Bugzilla – Bug 3722
Slimserver stops intermittently and does not restart
Last modified: 2008-09-15 14:39:24 UTC
This problem began about 2 weeks ago (never occurred before that.) I'm listening to a web station and the transmission abruptly ends. SlimServer's Music Player still shows "Play". I have to click "Stop" and then click "Play" to correct the problem. Then it reoccurs anywhere from 1 minute to 1 hour later. I am running 6.3.1 (the problem also occurred before the upgrade.) My event log does not show any unusual activity. I am not aware of any conflicting wireless activity in the area. Here's some additional info that I found in the Slimserver log file. This is repeated multiple times in the file. In fact, a new entry appeared while I was scanning the file but the server did not stop. Hmmmm. 2006-07-08 09:49:59.4062 Loading device description failed with error: 500 Can't connect to 192.168.0.1:5678 (connect: Unknown error) Device may be down or on an unreachable subnet. at /PerlApp/Slim/Utils/UPnPMediaServer.pm line 66
That error is probably not related, it's just a warning about an unresponsive UPnP device. You can run with the --noupnp switch in recent nightlies if you want to see if it's the cause of your problem.
(In reply to comment #1) > That error is probably not related, it's just a warning about an unresponsive > UPnP device. You can run with the --noupnp switch in recent nightlies if you > want to see if it's the cause of your problem. Please excuse my ignorance but could you give me some additional detailed instructions as to how I do what you are suggesting? Thanks. Fred
On XP, to run the application with the -noupnp "switch", use the Slimserver icon in the "system tray" area of the task bar to "Stop Slimserver" (if it hasn't already crashed). Open a "Command Prompt" window, and type "C:\Program Files\Slimserver\server\slim.exe -noupnp". Running Slimserver this way looks weird in XP, since the Command Prompt window will stay active and may show some debugging info, but Slimserver should run just like usual, and you can get to the GUI by browsing to http://localhost:9000 This may also be a handy tool for another part of your issue, which is where you say Slimserver won't restart. Perhaps starting from the command line like this will yield an informative error message, either from the OS or from Slimserver!
(In reply to comment #3) Thanks. I noted that the error message that I quoted in the opening of this bug report occurs regularly and precisely at 10 minute intervals. It seems to coincide with Slimserver stopping. Is there some setting within the "Server Settings" that generates this 10 minute exercise? Fred
You still don't see any errors in the Application section of the Event Viewer, or in the command line after launching slim.exe? Most puzzling.
(In reply to comment #5) > You still don't see any errors in the Application section of the Event Viewer, > or in the command line after launching slim.exe? Most puzzling. Never could get my system to accept the command prompt you suggested in #3 above. The signal loss problem is still there. The error message in the Debugging section occurs every 625 seconds. Does the "Perl" in the error message mean anything to you? Thanks again, Fred
The UPnP warning may be safely ignored, it is not causing the crash.
(In reply to comment #7) > The UPnP warning may be safely ignored, it is not causing the crash. OK, I will ignore it. Meanwhile, do you have any other suggestions for solving the problem? Thanks, Fred
(In reply to comment #8) > (In reply to comment #7) P.S. While I understand that the error may not be causing the crash, can you explain why the crash occurs at the precise moment that the error message appears? Fred
Without knowing the error message I can't say.
(In reply to comment #10) > Without knowing the error message I can't say. Where/how can I locate the error message? Fred
Running from the command line is the easiest way to see what happens when it crashes. Start -> Run cmd cd \Program Files\SlimServer\server slim.exe Wait for the crash and then copy/paste everything you see in the command window. You can then run: slim.exe --noupnp to see if that causees the crash to go away.
Fred called in, mentioned he downgraded from 6.5b1, I walked him through deleting the .pref and .db file. He'll reconfigure slim server, and let it rescan. He'll add a note to this bug with the results.
