Greetings!


I am using the crossover plugin (version 0.3.4) for xmms (version 1.2.8) and since I have started using it, xmms crashes at some point. The application is still running but refuses to play any sound. When I close it, there remain 4 active processes which indicates an unclean exit. The output of ps aux is like this:
user 908 0.2 1.5 16056 8192 ? S 14:17 0:06 xmms
user 909 0.0 1.5 16056 8192 ? S 14:17 0:00 xmms
user 913 0.1 1.5 16056 8192 ? S 14:17 0:04 xmms
user 914 0.0 1.5 16056 8192 ? S 14:17 0:02 xmms

So I try to kill -9 the processes by hand as the user that started xmms. After I do that, the strange thing happens: One of these processes remains with a different name and uses 100% of my cpu. ps aux gives me the following:
user 913 0.2 0.0 0 0 ? RW 14:17 0:08 [xmms]

I am now unable to kill this process, kill -9 has no result and doesn't display any error. Even when I try to kill it as root, there is no error but the process remains and takes over the cpu. It also still occupies the dsp device, so I have no sound until I reboot and this is very annoying.

I have never experienced this before, does anyone have a hint as to why this happens and how I could at least kill that process?


Thanks in advance for any hints!

I don't use suse or crossover, but it may help others if you can advise if you are able to run other sound programs including videos ok. My wild guess is that your sound modules have got some configuring to do.

Thanks for the reply!

Sorry about the typo, I meant to type 'crossfading' instead of 'crossover'. Bad typo indeed .

Well, usually any sound (audio files, cd audio, video, games) works just fine. Also xmms didn't always crash like that. It seems to me that it started doing this when I started using the crossfading plugin but that might be a misconception.

I have an i810 onboard sound chip and I understand that the respective kernel module (i810_audio) seems to be experimental but I have never had this kind of problem until I started using this particular plugin. I will try the normal OSS output for a while so that I can make sure the problem is with the crossfading.

Oops, if you read my post, it was wrong. Erasing and leaving this
note.

RO

try
pkill xmms

Thanks, RolledOat!


I just read the manual page for pkill and I will try that the next time I have said problem!

And I didn't get the chance to read your previous post... but now I'm curious. *lol*


Cheers!

Hmm, unfortunately pkill didn't help either... any other suggestions would be warmly welcomed. =)

in mdk, to kill a process that a user has started open a terminal and type "top" then find the PID or process number normally a 3 or 4 digit number then type q to quit top then type kill (number)

oohh, I am just thinking, you didn't compile that plugin by any chance using root instead of user?

Thanks for the hint! But I already tried killing it via 'top' no result either, the process remains. Even when I do this as root.

And yes, I did compile it as root. Why, does that have any consequences regarding my problem?

well, if you did it all by root, there is chance you have not set the permissions for the user so they can use the plugin. Since you did the compile go back and look at the permissions.

If I am right, the crash occurs when you open something as a user and the plugin tries to start but fails as you don't have permission.

If the permissions look ok, open a terminal and then type xmms
it may give you some error messages that you can google or report back.

I'm having a similiar prollem.. I'm using Gentoo Linux tho, same version of XMMS.. used the emerge function that gentoo has(splendid) I have sound working, the i810 chipset as well, but I've NEVER gotten xmms to work.. it starts.. it looks pretty.. I can load a file.. I hit play, it goes to shiza.. locks up everything, can't kill it.. tried it as a user, and as root, either way, it won't work, and no, I can't get sound from any other application what so ever.. and the same issue.. cant get the sucker die.. oh well.. any help?

Thanks for your report! It really seems to be the same problem. As of now I'm starting to think that this is really an issue of either xmms, the i810 sound driver or the combination of the two. Should we write to one of the developing teams about this?

hmm, I haven't checked that plugin or the site you got it from,
if you want to report a bug, the site you went to would normally tell you what ouput they require.

I gather that starting it in terminal mode gave no error messages?

No, there are no error messages at all; not even when I started xmms from a terminal. I previously had a bug when compiling the plugin and thus I have already had contact to the author that coded the plugin. So I initially suspected the plugin to be the villain. But after Odubhth4igh reported the same problem with the same audio driver (which is experimental and buggy afaik), I'm not sure as to where I should file a bug report: the plugin author, the xmms team or the guy who did the audio driver... any suggestions? I don't wanna bug ppl unnecessarily.