Problem using headphones 3.4.2

• Feb 16, 2020 - 15:19

I use headphones to monitor the score as I'm writing. I habitually disconnect the headphones at the end of a session, to protect my jacks and outlets from accidents. I'm having a problem after switching from Portable version to 3.4.2. When I disconnect the headphones, the score playback freezes upon reconnection of the phones. I have to restart. Sometime that works. If it doesn't, I go into Preferences and reset the sound in I /O. If I had it set to headphones, I have to reset it to Mapper, and if it was set to Mapper, I have to reset it again - To headphones or mapper. It didn't use to work like this. I never had to reset when disconnecting and reconnecting my phones.

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• Feb 16, 2020 - 18:20

I'm using regular phones plugged directly into my standard laptop audio port. I just upgraded to the latest version a few days ago and now am having this problem. I've been using Musescore since 2013 and have had no problems. Connecting and reconnecting did not require resetting.

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• Feb 17, 2020 - 03:33

Interesting.The only time I see a headphone listing in MuseScore preferences is when I use my blue tooth headphones. Even set to MME I can unplug and re-plug wired phones with out problem. It sets it up automatically. I don't have to rest anything. My laptop uses Conexant audio. May be not very fancy.
Did you run the portable version from a stick of a location on your computer?

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• Feb 17, 2020 - 04:15

I used to run portable while traveling. Then I found that the newer desktop versions would not start because I had some dll file missing. So I continued using portable on my desktop. I fixed that dll file problem, and am now running the latest version. Now I'm having headphone problems. Let's see. I was also using a soundcard because my output jack was broken. Now 've got a new jack installed, but I am being very careful about avoiding accidents, in order to protect the port from damage. And now I'm having this problem every time I reconnect. The score freezes up, I do some fishing and fiddling and then it's all OK. But it's a big hassle.

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• Feb 17, 2020 - 20:59

Some general thoughts.
I wonder why you had a dll problem on your desktop. This makes me think that there may be other problems.

There is no headphone setting on my laptop except for blue tooth headphones.

As I remembered, any time I plug headphones in on my desktop, I have to configure the jack even before I get to MuseScore. Even so, there is no headphone setting in I/O for wired headphones. This is onboard Realtek audio.

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• Feb 18, 2020 - 16:26

Well, no one else seems to have any ideas. So here are the things that worry me about this.

  1. You've talked both about a laptop and a desktop.
  2. You had a missing dll.

  3. You broke your audio jack.

  4. So I need to know which system you are talking about.

  5. Redistributes that you were missing are part of Windows and are regularly updated. It seems to me that if you were missing one, it either became corrupt, or you deleted it. Possibly as part of some housekeeping thing or by accident. Either way, it tells me you had some kind of problem, and that other things might be a problem, also. To that end, have you run sfc /scannow? Do you have a driver issue?
  6. Been there, done that. The old laptop I did that to was not really worth fixing. I bought a small usb audio adaptor that looked like an old style vacuum tube. It worked better that the original. Not that you should have done that. I'm just sympathizing with you. But it makes me wonder what else might have gone wrong in addition to the broken jack.

Without more info, it just seems to me that the problem is on your end rather than a problem with MuseScore.

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• Feb 18, 2020 - 16:47

I have a laptop. I use the desktop version rather than the portable, which I was using until I reinstalled my partition, Windows and Linux. The dll files were an accidental deletion and the folder is replaced. Those missing dll files were preventing the start up of Musescore and Audacity. I have no dll problems now. The audio jack is repaired and I have no problem connecting and reconnecting on any other apps. This is a problem with the latest version of Musescore. Maybe no one else has tried it? Have you? You seem to be having the same problem.

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• Feb 18, 2020 - 18:49

Thanks. I think I understand, now. When you used the term "desktop", you were referring to software, not equipment.
I have version 3.4.2 in which I use the HQ sf3 font. What I didn't realize is that it takes a minute for that font to load. Repeated clicking play caused the program to do odd things. Once the font is loaded, My laptop ( foldy-up unit I carry around) computer doesn't care how many times I unplug or plug in the headphones. My desktop computer ( separate tower, keyboard, monitor and mouse, high powered unit I do serious stuff on ) stops playback if I unplug the headphones, and wants the jack reconfigured if I plug them back in. I don't think these are problems with the software, but rather how different machines interact with the software.

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• Feb 19, 2020 - 18:57

Do you have MuseScore 2, 3, and Portable on the same machine? Do you run all concurrently?

When you wrote: I'm having a problem after switching from Portable version to 3.4.2.
Do you mean you are running Portable then you load 3.4.2 while Portable is running and when you "switch" from Portable to 3.4.2 the headphone problem surfaces?

What OS (operating system)? Have you checked for any recent updates?

For Windows, have you tried this:
In case of interference with other programs, esp. on Windows, go into your soundcard configuration from Control Panel and ensure that the "Allow applications to take exclusive control of this device" in the Advanced tab of both Playback and Recording is unticked.

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• Feb 19, 2020 - 19:41

Me too.
I guess I'm not understanding the order of events. Here is part of your OP:

" When I disconnect the headphones, the score playback freezes upon reconnection of the phones. I have to restart. Sometime that works. If it doesn't, I go into Preferences and reset the sound in I /O. If I had it set to headphones, I have to reset it to Mapper, and if it was set to Mapper, I have to reset it again - To headphones or mapper. It didn't use to work like this."

So, you have MuseScore open. You disconnect the headphones. Why? Were you playing the score at the time?You reconnect the headphones and playback freezes. Was there sound from the speakers? Then "playback freezes". Did the score stop playing or did the whole program freeze? Then, you have to reset I/O to headphones.
The only time I see headphones in MuseScore I/O is when I use my blue tooth headphones. Because that audio interface is only headphones.

My desktop is another story. It really wants to have headphones plugged in and configured before starting MS. Even so, it at least lists all three of my audio interfaces. Onboard, GPU, and sound blaster. But never are headphones listed in MS I/O.

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• Feb 19, 2020 - 20:03

Here's the thing. This has never happened with any other version on any other OS, Windows or Linux. Neither is it happening with any other software, not my movie player, audio player, not my audacity or youtube, or anything else. It's happening with Musescore 3.4.2. It was not happening last month. I just upgraded to this version in the past 10 days. I have no audio problems. My system is all A-OK.

As I said before, I do not like to leave my jack connected to the output when I'm not working, just to prevent an accident. The score plays through the speakers when I disconnect. When I reconnect, the cursor freezes upon starting Play. I go into I/O and adjust, I mean I fiddle with the settings and reset it. then it takes a few moments to start playing again. There would be no problem if I didn't disconnect while using Musescore. Most people don't, so they are not aware of this bug.

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• Feb 20, 2020 - 03:31

I switched over to Linux and Musescore 2.1.0. No problem disconnecting and reconnecting my headphones. It's not my computer nor my audio that is causing this problem. I wonder if I have my Preference settings correct? The only place I can think to go is I/O. But I have to keep resetting every time.

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