Troubleshooting

Why isn't WhiteCap showing up in my audio player?
  Make sure you have the most recent version of your audio player. For example, versions of SoundJam and Winamp from just a few months ago exhibit problems. Next, verify WhiteCap has been properly installed (by looking in your plugins folder and looking for it).

Why do I crash, get extremely low frame rates, or have other strange problems?
  Out of date video drivers and OS packages are known to cause problems when using fullscreen mode, so check for updates. You should have at least Windows 98, DirectX 6, and recent video drivers (or MacOS 9 or DrawSprockets 1.7.2 if you use MacOS 8). Also, try deleting your "WhiteCap Prefs" file in the case that it's become corrupted (there's an endless number of ugly things that can happen from a damaged prefs file).

  It's also possible your prefs file is corrupted or contains a setting causing serious problems. If you've been recently experimenting with your prefs file, this is most likely the cause of your problems. See the following question to make a new prefs file.

How do I generate a fresh or "factory" preference file?
  To create a fresh "factory" set of prefs, first make sure WhiteCap isn't running. Next, search for and delete the file named "WhiteCap Prefs". The next time WhiteCap runs, it won't find its prefs file and will generate a new prefs file containing the default settings for each parameter.

Why don't my changes in the prefs file have any effect?
  The prefs file is read when WhiteCap starts and overwritten when WhiteCap exits, so any changes made to the prefs file while WhiteCap is running will be overwritten.

Why does WhiteCap run slowly, stutter, or run in spurts?
  If you're running other software that uses your CPU intensively, such as a server, A/V process, and sound filters/equalizers, you will observe burps, skips, and decreases in frame rate. Disable virtual memory, quit other processes, disable intensive extensions, disable extra sound processing, and use a clean OS (ie reboot) to maximize your frame rate.

Why is my OS having problems since I installed WhiteCap?
  WhiteCap doesn't go near your OS, so it's impossible for it to cause problems unless you have it running. There's actually been occasional emails that have claimed that WhiteCap is causing boot problems (this is as amusing as someone claim their seat belt isn't allowing their car to start).

Why does WhiteCap look pixelated on my display in fullscreen mode?
  LCD display devices only support certain resolutions (vs. CRT devices that usually support most resolutions). This is because LCD devices by nature have a set physical number of pixels while CRT devices just focus a beam differently to support more pixels. Operating systems often support resolutions its display device can't support by making a virtual display in RAM that gets scaled to the resolution the actual display device supports. For example, Apple G3 powerbook displays are 1024 x 768 in size. MacOS 8.6 supports software that wants to run in 640 x 480 by scaling each frame to 1024 x 768. Since 640 x 480 isn't an integer multiple of 1024 x 768, frame rates are lower and the output is pixelated and generally nasty.

Why don't I see the standalone version respond when I play an audio CD?
  Your computer has to be set to play the CD digitally (ie, not set to play through the CD player's onboard analog player). Many systems play an audio CD by passing the analog (ie, non-digital) output of the CD-ROM directly to your speakers, bypassing your digital hardware. So if you don't see any output, your system is playing the CD digitally but you're visualizing the CD-ROM's analog output, or your system is playing the CD analogly but you're visualizing the CD-ROM's digital output. Also see the following question.

Why isn't the standalone version registering any sound?
  Your default sound-in may be not set properly. The standalone version uses your default recording channel as audio input. Go into your control panel and verify that your audio input/recording source is selected correctly. It's also possible you're reading the source correctly but it's not powerful enough to see any activity. Increase the signal scale 10 to 100 times to see if a signal is there (the '[' and ']' keys scale the signal amplitude). The Standalone WhiteCap section has more.

Why isn't the visual response from WhiteCap in sync with the audio that I'm hearing?
  Your audio player is probably buffering enough audio that by the time it gets to the speakers it was already passed to WhiteCap a while ago. Try experimenting with smaller buffer sizes in your audio player to decrease this time delay. Also try consulting your audio player's support resources.

Why do I hear crackling and/or stuttering whenever WhiteCap is running?
  WhiteCap is a CPU intensive program. If your system isn't fast enough, then WhiteCap's CPU demand may compete with your audio player, not allowing your audio player decode audio at a fast enough rate. An audio player's equalizer or third party software that digitally filters audio are also large CPU loads and are common causes for jumpy video in WhiteCap or audible crackles. Try making WhiteCap a lighter CPU load by either reducing the size of its window or by decreasing the 'FPS' field in the preferences (FPS is described in the Customizing WhiteCap section).

Why does WhiteCap say "Loading Factory Default" when it goes to load my config?
  WhiteCap falls back to an internally stored 'factory' config if there's a problem loading a config. Try double checking your config for missing/extra quotes, commas, and comments and make sure it's not open in another application.