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#378 Pop-up / Crashed Windows Internet Explorer
Hi,
I would appreciate your assistance you can offer with a LAME error that has been causing me great frustration over the past few weeks. Whenever my web based email client notifies me of a calendar appointment, it attempts to play a sound. In doing so, this produces a pop-up message (see attached file below) and prevents me from using the web browser. Once I click "OK", Internet Explorer crashes.
I note that you have previously offered a cursory explanation as to how one might fix this problem in post ID number 1736667. However, as with the authors of post numbers 3029376 and 3026295, I have not had any success in either removing or disabling LAME, or fixing this error. Namely, I cannot locate LAME AMC in the Programs and Features part of Control Panel, nor can I locate anything labelled audio/video settings. Please note that I am currently running the Windows Vista operating system.
Please advise me as to how I can fix this error, or failing that remove LAME from my system. I have no problems keeping this software installed on my system if it works correctly, as the vast number of reviews I’ve read on the internet suggest that LAME is a well regarded piece of software. However, if I’m unable to access my email then I need to know how to remove it from my system.
I look forward to reading your response.
Lame Error Message received in Internet Explorer
Hello.
I will try to give a definitive answer about this problem, which affects LAME's image and is not a fault of their developers.
Points:
* LAME developers don't distribute binaries. Any binary you get is from someone else, so it is that someone else who did something wrong when installing LAME.
* LAME ACM (not AMC like it has appeared in a couple of responses) is an ENCODER. When the dialog appears, it is because an application tries to use it as a DECODER.
This is a misconfiguration that the installer did. Again, I repeat that lame developers don't distribute binaries, and this includes installers.
* LAME ACM is not the usual way to use LAME. Generally, people use the comandline encoder, or a dll that is used directly by the application.
The ACM is something specific to Windows and applications that use the old "Audio Compression Manager" ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_legacy_audio_components ). Some Video encoding programs today still use this.
Now, how does the Lame ACM reach your computer? The usual answer is "via a windows codec package". In other words, those installers used to view more video formats.
Solution 1:
Open the add and remove programs from the windows control Panel and search any and all codec packages you have in your system. (Some names of codec packages include: Windows Vista codec package, windows 7 codec package, elisoft codec pack, k-lite codec pack, CCCP (combined community codec pack), .... ).I don't know which one sets it wrong, and I don't know all the codec packages in existence.
Uninstall them all.
When all codecs are removed, I recommend installing k-lite codec pack, just because at the end, the installer will check any broken setting and ask the user if it should fix such error. This should correct the problem, if it still appears.
Solution 2:
The other option is go to the shop where you bought it or phone the technical service so that they can fix it for you (as a paid service, probably).
The short answer is this:
LAME is not a program. It is only a puzzle piece module that application developers like to use. Unfortunately, not every application developer knows how to use it properly -- they jam the pieces together incorrectly. Basically, you have to contact that application developer.
From what it sounds like; you installed some sort of multimedia software (audio/video player, CD/DVD copying software, maybe even Camera/Camcorder/Soundcard installation CD) that came with a LAME codec (puzzle piece) that was improperly developed and installed as your default audio codec.
Failing the ability to discover and contact the actual Application Developer responsible, you can try locating and disabling the LAME codec from your system.
Open Window's "Device Manager" and expand "Sound, video and game controllers". Double-click on "Audio Codecs" then locate the "Properties" tab listing all of the installed Audio Codecs. If you see one with "LAME" in the title, try either changing its priority to a higher number (lower in the list) or disabling it entirely.
Good luck.
Eric
@Eric:
It seems, from Windows Vista onwards Microsoft has removed the configuration dialog, which allowed to prioritize ACM codecs.
@JAZ:
It's possible, that our implementation of an ACM codec violates some best practices, or simply has some bugs.
@nobody, the original poster:
If "LAME ACM Codec" is listed in your "Installed software" panel, then you can remove it there.
Else you can run regedit and look out for the following keys and remove them:
HKLM,"SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\MediaResources\msacm\msacm.lameacm"
HKLM,"SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\drivers.desc","LameACM.acm",,""
HKLM,"SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\drivers32","msacm.lameacm",,""
Those are the keys, which are usually removed, when uninstalling the LAME ACM.
I think it is the fault of the developers to put out a inferior, bug infested product, that waas not fully tested, and no easy solution!
Richard, try this: regsvr32.exe /u C:\WINDOWS\system32\lameACM.acm
How does it come, that nobody knows what software they have installed on their machines?
My bet is, it's some obscure Codec-Package or some legacy software not supported on current Vista/7 (Microsoft dropped ACM support on 7, so better do not install software using ACM on this OS)
Btw: even if we would change our source code now (like deleting the ACM sources), people will still install old binaries coming with dubious Codec-Packs.