java.lang.NullPointerException Need Help

[tcarlic]

Hey all,

This is my first post in the forum. I have been a subsonic user for at least 2-3 years now and have never had a problem streaming. I run a FreeNAS box and stream from there. Last night I got a message saying there were some updates to install. After installing those updates I am now getting this message from subsonic when I log in:


Exception java.lang.NullPointerException
Message null
Java version Oracle Corporation 1.7.0_76
Operating system FreeBSD 9.1-RELEASE
Server jetty-6.1.x
Memory Used 96 of 222 MB
Stack trace java.lang.NullPointerException


Not really sure what to do from here. I can access the subsonic server, just can't download or stream the media from it. Plex is working fine, though.

I installed subsonic using the plugin provided through FreeNAS.

Thanks for your help,
Taylor

[Krosscheck]

I occasionally run into issues where I can't stream anything and the first thing that I do is go to Settings and run "Clean-up Databsae". I'd say 9 out of 10 times, that does the trick. The other time....I just reboot.

[vbrown119]

Hi:

I'm having the same issue (I think). I've also been using SS for years without a hitch. Currently, I can sometimes access my files through folders in SS, but any kind of a search function returns the java error you mentioned. Rebooting doesn't help. Any attempt to "clean the database" results in the same Java error. Sometimes I can access my folders and sometimes I can't. When I can't access them I get the Java error. The random album list always comes up blank. Recently added albums is just fine and I can play them. I have noticed though that occasionally an album I add will will not show up in recently added, while others I add are consistently there.

Anyway, the upshot is I'm wondering if you have figured anything out? I've noticed that there hasn't been a much action in the help forum by folks who identify as "moderators" recently. My post on this issue from a few days ago has gone unanswered. So I guess it's up to us? I'll keep working on it (though my knowledge and skills are limited at best) and report back here if I make any headway.

Oh, one piece of evidence that may be relevant is that my system started returning these errors prior to the recent Java update. I thought perhaps that was the problem and so updated Java (which it had been asking me to do for quite some time) to no avail.

Hope we can get this worked out. I and my family are quite dependent on SS and it's driving me crazy to be without it.

Vince Brown

[vbrown119]

Well here's what I've done to know avail:

1) Scanned for viruses.
2) Rebooted
3) Attempted to clean the database
4) Rolled back Java to an earlier version
5) Installed the new Subsonic beta 6 software

Nothing I did had any affect.

Thinking now about using the Windows history mode to go back to a date in time when SS was working. Or possibly wiping the computer and starting over with a fresh install of the operating system. Or maybe installing Subsonic on another computer to see if symptoms persist and therefore its a router problem?

[vbrown119]

I think I figured it out. I have a "corrupted database" and I'll bet you do too. If you search the help forum using that term you'll find multiple entries and the solution all boils down to you have to get rid of your old database and rescan your files. You'll find your database folder in your Subsonic Folder. I moved my existing database folder to my desktop (just in case) and subsonic then created a new clean empty database folder. I rescanned my files and everything seems to be hunky dory. The only catch is that your settings are also in the database file so it means configuring your users and playlists all over again. I didn't find that to be a big deal as I don't have a lot of either, but a number of the forum threads describe ways of removing your settings from the database folder and reinserting them in the new clean database if that proved to be problematic for you.

Hope this helps.

[vbrown119]

In case this is helpful for someone, I thought I'd post a followup:

While re-scanning my database did fix the problem referenced above in the moment, it began to reoccur every few days. Re-scanning would fix it each time, but that became tedious rather quickly. Upon further investigation I realized I was running into memory problems on my host computer (a very old Windows 7 machine) - both on the hard drive and in the virtual paging file. Once I cleaned things up Subsonic seems to be working again. In fact the same java error messages I was getting previously (referenced above)) are now gone without re-scanning the database. So perhaps my problem all along was lack of memory, which was corrupting the database. Cleaning the database would fix it in the moment, but the underlying problem (lack of memory), would continually lead to a corrupted database.

Hopefully I have stumbled upon the real solution (providing sufficient memory, both on my hard drive and in the virtual paging file). Though it's too soon to say whether it's stable. Keep your fingers crossed.