Hi,

I've had this problem for a while (and it has been around since the earlier 0.9.x versions, which is why I have a 0.8.3 installation as well...), but foobar makes it downright impossible to open certain programs i.e. Microsoft Word while its playing - what normally takes 2 seconds to open takes a whole minute, or it just times out. "Open containing folder" doesn't work very well while playback is still ongoing either. Am I the only one who has this problem? :/

Edit: Even opening links (i.e. clicking on a link on a pdf/word/whatever document that leads to a new tab/window in firefox) takes a while too, until I stop playback.

I'm using Windows XP home ed, with all the latest updates. And foobar 0.9.6.9 as well.

Foobar uses almost no system resources on a reasonably modern PC. Multitasking problems tend to revolve around chipset drivers and/or 3rd party components.

Please give details:
1) motherboard brand / model
2) audio output. ie directsound or kernel streaming or asio etc
3) components installed. Go to Files > Prefs > Components > click Copy button
4) what soundcard? discrete card, or onboard?

Also try a forum search with your motherboard brand and perhaps the words "problem," "multitasking," and "foobar." Over the last ten years I've seen similar threads, but since my brain is decaying by the minute, I rely on Search to be my memory. ;-)

I use a Dell Inspiron 9400 (E1705), and I'm using ASIO with a Tascam US-144.

Components:

Core (2009-08-22 21:25:22)
foobar2000 core 0.9.6.9
foo_abx.dll (2009-06-07 15:25:26)
ABX Comparator 1.3.4
foo_albumlist.dll (2009-08-22 21:23:44)
Album List 4.3.1
foo_benchmark.dll (2008-12-31 20:23:04)
Decoding Speed Test 1.1
foo_bitcompare.dll (2008-12-05 16:08:02)
Binary Comparator 1.2
foo_cdda.dll (2009-08-22 21:23:34)
CD Audio Decoder 2.1.4
foo_converter.dll (2009-08-22 21:23:26)
Converter 1.2.1
foo_dsp_dolbyhp.dll (2008-12-04 22:37:20)
Dolby Headphone Wrapper 1.3.1
foo_dsp_eqsplit.dll (2008-07-13 03:49:10)
Split equalizer v0.0.1
foo_dsp_std.dll (2009-08-22 21:23:48)
Standard DSP Array 1.0
foo_fileops.dll (2009-08-22 21:22:36)
File Operations 2.1.2
foo_input_alac.dll (2009-03-22 16:15:46)
ALAC Decoder 1.0.3
foo_input_monkey.dll (2009-05-01 15:40:52)
Monkey's Audio Decoder 2.1.4
foo_input_std.dll (2009-08-22 21:23:28)
Standard Input Array 1.0
foo_input_tak.dll (2009-06-15 23:44:54)
TAK Decoder 0.4.3
foo_out_asio.dll (2009-03-22 16:15:46)
ASIO support 1.2.7
foo_rgscan.dll (2009-08-22 21:23:20)
ReplayGain Scanner 2.0.9
foo_scheduler.dll (2009-08-17 22:32:40)
Scheduler 3.54
foo_ui_std.dll (2009-08-22 21:23:54)
Default User Interface 0.9.5
foo_verifier.dll (2009-06-22 00:03:56)
File Integrity Verifier 1.0.5

It seems that using Directsound avoids this, but it wouldn't be very helpful for me because I can't use the Tascam's SPDIF output with DS.