Can't use convert command from drop down menu

[misty miss]

When I go click to convert from my drop down menu in windows XP it wont convert. I have to click on the db icon on my desktop and select the files from there. Sometimes it works and sometimes not. How can I fix it so I can convert from my drop down menu once again?

[xoas]

Re: Can't use convert command from drop down menu

First let me suggest a very simple thing you may have tried already. Go to dMC Configuration and make sure that the box is checked that reads "'Convert To' on Explorer Right Click".

If this box is checked, then check to see if this problem is only true of some files If so, look to see if the are of the same types. If this is the case, you might be missing a codec needed to read that type of file. Some formats require you to have a codec both to read a file and one to write that kind of file.

If the box is checked and you are sure you have the codecs that you need installed, then I want to make sure that I understand your problem correctly. As I understand your post are the following statements true:
1. You can not convert an audio file by selecting and right clicking on the file and selecting Convert To, this function never works for you, not on any type of audio file, it has worked in the past;
2. Sometimes you can open Music Converter from the desktop and select and convert files but this does not always work.

Is this the problem? If not, please be correct or add any information that is incorrect or missing in the two statements above.
Best wishes,
Bill Mikkelsen

[misty miss]

Re: Can't use convert command from drop down menu

Yes I have the right box checked in the configuration. It wont work from my drop down menu. I know the program converts because I can click on the db icon on my quick launch bar, locate the folder, highlight the files I want to convert and click open...then it opens and lets me convert. I usually convert my bit rate (320 to 128 kbps) to save disk space. Its just a mystery to me why it changes up on me and wont let me do it from my drop down menu.

[misty miss]

Re: Can't use convert command from drop down menu

and....It always works when I do it from my quick launch bar.

[xoas]

Re: Can't use convert command from drop down menu

Ok. You can always open and convert from the quick launch bar.
You cannot right-click on a music file in Windows Explorer and click on Convert To to do your conversion. I assume that the Convert to option does not appear on the drop down menu when you right click on the file.

Is this true of all your music files (not getting the Convert to option on the drop down menu after right-clicking)? Or is this only true of some files and not others? If it only happens with some files do they have anything in common (bit rate, source, channels, frequency)? What version of dMC do you have? Have you been able to convert from the drop down menu before and now it has stopped working? Are there any things you have done before this problem appeared?

These questions should help clarify the problem. It sounds to me very likely that part of dMC has gotten messed up. This will likely call for an uninstall/reinstall procedure perhaps the "deep" uninstall/reinstall procedure (which calls for deletion of dMC from your registry before reinstalling as well). So if you have a version of dMC lower than 10.1, try upgrading to that. If you have version 10.1 I would try the r11 beta (available through the beta forum).

Anyway, if you want to try check out the other factors I discussed, you can check into them and let us know how that turns out. If you want to try an uninstall/reinstall (with or without an upgrade, with or without deleting dMC from the registry), let us know how that turns out also.

Best wishes,
Bill Mikkelsen

[misty miss]

Re: Can't use convert command from drop down menu

Bill,
First off, thanks for your time.

Last week I did a full format and reinstall of win XP pro on my C: drive. dMc 10.1 was one of the first programs that I installed. The dMc convert option shows on my drop-down menu but will not initialize. I have to do it thru my quick launch bar. This happens with all audio files. In the past I do remember being able to convert directly from the drop-down menu.

I just did a uninstall & "deep uninstall/reinstall. Still no luck. :cry:

Could you please tell me a little more about the r11 beta?
How stable is it and can I use Power-Pack?
(lol...I have Power-Pack, but I don't know how to use it. When this problem first surfaced last year, I purchased Power-Pack(under my real name)thinking that it might solve this problem. Anyway, I still have it and will use it someday if I can ever figure out what it does.

I might add that I can remember being able to use my drop-down menu at times to convert; but just can't pin down what, where, when and what changes were made to my system that affected this all.

I always thought that after a through format and reinstall of XP nothing would be left lingering on my C: drive. At least new settings should be fresh and unobstructed from what was on the drive before. I also know that a re-format will not completely destroy the information on a drive. Everything is recoverable and I have personally seen re-formatted drives fully recovered. (I have personal knowledge of a company that does this kind of work for the US government)

[xoas]

Re: Can't use convert command from drop down menu

A mysterious problem. If you reinstalled from a saved file I would redownload dMC (either release 10.1 or the release 11 beta) and reinstall from that. It is possible the files you did the installation from were either incomplete or corrupted.
If you are concerned about stability I would recommend going with the release 10.1 rather than the r 11 beta. Spoon's betas are usually pretty good but they are still betas. You can find the information on the r 11 beta in the beta forum. I am currently using the r 11 beta. If you have the dB Audio Player I would recommend that you also install the dAP release 3 beta 5 (both have a new mp3 decoder built-in that is different from those used in previous versions of dMC and dAP. If you don't have success reinstalling 10.1, then I might recommend going ahead and downloading and installing the r 11 beta.

When you say that you get the Convert to option on the drop down menu but it does not initialize, could you explain a bit more clearly what you mean? Do you mean that it will not switch to the dMC screen to allow you to set options and then convert?

Power Pack is a group of add-ons to dBprograms which permit you some mor powerful options. Since the ability to convert files by right-clicking on the music file and selecting convert to is built into the basic version of dMC Power Pack will not help with that problem. More information about Power Pack can be found both in your dMC help file and from the dBpowerAMP home page. If you want to toy around with the Power Pack options and run into trouble, we'd be glad to help.

