# Corrupt file headers/tags in MP3 files **URL:** \ **Category:** Support\ **Created:** [July 30, 2019, 4:37pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/corrupt-file-headers-tags-in-mp3-files/46048 "2019-07-30T16:37:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Brothbeard](https://community.mp3tag.de/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/b/f1d935/32.png) [@Brothbeard](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/Brothbeard)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2019, 4:37pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/corrupt-file-headers-tags-in-mp3-files/46048/1 "2019-07-30T16:37:16Z")
I've an odd problem that has occurred on (fortunately only) a few MP3 files. Some have been corrupted such that the music plays fine but the following items have disappeared from the file headers/tags: Codec Bitrate Frequency Length Also the genre has been changed to "Other" - this was how I spotted the problem. Anything altered in the usual tags, I can change back with Mp3Tag. But the four fields above I can't figure out how to alter. The corruption occurred some time before the oldest backup that I have so I can't recover the files from there. This isn't critical and I could re-rip the CDs but I'm curious to know if I can change these fields somehow. ---
**Author:** ![ohrenkino](https://community.mp3tag.de/user_avatar/community.mp3tag.de/ohrenkino/32/4843_2.png) [@ohrenkino](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/ohrenkino)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2019, 4:50pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/corrupt-file-headers-tags-in-mp3-files/46048/2 "2019-07-30T16:50:37Z")
see the HowTos: > [@How to check files for errors?](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/how-to-check-files-for-errors/44633): > > It’s required and often helps to reduce support cycles to check files for errors before filing a bug report. Symptoms of erroneous files are often missing or wrong bitrate or length audible blips or skips tags seem to be sticky and cannot be removed There are some really good tools to check the files for errors, namely MP3 Diags — identifies many different issues in MP3 files Website: [http://mp3diags.sourceforge.net](http://mp3diags.sourceforge.net) Download: [MP3 Diags - Getting MP3 Diags](http://mp3diags.sourceforge.net/010_getting_the_program.html#binWindows) If the font size in MP3 Diags is … ---
**Author:** ![Brothbeard](https://community.mp3tag.de/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/b/f1d935/32.png) [@Brothbeard](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/Brothbeard)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2019, 4:55pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/corrupt-file-headers-tags-in-mp3-files/46048/3 "2019-07-30T16:55:14Z")
Thanks ohrenkino but this isn't a bug report - the files weren't corrupted by Mp3Tag - I just wondered if Mp3Tag could somehow be used to fix the problem and if not is there another tool I can use to fix what's wrong? ---
**Author:** ![ohrenkino](https://community.mp3tag.de/user_avatar/community.mp3tag.de/ohrenkino/32/4843_2.png) [@ohrenkino](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/ohrenkino)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2019, 5:00pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/corrupt-file-headers-tags-in-mp3-files/46048/4 "2019-07-30T17:00:42Z")
The programs linked in that HowTo are the tools of choice if you want to investigate what is wrong with your files and whether something could be repaired. Mp3tag does not deal with the header and the audio part, it handles the tags. So my answer was meant to be a serious piece of advice. (I did not think you issued a bug report - and if you did then I probably would have asked you to investigate the problem further with those tools). ---
**Author:** ![Brothbeard](https://community.mp3tag.de/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/b/f1d935/32.png) [@Brothbeard](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/Brothbeard)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2019, 5:32pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/corrupt-file-headers-tags-in-mp3-files/46048/5 "2019-07-30T17:32:23Z")
Sorry, I misunderstood. I'll have a look at these tools and report back. ---
**Author:** ![Brothbeard](https://community.mp3tag.de/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/b/f1d935/32.png) [@Brothbeard](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/Brothbeard)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2019, 6:10pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/corrupt-file-headers-tags-in-mp3-files/46048/6 "2019-07-30T18:10:43Z")
I've looked at both tools but unfortunately neither does what I want. Nonetheless, having downloaded/installed them, I'll keep them - they may be useful in the future. I think it's probably going to be easier to re-rip the CDs. Thanks anyway ohrenkino. ---
**Author:** ![ryerman](https://community.mp3tag.de/user_avatar/community.mp3tag.de/ryerman/32/5285_2.png) [@ryerman](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/ryerman)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2019, 8:03pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/corrupt-file-headers-tags-in-mp3-files/46048/7 "2019-07-30T20:03:23Z")
VBRfix might help: [https://hydrogenaud.io/index.php/topic,67076.0.html](https://hydrogenaud.io/index.php/topic,67076.0.html) ---
**Author:** ![Brothbeard](https://community.mp3tag.de/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/b/f1d935/32.png) [@Brothbeard](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/Brothbeard)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2019, 10:01pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/corrupt-file-headers-tags-in-mp3-files/46048/8 "2019-07-30T22:01:59Z")
Thanks ryerman, I'll take a look. ---
**Author:** ![system](https://community.mp3tag.de/uploads/default/original/2X/c/ce7035d426cb755a7916793326d23b465222a407.png) [@system](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/system)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2026, 12:28pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/corrupt-file-headers-tags-in-mp3-files/46048/9 "2026-02-09T12:28:12Z")