"The Crescendo Fix Page"
There are now three ways to fix the "No Crescendo" problem

All three are actually variations of the same thing. The latest fix (Number Three) I highly suggest using over the other two. I only include the other two as they are earlier fixes (that work) and still apply to the appropriate version of Netscape and situation. However, most of us are using Netscape 3.0 or 4.0 (Communicator) Fix three will eliminate the problem with both versions nicely and it is a very simple procedure even for a novice.

Method One

Here is a posting I recieved from Fred Putnam, he is on the Crescendo development team and working hard with Voxkit to try to come to a reasonable solution. In the mean time this batch file will make sure that the Crescendo Plug in is loaded last, giving it the rights to the MIDI mime type.

This is a copy of an answer to a previous posting by Yutaka Suetomi:

We have looked into this, and there is a conflict between ToolVox and Crescendo (for Windows 95 -- we haven't checked the other platforms). This is because ToolVox registers a midi mime type. Because of this, it's possible that when you go to a web page that you want to play a midi file with Crescendo, the ToolVox plug-in gets loaded instead of Crescendo. We will be trying to work with Voxware to address this situation. In the meantime, you may have to deinstall the ToolVox plug-in in order to get Crescendo to be loaded properly and avoid this error. To temporarily disable the ToolVox plug-in, rename the np32vox.dll file in the Netscape plugins directory to (say) Xnp32vox.dll, and restart Netscape. (To reverse this process rename the file back, and restart Netscape).

Netscape will eventually be adding code to the Windows versions of Navigator which will allow users to specify their preferences as to which plug-ins they want to use for each mime type. This has already been implemented for the Mac versions of Navigator 3.0b3 and 3.0b4 (see http://www.liveupdate.com/atlashelp.html#mac for details).

====== Regarding the best way to be able to use both plugins, you can use the clever method which Dale Counts posted here on 5/5/96. This makes use of the fact that the last plug-in in the plugins directory will take precedence over previous ones (it actually loads as the first plug in when they load) The following DOS batch file can be used to set up Crescendo as the first (actually last but by the help list it comes up as first). plug-in, so it always will get the MIDI files it wants.


Note: If you have run Netscape you must restart Windows to close the dll file the batch file is moving. Do not try to run Netscape until after the batch file is done. 
 
REM Batch file to make Crescendo (or Crescendo PLUS) plug-in the last
REM plug-in in the plugins directory. This will make Crescendo load for its
REM MIME types even if there are other plug-ins present
REM which also register the same MIME types.
REM
REM This can be used to allow use of Crescendo with the Netscape 3.0
REM npaudio.dll plug-in and the Voxware Toolvox plug-in np32vox.dll.
REM
REM This batch file should be run from the Netscape plugins directory.
REM
md cres_dir
move npmidi*.dll cres_dir
md temp_dir
move np*.dll temp_dir
move temp_dir\np*.dll .
rmdir temp_dir
move cres_dir\npmidi*.dll .
rmdir cres_dir

To verify this has been done correctly, start Netscape and click "Help" then "about plugins" you should see Crescendo as the first plugin in the list.
Please report any problems you might find with this little kludge, or any easier ways to accomplish the same thing.
Fred 5/29 -- Fred A. Putnam, fred@LiveUpdate.com, http://www.LiveUpdate.com/ NEW! Crescendo PLUS - world's first and only streaming MIDI plugin 400 Research Drive.Wilmington.MA.01887.USA Tel 508-657-5400x231

Or Email me; Steve Bassett, at sdb@ici.net ...I will forward your questions or suggestions.


Method Two
(it works but Method three is suggested)

Netscape 3.0 Fix to reset Crescendo as default MIDI player.


Note: If you have run Netscape in your current Windows session, restart Windows and do not run Netscape. The fix renames the "dll" file used by Crescendo. Running Netscape opens this file and it cannot be renamed until it is closed.

The way to set Crescendo as the default MIDI player in Netscape 3.0 is very simple. Netscape looks for files with the prefix "NP" to let it know that the file is a "plugin" this is where the problem occurs. Netscape uses a file called "npaudio.dll" to invoke its midi player. That's fine if you want a midi player that won't stream the music and is very basic; nothing like the features available with Crescendo Plus (or Basic Crescendo on a StreamSite). To fix this problem, requires that we change the default midi "dll" that Netscape uses back to Cresendo's "dll." The "dll" for Crescendo, if you are using the Windows 95 version, is "npmidi32.dll." For Windows 3.x users, it is "npmidi16.dll". These files are located in the Netscape "plugins" directory.

