winamp

[Devorzhum]

It turns out that Vista corrupts Win Amp over time. From what I've read on other forums, there is (in reality) no truly Vista compatible Win Amp, Vista ruins them all eventually. Vista chirps up with it's helpful "Win Amp has stopped working and Windows doesn't know or care why" stock response.

To make a long story short on potential fixes:

1) Reinstall = Win Amp has stopped working

2) TOTAL cleaning of all Win Amp files and reinstall = Win Amp has stopped working

3) Upgraded Win Amp = Win Amp has stopped working

4) Compatibility Mode changes (setting changed each time it crashed, running the gambit from XT all the way down to 95) = Win Amp has stopped working

5) Going back to XP isn't an option for me.

6) Going Mac Pro isn't an option for me.

Right now iTunes is my only salvation. Windows Media Player sucks worse than an Amish player carved out of Balsa wood. I need an mp3 program that can recognize shortcut keys even when running in the background - it's too bad 99% of the ones out there aren't Vista compatible and it seems the other 1% are lying about being Vista compatible. I also need an mp3 program that will open on startup and remember where it left off.

Any of you folks have any ideas on this one? Any help would be appreciated as Win Amp is currently headed for the uninstall scrap heap at my house.

[Big Al 24]

When I googled "winamp alternative vista" I got this....

http://www.google.com/search?q=winamp+alternative+vista&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a

And I found this list...

http://www.techmalaya.com/2007/10/25/10-alternatives-to-winamp-desktop-music-player-freeware/

There may be more, but since I just use WMP and VLC for videos I haven't picked one.

[Devorzhum]

Thanks, Big Al 24. I hadn't used the term alternative in my searches, I'll check that one out.

[MavsX]

i've been using winamp since like 98. of course i'm running xp though

[Devorzhum]

I think I might have this solved. I looked at Big Al's list and saw some of the same programs I'd browsed at Snapfiles.com. I went back there looking for Vista compatibles, finding few of them.
Finally I went back to the player I've been using all along - STP Player, a Russian masterpiece in my opinion - and got the most current version from the developer's website. When I frist tried STP on Vista (when I originally got the PC in November) , the OS wouldn't run it.
But now I disabled the very irritating User Account Control (the feature that has Windows tell you your PC isn't really YOUR PC) and replaced it with trusty Win Patrol.
I have a feeling that a lot of Vista issues are actually the fault of the UAC rather than OS changes or running a 64 Bit system. We'll see if I'm right, so far STP is running like a dream: silent, in the background, responding to custom shortcut keys, eliminating duplicate playlist entries - this is all I wanted in the frist place. I've been using STP for years and I hope putting a bullet into the UAC alows it to operate unhindered from now on.
Thanks to all who replied.
Bloated, unstable WinAmp is gone, STP is just fine for me.

[manish07]

I also use winamp. Thanks for sharing info.