# Mp3tag doesn't recognize a few tracks
**URL:** https://community.mp3tag.de/t/mp3tag-doesnt-recognize-a-few-tracks/14910
**Category:** Support
**Created:** [July 16, 2013, 7:52am UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/mp3tag-doesnt-recognize-a-few-tracks/14910 "2013-07-16T07:52:24Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@bd0m](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/bd0m)
#### Post date: [July 16, 2013, 7:52am UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/mp3tag-doesnt-recognize-a-few-tracks/14910/1 "2013-07-16T07:52:24Z")
Hello!
Here's my problem: I have an album, whose ID3 tags are fully recognized by foobar2000. But when I open this very album in Mp3tag, a few tracks (in this case 3 of 16) are just not there. When I try to open the missing tracks separately, kind of nothing happens. What could be the reason for that? (I have already tried to fix the MP3 header in foobar but with no luck.)
Thanks in advance for your help.
---
### Author:  [@JJ\_Johnson](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/JJ_Johnson)
#### Post date: [July 16, 2013, 7:58am UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/mp3tag-doesnt-recognize-a-few-tracks/14910/2 "2013-07-16T07:58:36Z")
> [@bd0m](#):
>
> Here's my problem: I have an album, whose ID3 tags are fully recognized by foobar2000. But when I open this very album in Mp3tag, a few tracks (in this case 3 of 16) are just not there. When I try to open the missing tracks separately, kind of nothing happens.
"Kind of nothing"?? Seriously? What does that mean?
Do the files load into Mp3tag, but show no data within the tagging fields, or do the files fail to load at all?
---
### Author:  [@bd0m](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/bd0m)
#### Post date: [July 16, 2013, 8:01am UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/mp3tag-doesnt-recognize-a-few-tracks/14910/3 "2013-07-16T08:01:10Z")
> [@JJ Johnson](#):
>
> "Kind of nothing"?? Seriously? What does that mean?
>
> Do the files load into Mp3tag, but show no data within the tagging fields, or do the files fail to load at all?
The files fail to load.
---
### Author:  [@stanman](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/stanman)
#### Post date: [July 16, 2013, 10:08am UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/mp3tag-doesnt-recognize-a-few-tracks/14910/4 "2013-07-16T10:08:49Z")
Download [MP3 Diags](http://mp3diags.sourceforge.net/) and scan the files to see if any problems show up.
The program will also fix any problems it finds.
---
### Author:  [@bd0m](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/bd0m)
#### Post date: [July 16, 2013, 11:19am UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/mp3tag-doesnt-recognize-a-few-tracks/14910/5 "2013-07-16T11:19:11Z")
The Mp3 Diags was not the answer, but foobar2000 was: if you hit on "Auto track number" for each album, the Mp3tag recognizes the missing tracks too. Thanks for the tip anyway.
---
### Author:  [@garym](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/garym)
#### Post date: [July 16, 2013, 2:21pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/mp3tag-doesnt-recognize-a-few-tracks/14910/6 "2013-07-16T14:21:00Z")
This is very odd, I've never seen a missing tag field cause a file to fail to load into mp3tag. Nothing about the track number field should cause a file not to load into mp3tag active window.
I suspect there is a misunderstanding of the language here. "fail to load" means that mp3tag doesn't even show that there is a file at all (as opposed to showing the file, but showing certain tag fields blank).
edit: Maybe you had some sort of filter turned on in mp3tag related to album (and maybe the missing tracks were not considered part of album until you fixed the tags in foobar). People often get confused when they've accidentally turned on filtering in mp3tag and only see certain files as a result. So check that as well.
---
### Author:  [@spmaj9](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/spmaj9)
#### Post date: [March 17, 2024, 12:21am UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/mp3tag-doesnt-recognize-a-few-tracks/14910/7 "2024-03-17T00:21:35Z")
My issue is similar but not quite the same.
Files where the tag "Type" contains "M4A Audio File (VLC)" and an entry in the "Contributing Artists" field will import when dragged into the Mp3Tag window. However, files with the same "Type" but where the tag "Contributing Artists" is blank do not appear at all.
(All my mp3's have an artist shown already so I can't test if this happens for the .mp3 format)
---
### Author:  [@ohrenkino](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/ohrenkino)
#### Post date: [March 17, 2024, 6:42am UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/mp3tag-doesnt-recognize-a-few-tracks/14910/8 "2024-03-17T06:42:26Z")
> [@spmaj9](#):
>
> do not appear at all.
Please check the status bar: how many files have you loaded and how many are displayed.
If those numbers differ then press F3 to toggle the filter and see if more files are displayed.
---
### Author:  [@spmaj9](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/spmaj9)
#### Post date: [March 17, 2024, 4:20pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/mp3tag-doesnt-recognize-a-few-tracks/14910/9 "2024-03-17T16:20:33Z")
Filtering is off. F3 has no effect. I hope I am describing my issue adequately. If I try to drag/drop 4 files, all "M4A Audio File (VLC)", 2 having a "Contributing Artists" entry and 2 not, only the 2 with that field filled will appear in the app.
