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Topic: Windows 7/Media Player 12 corrupts custom fields in MP3s’ ID3v2.3 tags (Read 16505 times) previous topic - next topic
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Windows 7/Media Player 12 corrupts custom fields in MP3s’ ID3v2.3 tags

From time to time for the last few years about 100-200 of my MP3s get randomly corrupted metadata and I have no idea what is causing it. Could it be Windows 7, foobar2000, or what?

I do know there are certain patterns. For instance, it seems that only custom tags are the one's getting corrupted (eg. ADDED, THEME, RATING, MOOD, STYLE, etc.). When these tags get corrupted, they always show the same tag values containing a truncated incomplete version of the tag name (eg. When the STYLE tag gets corrupted the new STYLE tag value will always be "TYLE"). I've provided two screen shots as an example.

foobar2000 properties dialog with correct metadata


foobar2000 properties dialog with corrupted metadata

Windows 7/Media Player 12 corrupts custom fields in MP3s’ ID3v2.3 tags

Reply #1
From time to time for the last few years about 100-200 of my MP3s get randomly corrupted metadata and I have no idea what is causing it. Could it be Windows 7, foobar2000, or what?

It's Windows Media Player who produce that. I had the same cause. Google for that.
I've deleted WMP on my Windows 7 system, since then there is no more trouble anymore. (Some idiots had started WMP again and again to play my music albums on my computer. (WMP imports all the library first and corrupts some tags in the process). Thanks God - I've got a backup.
I'm absolutely sure of that, because a good friend of mine had the same experience. 

Windows 7/Media Player 12 corrupts custom fields in MP3s’ ID3v2.3 tags

Reply #2
I've had exactly the same happen repeatedly to my music collection, in the following scenarios:
* MP3 music stored in a Windows 7 indexed music library folder, Windows Media Player started.
* MP3 music stored on a data partition of Windows Home Server 2011, media sharing feature enabled (which it is by default!)

Now I'm seriously considering switching my personal collection back to old good APE tags (that MS software doesn't recognize) or using another format than MP3 (again something that MS doesn't support).
Microsoft Windows: We can't script here, this is bat country.

Windows 7/Media Player 12 corrupts custom fields in MP3s’ ID3v2.3 tags

Reply #3
So to avoid this issue (1) Do not use WMP12? (2) Exclude the location of the MP3s on the Windows indexing options list? (3) Use Ape (not feasible for me) (4) Uninstall WMP 12 (no can do)

Windows 7/Media Player 12 corrupts custom fields in MP3s’ ID3v2.3 tags

Reply #4
using id3v2.4 makes your files WMP-proof as well. obviously not a feasible solution for everyone but it works for me.

Windows 7/Media Player 12 corrupts custom fields in MP3s’ ID3v2.3 tags

Reply #5
Windows Explorer won't recognize embedded album art if the MP3s use id3v2.4, but I suppose that's a good trade-off it it prevents the non-standardized tags from getting corrupted.

Windows 7/Media Player 12 corrupts custom fields in MP3s’ ID3v2.3 tags

Reply #6
I guess unchecking "Update music files by retrieving media info from the Internet" checkbox can fix that (don't recall other options that mention writing to media files), it's in "Options-Privacy" tab.

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows...ws-Media-Player

Windows 7/Media Player 12 corrupts custom fields in MP3s’ ID3v2.3 tags

Reply #7
This issue was discussed already over two years ago: http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index....showtopic=76998

WMP12 and also Windows 7 Explorer (its tagging feature) ruin all ID3v2.3 TXXX tags when they write any tag changes. ID3v2.4 seems to be safe because the MS programs don't recognize it.

I have not tried Windows 7 / WMP12 tagging since posting in the above linked thread, but the fact that MS apparently has not bothered to fix the problem during the last two years doesn't really surprise me.

Windows 7/Media Player 12 corrupts custom fields in MP3s’ ID3v2.3 tags

Reply #8
Thanks.

BTW I wanted to correct the claim I made about Windows 7 Explorer not displaying album art in files using ID3v2.4. My files have all been changed to ID3v2.4 using foobar2000, and the album art is displayed correctly in Explorer.

For whatever reason, the last time I tried this a few years ago it didn't work and that was the reason for my incorrect claim.

Windows 7/Media Player 12 corrupts custom fields in MP3s’ ID3v2.3 tags

Reply #9
ID3v2.4 is "safe" as in they will not alter them but instead they will prepend ID3v2.3 tags - producing files with double ID3v2 tags - and you'll have to somehow strip the redundant 2.3 tags to make your old 2.4 tags visible again.
Microsoft Windows: We can't script here, this is bat country.

