ModLoad: 77a80000 77b15000   C:\WINDOWS\system32\CRYPT32.dll
ModLoad: 77b20000 77b32000   C:\WINDOWS\system32\MSASN1.dll
ModLoad: 722b0000 722b5000   C:\WINDOWS\system32\sensapi.dll
ModLoad: 75b00000 75b15000   C:\WINDOWS\system32\digest.dll
ModLoad: 747b0000 747f7000   C:\WINDOWS\system32\msnsspc.dll
ModLoad: 78080000 78091000   C:\WINDOWS\system32\MSVCRT40.dll
ModLoad: 77c70000 77c95000   C:\WINDOWS\system32\msv1_0.dll
ModLoad: 76790000 7679c000   C:\WINDOWS\system32\cryptdll.dll
ModLoad: 76d60000 76d79000   C:\WINDOWS\system32\iphlpapi.dll
ModLoad: 75cf0000 75d81000   C:\WINDOWS\system32\MLANG.dll

and the winmx window finally opens...

this is in no way XPs fault... and no patch from MS can fix this...

for the curious; the 'load library error 2' failure with the debugger itself is because i dont have the symbol file for winmx.exe ... to have it i would need the source code...

as for making winmx stable using the debugger its cos it acts like a 'babysitter' ... a function its not really supposed to do... to keep things going just a smidgen bit smoother... whether or not it would fix the '1000 file freeze' i dont know... ive not tested that... most likely it would just crash showing where the bug is...

[White Stripes]

addendum; im not saying 'winmx is bad' with the above... im saying 'winmx is buggy' ... 3.54b4 is what it is ... a beta ... its not finished... such behavior is to be expected of betas as the programmer is still working things out...

but unfortunatly 3.54b4 is the only one with a 'background' shared library update...

...and before you ask 3.53 has the '1000 file freeze' too...

[Igor]

BitTorrent is great as general purpose P2P at an impersonal level, but nothing beats WinMX for actual P2P as I see it, that is, Peer-To-Peer or Person-to-Person communication with the exclusivity level you don't get with other P2P systems. With WinMX you can both do the public shared thing seen on BitTorrent & co, or go personal with the private messaging system. There's also the chat rooms, thrown in for good measure. Different animals for different needs, and it's good having both. I don't get that with BitTorrent, which is why I'm also still struggling on with the outdated WinMX client.

The network is there. The files are there. The users are there - and always potentially more to come.

We're all just waiting for an updated WinMX client with a revamped UI, to bring modernity and prosperity to this great P2P network.