I'll keep thinking about the problem. I don't suppose you've installed another audio program which might have somehow over rode dMC's abilities in this area (I don't recall hearing of this happening, but it does seem to be a possibility). Perhaps someone else has an idea. We recently had someone else with a similar problem but he only experienced it with files of a certain format. I am not sure we have found a solution for him either. On a brighter note, Spoon (the person responsible for all these programs) will be back from vacation this weekend.

Best wishes,
Bill Mikkelsen

[Spoons]

Re: Can't use convert command from drop down menu

anyone got a screen shot of this drop down menu? what is the exact procedure taked to get this drop down menu that you talk about?

[misty miss]

Re: Can't use convert command from drop down menu

Bill,
When you say that you get the Convert to option on the drop down menu but it does not initialize, could you explain a bit more clearly what you mean? Do you mean that it will not switch to the dMC screen to allow you to set options and then convert?

Yes, this is exacley what happens.
And I did do a fresh download this morning of 10.1.

The only other audio software that I've had was and is Acoustica mp3 to WAVE
Converter plus & Nero 6. But I do recall being able to convert from the drop-down menu when I had both programs installed. I am certain of this because I recall compairing which one was easier to use from the drop-down menu. I found out that the results were the same but the Acoustica program was a bit more "hands offish" which made converting mp3 to CD quality Wave easier and more automatic. But that is the only task that I do with Acoustica.

I guess that maybe I'll just wait and see if Spoon has some insight into this problem. That is if you could pass these threads on to him when he gets back.
This would be very much appriciated.

[xoas]

Re: Can't use convert command from drop down menu

anyone got a screen shot of this drop down menu? what is the exact procedure taked to get this drop down menu that you talk about?

-Razgo

Good question. I believe we have established that the drop down menu in question is that contained through right clicking on an audio file in Explorer and selecting "Convert To".

If I am mistaken in this assumption, I trust Misty Miss will set us straight.

Best wishes,
Bill Mikkelsen

[Spoons]

Re: Can't use convert command from drop down menu

ok if i right click convert to this is the screen drop we are talking about?

[xoas]

Re: Can't use convert command from drop down menu

As I understand it, it is that screen that is NOT appearing after an audio file is selected, right clicked and the "Convert To" option is selected from the menu.

[ChristinaS]

Re: Can't use convert command from drop down menu

As I understand it, it is that screen that is NOT appearing after an audio file is selected, right clicked and the "Convert To" option is selected from the menu.

This is probably the case.

Misty Miss, first off the right click conversion from Windows Explorer must be enabled upon installation of dMC. Next only those audio file types for which the codecs are installed will have this option of right-click conversion from Windows Explorer. The problem might stem from the fact that a few codecs are included in the dMC basic download, in particular the .wma codec for systems that already have WMP v. 9 installed. This does not cover .asf files though which become available by downloading the additional Windows Media codecs.

Some meta files like .asx and .wax will not be included in this right-click conversion. Oddly .m3u files are.

I hope this solves this mystery for you.

[misty miss]

Re: Can't use convert command from drop down menu

Christina,
Thanks for your reply.
Rt. click conversion was and is enabled when I installed.
The only files that I'm concerned with are MP3 files and
sometimes wav's. Tell me now if these formats aren't included
in the original DmC package. Because the program does
convert them; just not from my windows drop-down menu.
I am trying to convert 320 kbps MP3[lame] to 128 kbps MP3[lame].
It is not working when I rt. click on a mp3 file (or a group of) then
left click the convert command in my drop-down menu.
I have to click the dBpowerAMP icon on my quick launch bar
and select my files from there to open the converter
so I can select what I want to do.
Over the years I have either been able to do this from the
drop-down menu or not been able to do this.
A few months ago I was able to do it.
Then all of a sudden it stops allowing me to do it.

I have re-formatted my drive and used the latest version (10.1).
Why does it do this and how can I fix it?
And if I try the beta 11 release will this really mess up my system
so I can't even come back and use 10.1?

Thanks for your time.
Misty :o

[ChristinaS]

Re: Can't use convert command from drop down menu

Christina,
Thanks for your reply.
Rt. click conversion was and is enabled when I installed.
The only files that I'm concerned with are MP3 files and
sometimes wav's. Tell me now if these formats aren't included
in the original DmC package. Because the program does
convert them; just not from my windows drop-down menu.
I am trying to convert 320 kbps MP3[lame] to 128 kbps MP3[lame].
It is not working when I rt. click on a mp3 file (or a group of) then
left click the convert command in my drop-down menu.
I have to click the dBpowerAMP icon on my quick launch bar
and select my files from there to open the converter
so I can select what I want to do.
Over the years I have either been able to do this from the
drop-down menu or not been able to do this.
A few months ago I was able to do it.
Then all of a sudden it stops allowing me to do it.

I have re-formatted my drive and used the latest version (10.1).
Why does it do this and how can I fix it?
And if I try the beta 11 release will this really mess up my system
so I can't even come back and use 10.1?

Thanks for your time.
Misty :o

I really don't know what to say. I certainly am able to do this for those file types (wav, mp3, wma), using Windows XP and dMC v.10 (latest download from here), with just the default codecs plus the extra WM codecs for asf.

All I can think of is that you have some other particular media player which has "hi-jacked" your media files. I usually let WMP handle all media files it's capable of and other specific players like Real Player only for their proprietory real media types. If I play through anything else, it's never the default player (sorry dpa folks ). I need this because I want everything to work in the simplest most vanilla-flavored way possible for the web (i.e. visistors should not require special downloads - everybody has WMP, most also have Real Player).

So take a look and see if any file types are not checked and select all. Then try dMC again by right-click.