Windows 7/Media Player 12 corrupts custom fields in MP3s’ ID3v2.3 tags

Reply #10
Two years ago, when I posted my findings in the other thread, Windows 7 Explorer refused to tag my test files that had foobar2000 generated ID3v2.4 tags (so they were apparently safe), but MS may have changed something or WMP12 and other MS programs may use a different tagger than Windows 7 Explorer.

Windows 7/Media Player 12 corrupts custom fields in MP3s’ ID3v2.3 tags

Reply #11
That is correct. MS does not read 2.4 tags, in fact, their software doesn't perceive them as tags at all - so they stamp separate 2.3 tags prepended to your 2.4 tags when they attempt to update your files.
Microsoft Windows: We can't script here, this is bat country.

Windows 7/Media Player 12 corrupts custom fields in MP3s’ ID3v2.3 tags

Reply #12
The behavior seems to depend on the amount or kind of the ID3v2.4 tags.

I just tried an old test file that contains a huge amount of various ID3v2.4 tags frames (and the few possible ID3v1.1 tag frames). WMP12 & Windows 7 Explorer could not apply any tag changes to the file. In WMP12 the file appeared as partly corrupted: duration was not displayed and the position slider did not advance or work anyhow even though WMP12 was able to play the file.

When I deleted all other tags except the "title" ID3v2.4 tag (TIT2) and the corresponding ID3v1.1 tag the behavior changed to what you described. WMP12 added ID3v2.3 and "preserved" also ID3v2.4.

If someone is really interested in testing this, I uploaded my "fully ID3v2.4 tagged" test file: http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index....showtopic=92873

Windows 7/Media Player 12 corrupts custom fields in MP3s’ ID3v2.3 tags

Reply #13
I guess unchecking "Update music files by retrieving media info from the Internet" checkbox can fix that (don't recall other options that mention writing to media files), it's in "Options-Privacy" tab.

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows...ws-Media-Player


Yep that's what I do and I've never had this problem.

Windows 7/Media Player 12 corrupts custom fields in MP3s’ ID3v2.3 tags

Reply #14
To those who have had problems with WMP12 messing up tags - were your MP3 files "read only" or not?

Bluto

Windows 7/Media Player 12 corrupts custom fields in MP3s’ ID3v2.3 tags

Reply #15
I would imagine that, by definition, read-only files would not be able to be altered. 

Windows 7/Media Player 12 corrupts custom fields in MP3s’ ID3v2.3 tags

Reply #16
Now I'm seriously considering switching my personal collection back to old good APE tags (that MS software doesn't recognize) or using another format than MP3 (again something that MS doesn't support).


What about storing each album as a .7z archive (which MS-Windows does not see through), and using foo_unpack_7z ? This assumes, though, that you are willing to ditch WMP and rather use foobar2000 as media player

(That «another format» might of course be mka – then no transcoding is needed.)

 

Windows 7/Media Player 12 corrupts custom fields in MP3s’ ID3v2.3 tags

Reply #17
I would imagine that, by definition, read-only files would not be able to be altered. 


Indeed - one would hope so, although with MS you never know what their programs are doing behind the scenes...

Assuming that WMP is well behaved and Windows doesn't let it change "read-only" files, then surely the simplest solution is to make all your MP3s read-only!

Bluto

Windows 7/Media Player 12 corrupts custom fields in MP3s’ ID3v2.3 tags

Reply #18
Whether WMP can alter read-only files depends on whether it's being run as an administrator or not. Administrators can alter read-only files on Windows in the same way that root can on *nix. Since XP and earlier Windows versions generally have you operate with administrator rights at all times, the read-only function doesn't do that much, although some programs will still respect it. Vista/7 behave the same way if the UAC is disabled, but they won't give you administrator rights all the time by default.

Windows 7/Media Player 12 corrupts custom fields in MP3s’ ID3v2.3 tags

Reply #19
I would imagine that, by definition, read-only files would not be able to be altered. 

Assuming that WMP is well behaved and Windows doesn't let it change "read-only" files, then surely the simplest solution is to make all your MP3s read-only!


It's possible that the account (whether a normal user's or Administrator) under which an application (e.g., WMP) runs has permission to alter the 'read-only' flag on a file. If has that permission, it can obviously write to the file by removing the read-only restriction.

mp3tag will change a file from read-only to read-write to alter its tags and by default it asks the user for permission to do so. If it does so, it will make the file read-only after it's been written. I consider this well-behaved.

You might have a different definition of well behaved and, in any case, I don't use WMP.

Windows 7/Media Player 12 corrupts custom fields in MP3s’ ID3v2.3 tags

Reply #20
Thank you Hamilcar and Aleron for clarifying the "read-only situation" - most useful.

I also don't use use WMP (Winamp has been my favourite player for ages - doesn't mess about changing tags/album art files behind your back, and looks nice).
I think my definition of "well behaved" is very similar to yours 

Bluto