# "File Cannot Be Opened For Writing" **URL:** https://community.mp3tag.de/t/file-cannot-be-opened-for-writing/12416 **Category:** Support **Created:** [August 21, 2011, 1:34pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/file-cannot-be-opened-for-writing/12416 "2011-08-21T13:34:34Z") **Posts on this page:** 1 **Showing post:** 29
### Author: ![gstalnaker](https://community.mp3tag.de/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/g/aca169/32.png) [@gstalnaker](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/gstalnaker) #### Post date: [March 8, 2021, 7:54pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/file-cannot-be-opened-for-writing/12416/29 "2021-03-08T19:54:15Z")
Thinking that other folks may encounter this -- yet another variant on "locked for writing" that has NOTHING to do with mp3 file integrity, disallowed characters in a tag, or file permissions -- PATH LENGTH. I've encountered the dreaded "file locked" error multiple times. Following advice here: [How to check files for errors?](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/how-to-check-files-for-errors/44633) I tried checking the mp3 files with both foobar2000 and mp3diags. Nothing doing, mp3tag still said the file was locked. I then modified the mp3 file itself by: - Converting to WAV - Run ClickRepair on WAV, saved to -cr.wav - Convert to Flac (to avoid second lossy mp3 file) mp3tag STILL says file is locked. Whatever "it" is, it's not the audio file. I bought some recordings of Wagner's Ring cycle from OperaDepot. He creates a folder structure like this: AlbumName/OperaName/DiscID/DiscNumber/Files with both AlbumName and OperaName including performers, e.g., Wagner - RotN - Böhm - Bayreuth - 1968/Die Götterdämmerung - Nilsson, Windgassen, Treptow, Stewart/10011/Die Götterdämmerung - 1/filename.mp3 That's a long filepath. On a hunch, I removed the OperaName/DiscID parts of that path by moving all of the DiscNumber folders up two levels. mp3tag no longer says the files are locked!! The move shortened the filepath considerably. I thus conclude that filepath length was actually the issue and the "locked" error is itself erroneous. I think mp3tag is encountering a error condition it is not programmed to recognize, so in this case it's throwing the "locked" error which is misleading. --- _[View the full topic](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/file-cannot-be-opened-for-writing/12416)._