# Cannot play the file because the file header is too large
**URL:** https://community.mp3tag.de/t/cannot-play-the-file-because-the-file-header-is-too-large/69026
**Category:** Support
**Tags:** player
**Created:** [July 2, 2025, 10:22pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/cannot-play-the-file-because-the-file-header-is-too-large/69026 "2025-07-02T22:22:53Z")
**Posts on this page:** 9
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@OCCiera](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/OCCiera)
#### Post date: [July 2, 2025, 10:22pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/cannot-play-the-file-because-the-file-header-is-too-large/69026/1 "2025-07-02T22:22:53Z")
Hello,
I realise that this issue would probably be better suited to a Winmobile/WinCE forum, but given this is probably the community with the most knowledge on this subject I figured I would toss this into the ring here.
I use as a music player a Windows Mobile PPC, which uses Windows Media Player Mobile 10. My music library is in WMA Lossless, as it is the only lossless format that works with it.
For some files, when I sync them and attempt to play them I get the error in the title. I have not found a pattern in what is affected, other than it affecting entire albums at a time. When viewing the properties of the affected files, they are missing the "Audio Codec" and "Audio Format" entries.
I rip CDs or convert from WAV using fre:ac and then use MP3tag to finalise it.
Thank you for reading.
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### Author:  [@MotleyG](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/MotleyG)
#### Post date: [July 2, 2025, 10:52pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/cannot-play-the-file-because-the-file-header-is-too-large/69026/2 "2025-07-02T22:52:12Z")
If you embed your album artwork, how big are those images? That is what usually drives up the header size more so than any text.
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### Author:  [@OCCiera](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/OCCiera)
#### Post date: [July 3, 2025, 12:07am UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/cannot-play-the-file-because-the-file-header-is-too-large/69026/3 "2025-07-03T00:07:50Z")
Usually 1200x1200, although the image size does not seem to consistently cause the issue. Meteora for example is 1200x1200 at 152KB and throws the error, yet End of an Empire is 1200x1200 at 389KB and plays fine.
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### Author:  [@MotleyG](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/MotleyG)
#### Post date: [July 3, 2025, 12:16am UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/cannot-play-the-file-because-the-file-header-is-too-large/69026/4 "2025-07-03T00:16:10Z")
Those don't seem to be excessive in any way. I don't know what else could drive up the size of the header. Maybe it is a different issue triggering this message?
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### Author:  [@ohrenkino](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/ohrenkino)
#### Post date: [July 3, 2025, 6:18am UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/cannot-play-the-file-because-the-file-header-is-too-large/69026/5 "2025-07-03T06:18:07Z")
> [@OCCiera](#):
>
> When viewing the properties of the affected files, they are missing the "Audio Codec" and "Audio Format" entries.
It means that something has probably gone wrong during encoding.
If MP3tag cannot identify the header any more then the file is invalid.
But there MP3tag is only the messenger and not the cause.
The easiest way would be to encode the files again.
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### Author:  [@OCCiera](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/OCCiera)
#### Post date: [July 3, 2025, 3:39pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/cannot-play-the-file-because-the-file-header-is-too-large/69026/6 "2025-07-03T15:39:05Z")
Oh, this is on the device. MP3tag and my desktop music players read the files fine.
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### Author:  [@poster](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/poster)
#### Post date: [July 3, 2025, 4:53pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/cannot-play-the-file-because-the-file-header-is-too-large/69026/7 "2025-07-03T16:53:00Z")
Just make a test, if your player cannot cope with the resolution, also it it not very high.
You can reduce the resolution with Mp3Tag: Right mouse click on the cover-\>Adjust cover
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### Author:  [@ohrenkino](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/ohrenkino)
#### Post date: [July 3, 2025, 6:59pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/cannot-play-the-file-because-the-file-header-is-too-large/69026/8 "2025-07-03T18:59:30Z")
> [@OCCiera](#):
>
> MP3tag and my desktop music players read the files fine
but
> [@OCCiera](#):
>
> When viewing the properties of the affected files, they are missing the "Audio Codec" and "Audio Format" entries.
Where do you see that the codec information is missing?
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### Author:  [@system](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/system)
#### Post date: [August 8, 2025, 7:40am UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/cannot-play-the-file-because-the-file-header-is-too-large/69026/9 "2025-08-08T07:40:37Z")
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