Help!
I am running kernel 2.4.18-24.0 and KDE 3.0.3-8 and I have downloaded the xmms-mp3-1.2.7-13.p.i386.rpm package from Guru Labs and I still can't get my XMMS player to play mp3 files. I get the following message:

Please check that:
1. You have the correct output plugin selected
2. No other program is blocking the soundcard
3. Your soundcard is configured properly

Note: I do have sound as far as KDE is concerned since I can turn on system notifications and I get all of the goofy sounds provided by KDE.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Sincerely,
eboggess

I'd assume that, since sound works in KDE and such, some other process might be using your soundcard constantly, maybe even KDE itself. /dev/dsp, which is the device for your soundcard, can only be accessed by one process at a time.

Try running xmms from an xterm, the error messages from a console are often more helpful than those you get in a GUI. If you still can't find the problem, post the error messages here and I'll give it a try

I remember that RedHat 8 does not come with the libs necessary to play MP3, but I found that those libs are the package you installed, after a Google/Linux search.

Can you play OGG vorbis files normally? If so, it might be a problem with the MP3 RPM because RH8 does come with support for OGG.

Give these things a try and post the results... and good luck

Whoa!
I just tried to start XMMS from an Xterm window and got this very strange message:

[user@server user]$ xmms
unable to open port '/dev/ttyS1' (Input/output error)
unable to open port '/dev/ttyS1' (Input/output error)
Joystick Control: No such device

[user@server user]$ xmms


As always, any insight would be greatly appreciated!
eboggess