Here is what to do to make Crescendo the default player again.

Go to the "Plugins" directory of Netscape. In Windows 3.x this will usually be "C:\NETSCAPE\PROGRAM\PLUGINS"
and for those of us who use Windows 95 it is usually
"C:\PROGRAM FILES\NETSCAPE\NAVIGATOR\PROGAM\PLUGINS"

The bottom line, get to the "plugins" directory wherever it may reside on your computer. In the "plugins" directory you will see the file "NPAUDIO.DLL" rename it to (say) "XNPAUDIO.DLL" This eliminates the "np" prefix that Netscape is looking for. If Crescendo was already on your machine and working prior to the upgrade to 3.0 it will start to work again as the crescendo "npmidi32.dll" or "npmidi16.dll" should still be present in the plugins directory. If for some reason it is not, reinstall Crescendo or Crescendo Plus OR just copy the appropriate dll file to the "plugins" directory if you have it located elswhere. NOTE: The "npmidi32.dll" or "npmidi16.dll" file MUST reside in the "Plugins" directory or it will not run. This is where Netscape looks for all of it's plugins, if they are not there, they won't run.


Method Three (best)

Netscape 4.0 (Communicator) Fix

This is a similar fix to the 3.0 fix but with a twist. Netscape's built in midi player for Netscape 4.0 is also the player for WAV files. Also, it has been found that the new Quicktime "VR" plugin with multimedia will cause the same problem "Toolvox" does (or did) and intercept both midi and wav files. I suspect there are other plugins that use audio that will cause this problem. It is a simple problem with a simple solution. The plugin is just loading before Crescendo and "grabs" the midi mime call before Crescendo can. If you just rename the DLL file as in the Netscape 3.0 fix you lose the ability to hear WAV files via the Netscape multimedia plugin. As in the Toolvox fix, the work around is to make sure that Crescendo is the first plugin to load. This fix is the latest and best fix for just about any Crescendo problem and the easiest of all. It's sort of a "gee why didn't we think of that before" kind of fix. :-)

If you are not comfortable using DOS you may want a friend who is to do this fix for you. I have put each command with each step for those who are not familiar with DOS but feel they can handle them, just remember to hit return after each command.

Step one is important!
Step one:
First, If you have run Netscape in your current computing session you MUST restart Windows before doing this fix. This is necessary to close the open "dll" file that must be manipulated.

Step two:
Click "Start" and then "Programs" and click the "DOS mode" icon. This will put you in DOS mode at a "C:>" prompt.

Step three:
Go to the Netscape plugins directory using the "CD" command (assuming you did the default installation it will be)...
cd c:\progra~1\netscape\commun~1\program\plugins
for Netscape 3.0 it will be cd c:\progra~1\netscape\naviga~1\program\plugins

Step four:
In the plugins directory make a directory called "temp" (md temp) and copy "npmidi32.dll" (copy npmidi32.dll temp) to it and VERIFY that it is there. (cd temp, dir (this will list the file) then cd .. to go back to plugins).

Step five:
Delete "npmidi32.dll" from the plugins directory (del npmidi32.dll)

Step six:
Go to the temp directory (cd temp) and copy npmidi32.dll back to plugins directory (copy np*.* ..)

Done! (you can leave or delete the temp directory you made it doesn't matter).

Now type "exit" (no quotes) this will bring you back to windows. Start Netscape and click "help" then "installed (or "about" for 3.0) plugins" You should now see Crescendo listed as the first plugin. It will now run correctly and so won't your other plugins. That's the nice part about this fix. It won't interfere with any other plugin.

For those of you familiar with DOS you will see that fix three is just a spin off of fix one. Instead of moving the file I have you copy then delete it then copy it back from the temp directory, although it involves more steps I opted to use this method as I think it is safer to use for a novice who may otherwise get a bit confused.

Although I have not tried and cannot be sure, I don't think this "delete and copy" method will work using Windows Explorer as Explorer doesn't delete the file it just puts it in the "recycyle bin" and this would result in a false copy and no success. I may be wrong. If anyone would like to try, PLEASE tell me if you were successful or not. It may be successful if you empty the recycle bin before copying the file back to the plugins directory. Good Luck!!

If you have any questions email me at sdb@ici.net

Page Reposted: March 1, 1998