(In reply to comment #13) > Fred called in, mentioned he downgraded from 6.5b1, I walked him through > deleting the .pref and .db file. He'll reconfigure slim server, and let it > rescan. He'll add a note to this bug with the results. The problem seems to have gone away. Every so often (very infrequently) the server stops but then restarts without my goosing it. I'll keep an eye on things for the next week or so. Thanks for your excellent help.
Since this turned out to be a peculiarity of installation and not a bug per se, I'm marking it 'worksforme'.
Unfortunately, the problem still exists but it occurs much less often than it used to. Sometimes I go for a couple of hours without a stoppage. But when it does stop, I have to "stop" on the Music Player screen and then hit "play". Same as before. Fred
Does this only happen on a particular radio stream or any that you try? What stream exactly are you listening to when it happens? You could try one of the RadioIO stations, they tend to be pretty reliable.
(In reply to comment #17) > Does this only happen on a particular radio stream or any that you try? What > stream exactly are you listening to when it happens? You could try one of the > RadioIO stations, they tend to be pretty reliable. It seems to be random. I only listen to 5 or 6 stations on a regular basis. Frankly, the problem seems to be manageable at the moment so I would just ignore it unless you need more info from me. I will try RadioIO and see what happens. Thanks for following up.
Fred: Just a thought... what if you turn repeat on (press the REPEAT button on the remote). It's possible that the stations are disconnecting (at their end) and without Repeat turned on, SlimServer will stop and not restart. Give that a try and let us know if it helps.
(In reply to comment #19) > Fred: Just a thought... what if you turn repeat on (press the REPEAT button on > the remote). It's possible that the stations are disconnecting (at their end) > and without Repeat turned on, SlimServer will stop and not restart. Give > that a try and let us know if it helps. Thanks Dean, For whatever reason the problem seems to have gone away. Maybe with all my monkeying with Squeezebox and Slimserver (along with an extended Edison power outage) I inadvertently fixed it. Of course, now that I've said that, the thing will probably crash. Regards, Fred
(In reply to comment #20) > (In reply to comment #19) > > Fred: Just a thought... what if you turn repeat on (press the REPEAT button on > > the remote). It's possible that the stations are disconnecting (at their end) > > and without Repeat turned on, SlimServer will stop and not restart. Give > > that a try and let us know if it helps. > Thanks Dean, > For whatever reason the problem seems to have gone away. Maybe with all my > monkeying with Squeezebox and Slimserver (along with an extended Edison power > outage) I inadvertently fixed it. Of course, now that I've said that, the > thing will probably crash. > Regards, > Fred I thought I'd try the latest version 6.5.0 (after a couple of months of relatively trouble free operation) and now the problem is back in spades. The music stream stops after a few minutes and sometimes restarts. Sometimes not. Slimserver is alwys "runnning". I noticed that if I aim the remote at Squeezebox and press "Play", the music stream starts up again. I hate to downgrade to an earlier version. Any other ideas of what I can do? Fred
Cancel that last comment. It appears that my DSL connection got messed up right after I installed the latest version. Some timing, huh. Things seem to be under control. Sorry about the erroneous info. Fred (In reply to comment #21) > (In reply to comment #20) > > (In reply to comment #19) > > > Fred: Just a thought... what if you turn repeat on (press the REPEAT button on > > > the remote). It's possible that the stations are disconnecting (at their end) > > > and without Repeat turned on, SlimServer will stop and not restart. Give > > > that a try and let us know if it helps. > > Thanks Dean, > > For whatever reason the problem seems to have gone away. Maybe with all my > > monkeying with Squeezebox and Slimserver (along with an extended Edison power > > outage) I inadvertently fixed it. Of course, now that I've said that, the > > thing will probably crash. > > Regards, > > Fred > I thought I'd try the latest version 6.5.0 (after a couple of months of > relatively trouble free operation) and now the problem is back in spades. The > music stream stops after a few minutes and sometimes restarts. Sometimes not. > Slimserver is alwys "runnning". I noticed that if I aim the remote at > Squeezebox and press "Play", the music stream starts up again. > I hate to downgrade to an earlier version. Any other ideas of what I can do? > Fred