LMMS v1.2.2 (win64) crashed and now displays a blank window

[Jim]

I'm running LMMS v1.2.2 (64-bit) under windows 10 on a laptop. I've been running it successfully on this system for a long time and have created numerous songs with it. No hardware/software changes have been made recently.

Today I was editing a song and, while LMMS was playing a loop, I clicked "save". LMMS immediately crashed and terminated.

I restarted LMMS and got the usual pop-up window that shows program loading progress. When progress reaches "Preparing automation editor" there's a short delay, and then the pop-up closes and the LMMS main window opens and displays what I call the "white window of death" (WWOD) -- a white-filled window with title "Untitled* - LMMS 1.2.2". I've waited several minutes to see if the WWOD goes away (i.e. if song editors appear), but it never does. Clicking the window Close control has no effect; I can only terminate the WWOD by killing LMMS via task manager.

While the WWOD is open, task manager reports the following for LMMS: status = not responding, cpu = 31%, memory = 30.1 MB.

To fix this, I tried the following sequence: uninstall LMMS, reboot computer, install LMMS, run LMMS. Same result: endless WWOD which can only be killed with task manager.

Please help! Any advice would be appreciated.

[musikbear]

LMMS v1.2.2 (64-bit) under windows 10 on a laptop.
Got "white window of death" (WWOD)

Tried
* uninstall LMMS,
* reboot computer,
* install LMMS,
* run LMMS. Same result: WWOD

Not good.
I have never heard about anything like this, so your issue is a first.
Because of that I do not have a solution, so we are in T&E mode.
First and foremost: Is your Windows fully updated?
I would start with a win-update and make sure nothing is 'wrong' in windows
Then backup your user-files, and use win-unstall and remove current installation.
After you have done that, scan Register-DB and see if something related to LMMS is 'buried' there.
Go to
https://lmms.io/download#windows
and get a new package of 1.22 -OR try 1.3-Alpha. Alpha is more stabile but you cant go backwards to 1.22 after you have saved projects with 1.3
Do NOT select 1.3-Master/Nightly. Both has experimental features, also some bugs.
In windows log in as admin and make a default install
Let us know the outcome.

Besides that, since you are new in Forum
Welcome Jim!
Here are all important links:
http://lmms.io/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=4740
-A few rules and useful forum instructions
If you like to introduce yourself, to the community, go here:
http://lmms.io/forum/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=4480

[Jim]

Thanks for the reply, musikBear -- much appreciated.

In case anyone else runs into this problem, here's how I solved it.

First, I confirmed Windows updates are current and I backed up all MMPZ files.

Then I tried this:

* Uninstalled LMMS 1.2.2
* Searched system registry and found no problematic LMMS-related residuals
* Manually deleted C:\Program Files\LMMS (4 DLLs and subdirs "data" & "plugins"), which for some reason is preserved by uninstall
* Rebooted
* Downloaded & installed LMMS 1.2.2
* Started LMMS

Result: Same problem -- WWOD.

Next I did this:

* Uninstalled LMMS 1.2.2
* Manually deleted C:\Program Files\LMMS
* Rebooted
* Downloaded & installed LMMS 1.3.0-alpha.1
* Started LMMS

Result: Same problem -- WWOD.

Then I did this:

* Uninstalled LMMS 1.3.0-alpha.1
* Manually deleted C:\Program Files\LMMS
* Manually deleted C:\Users\<me>\LMMS (various subdirs, including MMPZ files) -- which I just discovered is also preserved by uninstall
* Installed LMMS 1.2.2
* Started LMMS

Result: LMMS reports C:\Users\<me>\LMMS does not exist and asks if I want to create it. I answer yes and then:

* LMMS starts normally and creates a default new project
* I try to open a random MMPZ I haven't worked on for awhile. Result: success.
* I try to open my latest project. Result: LMMS crashes.

Conclusion

LMMS crashed while saving my latest MMPZ project file and in the process corrupted the file. I have LMMS configured to automatically open the last active MMPZ at startup, so whenever I tried to run LMMS again, it would choke on the corrupt MMPZ file and hang. This was easily confirmed by comparing the MMPZ file size to that of its most recent automatic backup: 9KB vs. 92KB.

Advice for others experiencing this problem

The simple solution to this problem is to delete the corrupted MMPZ file and rename its backup file (i.e., delete the ".bak" file extension).

[musikbear]

I have LMMS configured to automatically open the last active MMPZ at startup, so whenever I tried to run LMMS again, it would choke on the corrupt MMPZ file and hang.

Damn i should have thought about that -sorry : (

[Jim]

I have LMMS configured to automatically open the last active MMPZ at startup, so whenever I tried to run LMMS again, it would choke on the corrupt MMPZ file and hang.

Damn i should have thought about that -sorry : (

No need for regret -- I appreciate that you took the time and made an effort to help me.

Hopefully this thread will help others in the future.