What happened with bitmaps rendering?!

Damn, all worked good day before... I downloaded and installed new plugins and AVS presets. They are:

Scopeguru_AVS
Hybrids_720
Tuggumi-innovation
DreamRender3

I tried DreamRender but it worked slow on WinXP. I deinstalled it. After this I tried all presets shown above. Nothing wrong until I started my own presets VU-meters. DAMN! Computer goes too slow. Studio.exe sucks 85% of processor time. VU-meters show frame rate about 11 fps. BUT WHY?! It worked with about 50 fps! And colors in bitmaps are distorted. I started examine what part of them works wrong. After some time I found - when I switch off bitmap rendering - all start work fast and fine (but without background of course). Looks like some of presets or even DreamRender replaced or added WACs. I reinstalled WinAmp (over, not remove) but it wont' help. I tried some other presets with bitmaped background - same result. 85% of processor time lost for rendering without any reason.

What's wrong? What can I do to restore previous productivity? Are there any ways to fix this problem except remove WinAmp and install it (and all working presets and tunes) again?

You can backup your avs directory and reinstall winamp. Also try using winamp2 to see if it is just a winamp3 flaw.

Try to copy all yore skins and avs to some other folder than remove and install winamp.

It must be more elegant way such as delete improper wac or edit registry\settings. Anybody having ideas?

From now looks like DreamRender 3 broken AVS. Probably it replaced some dlls. That means deinstallation of WinAmp can be useless. Anybody knowing internals of WinAmp3 - which dll works with bitmaps in AVS 2.5.1? Wich dll has to be restored?

Dreamrender is shit, I don't know why you'd bother installing it. But to fix the picture issue, I think reinstalling windows should work, or perhaps finding replacements for the core dlls (gdi32.dll, user.dll, etc.)

I checked - gdi32.dll and user32.dll have sizes and dates matching to sources stored on installation disk.
DreamRender is defenitely shit... I'll report it to rip.

Why the HELL does a Winamp plug-in need to replace the GDI and USER dll's? These are CORE components of Windows!

GDI = Graphical Device Interface, i.e. everything that is drawn on the screen

USER = User <-> Computer interface, i.e. mouse, keyboard, windows, etc.

Have you tried DreamRender?? It basically is a new GUI, everything attempts to be hardware accelerated. The desktop icons become blurry (A sign of mipmapping), the desktop is 3D, and the famous Z-artifacts. I guess the only way they could do this was to modify core windows files. Windowblinds does the same.

Also render/picture most likely uses StretchBlt, which would explain why it's so slow.

Hardware accelerated?! It worked as drunk pig on my AthlonXP+GeFroce2GTS - same slow and unstable.

Nope... As I supposed before total removing and new instalation of WinAmp doesnt' help. I dont' know where look for yet cause I'm using WinXP and it protects (as I beleive) critical system files.

Any ideas?

Well no wonder! You're using XP!!! Downgrade to something half useful, like Windows 98 Second Edition.

Nope. I use NT-like systems since NT4 appeared. 95\98\ME are not OSes but crash-machines. No flame about this more. Stick to the topic.

DAMN! I found sequence restoring original framerate for bitmaped presets. After I change twice "Keep aspect ratio" in picture settings - then all start go right. But TWICE - turn it off and on again. Looks like a bug.

Probably one of presets I downloaded (not DreamRender) changed this setting in some way. I found sevreal new APEs in avs dir. Dont' know yet wich one changes this setting.

But DreamRender anywhere is shit... Slow, ugly and not free.

Fooo... It is defintely a bug in WinAmp3. Read this until end please.

1. After some actions with picture rendering WinAmp crashed. I remember that I changed Keep aspect ratio again.
2. I run WinAmp3, opened bitmaped preset (not mine) and viola - it runs slowly again. 85-90% of processor time goes to Studio.exe
3. I tried repeat changnes of Keep aspect ratio. No help. After some changes WinAmp crashed.
4. I started it and created empty preset. First action was - + Picture rendering. I didnt' choose picture but clicked to Keep aspect ratio. Empty preset, no picture selected. WinAmp crashed immediately.
5. I rebooted system and started Windows98. I have it for 3D games. This system is almost empty. Just needed drivers, no WinAmps, no plugins. I installed WinAmp3 there. Repeated step 4. WinAmp crashed after change of Keep aspect ratio.

This looks like a bug with picture rendering. Manipulations with "Keep aspect ratio" cause slowing down computer or even crash WinAmp without reason.

1: If W98SE is a 'crash machine,' how come no one who's using it is having trouble?
2: Have you tried WA2? I don't care what your preference is, WA2 is a shitload more stable than WA3.

WA2 runs in parallel to WA3. I even used it's AVS 2.5 together with 2.5.1 in WA3. And created skins for WA2 years ago.

Finally I found sequence causing bitmaped preset work properly...

1. Turn on overlay mode to allow AVS appear on desktop
2. Change Keep aspect ratio flag.

Hmmm... I used on thing working on desktop. That was DreamRender.

ROTFLMAO...wa2 runs parallel to wa3...