Hello all.
I've been using MusicBee for years with no problems, but I recently got a new setup in my home office and it just isn't working right in any way. I got a new laptop (HP Notebook - 14-cf0014dx) as well as a new hub (TBI Pro 12-in-1 usb-c hub, powered through a 90w usb-c charger). My music library is stored on an external hard drive, which has caused me no issues in the past. MusicBee functioned fine -- including having my library stored on my external -- when I first got this laptop a few weeks ago, but now that I have the hub set up, it is not functioning. I'm using the Windows 10 version of MusicBee for the first time, but I tried the standard version as well and am still having problems. I now have the external plugged into the hub, rather than directly into the laptop. However, this does not seem to be the source of the problems (at least not directly), since I have the same issues when it is plugged directly into the laptop.
I have not gotten any error messages. I've searched through the forums, but haven't found anyone reporting a similar combination of issues. I tried some solutions that I saw recommended for some the stuttering issue specifically, but had no luck.
My problems are the following:
1. As soon as MusicBee opens, it immediately starts playing whatever song was last played. I can't pause or stop it. Even when I navigate to controls > stop, it just stops for a moment and then immediately starts playing again.
2. The playback is incredibly choppy and pretty quiet -- it is stuttering almost constantly and is unbearable to listen to.
3. I cannot scroll properly. Sometimes, I can drag the scrollbar down to browse my library, but usually the scrollbar moves but the actual library does not scroll through. I'm on "album covers" view and it just shows me the first 10 album covers without scrolling. The same thing happens with the navigator in the left panel and all other panels that could usually be scrolled through.
4. When I move songs to playlists, sometimes it works but usually it doesn't. I can drag the track over to the playlist I want it in and everything visually seems to have worked, but when I click on that playlist, the song is usually not there.
Here's what I have tried (some on a whim, some inspired by other peoples' related other issues found through the forum):
1. I tried different skins, just in case the one I usually use was just being weird. Seemed like it was worth a shot.
2. I increased the priority of MusicBee to "high" via the task manager, in case it just wasn't being allowed to use enough memory.
3. I reinstalled MusicBee -- I tried the standard version, but had the same problems. Then I uninstalled that and reinstalled the Windows 10 version, but no changes.
4. I tried increasing the buffer size -- from 5 seconds all the way up to 30 with no avail. I also tried the 'load entire file into memory' option.
5. I tried every different playback output option, including using and not using 32 bit output.
6. I tried plugging the external into different ports (in the hub as well as directly into the laptop), but had the same issues.