Frequently, strange problems and error messages from jAlbum can be cured by doing some housecleaning - remove jAlbum, clean up what's left behind, and reinstall. Don't skip any of the steps, and don't try to second-guess anything.
First, go to the
Downloads folder on your PC or Mac, and delete any files that have
jAlbum in their names.
Next, while running jAlbum, choose
Tools, Open directories, Config directory. This will open a File Explorer or Finder window -
quit the jAlbum application so that it is no longer running, but leave this File Explorer or Finder window open.
If you see a
lib subdirectory there, delete it and its contents.
If you see a
bin subdirectory there, delete it and its contents. When you launch jAlbum after reinstalling it, it will download the latest version of ffmpeg. Wait for it to finish (watch the status line at lower left) before trying to access any videos in your projects. For licensing reasons, it can't just be bundled with jAlbum, unfortunately.
If you see an
ext subdirectory there, delete it and its contents. If you had added any special extensions, you will need to re-add them after reinstalling. But be aware the some extensions that were originally user-installed options are now part of the regular jAlbum installation, and should not be reinstalled as a user option.
Then, with jAlbum not running:
For Win10 and Win11:
- Use Control Panel, Programs and Features to uninstall jAlbum.
- Delete the C:\Program Files\jAlbum, C:\Program Files\JAlbum AB, C:\Program Files (x86)\jAlbum, C:\Program Files (x86)\JAlbum AB, C:\Program Files\jAlbumwin, and C:\Program Files (x86)\jAlbumwin directories. You're unlikely to find all of these on your system, but any that are found should be deleted.
- Delete all icons for jAlbum (desktop, start menu, quicklaunch toolbar).
- Delete C:\Users\owner\.jalbum-defaults.jap, if present. "Owner" may be your name.
- Delete C:\Users\owner\.jalbum-recent-projects.properties, if present.
- Look at C:\Users\owner\AppData\Roaming. If you see a directory with a name like jalbum{9DCA4651-378D-4484-A73A-B168DCAA6375}, delete it. Do not delete the regular C:\Users\owner\AppData\Roaming\jAlbum directory, which contains your downloaded skins.
- Look at C:\Users\owner\Downloads, and delete any prior installation files: jAlbum-install.exe, jAlbum-install (1).exe, jAlbum-install (2).exe, and so on.
- Download jAlbum from the standard download page (http://jalbum.net/software/download), and reinstall it. Accept the defaults for installation locations.
For macOS:
- Open the Applications folder and delete jAlbum.app.
- Open the Downloads folder and delete any prior installation files: jAlbum.dmg, jAlbum (1).dmg, jAlbum (2).dmg, and so on.
- Download jAlbum from the standard download page (http://jalbum.net/software/download), and reinstall it. Accept the defaults for installation locations.