---
### Author:  [@LyricsLover](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/LyricsLover)
#### Post date: [March 17, 2024, 4:22pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/mp3tag-doesnt-recognize-a-few-tracks/14910/10 "2024-03-17T16:22:44Z")
If you try to load this files with
File -\> Add directory
(browse to the folder which contains these files)
do you see the files then in Mp3tag?
---
### Author:  [@ohrenkino](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/ohrenkino)
#### Post date: [March 17, 2024, 4:24pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/mp3tag-doesnt-recognize-a-few-tracks/14910/11 "2024-03-17T16:24:53Z")
What does the status bar show: how many files have been loaded?
And if all this does not lead anywhere:
could you supply a working and an ignored file?
See also this thread:
> [@Some MP4 files are not listed when starting from context menu](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/some-mp4-files-are-not-listed-when-starting-from-context-menu/60562/):
>
> I have ensured that the download executed properly, restarted my PC, and everything else looks fine but if I right-click on an mp3 and select MP3 Tag, it brings up the screen but with no file selected. If I change directories to see files, it only shows those files that already have MP3 Tags.
---
### Author:  [@spmaj9](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/spmaj9)
#### Post date: [March 17, 2024, 4:37pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/mp3tag-doesnt-recognize-a-few-tracks/14910/12 "2024-03-17T16:37:40Z")
I get this error when trying to load an m4a. by drag/drop.
Sorry, the file you are trying to upload is not authorized (authorized extensions: jpg, jpeg, png, gif, src, mte, mta, log, dmp, zip, rar, pdf, txt, rtf, mov, mp4).
No files appear when using the app File\>add directory method.
Is converting .m4a to .mp4 an option? (still would not explain why some .m4a's will load, though)
---
### Author:  [@ohrenkino](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/ohrenkino)
#### Post date: [March 17, 2024, 4:40pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/mp3tag-doesnt-recognize-a-few-tracks/14910/13 "2024-03-17T16:40:05Z")
You could rename the file to txt or something allowed.
It could be that the mp4 format is not as expected, see the linked thread.
---
### Author:  [@LyricsLover](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/LyricsLover)
#### Post date: [March 17, 2024, 4:42pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/mp3tag-doesnt-recognize-a-few-tracks/14910/14 "2024-03-17T16:42:32Z")
If you can not upload it to a 3rd party file hoster and tell us the download link, you could try to download the FFMPEG-Essential-Tools from [here](https://www.gyan.dev/ffmpeg/builds/#release-builds):
[https://www.gyan.dev/ffmpeg/builds/ffmpeg-release-essentials.7z](https://www.gyan.dev/ffmpeg/builds/ffmpeg-release-essentials.7z)
or the ZIP file if you prefer:
[https://www.gyan.dev/ffmpeg/builds/ffmpeg-release-essentials.zip](https://www.gyan.dev/ffmpeg/builds/ffmpeg-release-essentials.zip)
Extract it and then copy the 2 "problematic" files to the` \bin` directory where you can find `ffprobe.exe`
In a CMD-Line window execute
`ffprobe "problematic_filename.m4a"`
Please upload a screenshot from this result.
---
### Author:  [@spmaj9](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/spmaj9)
#### Post date: [March 17, 2024, 5:29pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/mp3tag-doesnt-recognize-a-few-tracks/14910/15 "2024-03-17T17:29:33Z")
---
### Author:  [@LyricsLover](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/LyricsLover)
#### Post date: [March 17, 2024, 5:32pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/mp3tag-doesnt-recognize-a-few-tracks/14910/16 "2024-03-17T17:32:08Z")
From the last line I would say that your M4A does not contain one of the listed music formats (mov, mp4, m4a, 3gp, mj2).
It is highly possible that your "M4A" is something else, but not M4A. That could be the reason why Mp3tag does not load it, because this file can not be modified without recognizing the correct music format.
You could compare it with one of the working songs. `FFProbe.exe` should tell you about M4A and some technical details for those.
---
### Author:  [@MotleyG](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/MotleyG)
#### Post date: [March 17, 2024, 5:37pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/mp3tag-doesnt-recognize-a-few-tracks/14910/17 "2024-03-17T17:37:20Z")
What was the source for these files that won't behave in mp3tag? Perhaps from YouTube using an online converter?
> [@Cannot play mp3 file if it includes tags](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/cannot-play-mp3-file-if-it-includes-tags/54936):
>
> Today I tried adding some tags to songs I downloaded. I've been using mp3tag for a long time and I'd say i had never had a problem before. I tried editing the tags like always, add title, artist bla bla, pasting cover art and saving. All normal. However, after I tried listening to the audio track, Groove music gives me the message ' Can't play This file isn’t playable. That might be because the file type is unsupported, the file extension is incorrect, or the file is corrupt. 0xc00d36c4 ' …
---
### Author:  [@spmaj9](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/spmaj9)
#### Post date: [March 17, 2024, 6:04pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/mp3tag-doesnt-recognize-a-few-tracks/14910/18 "2024-03-17T18:04:26Z")
Are you saying I need to run my own comparative diagnostic on two separate diagnostic outputs from a program I am totally unfamiliar with? Sorry, I'm really not ready to take that on. If Mp3Tag cannot allow me to add a blank tag to these I will have to try and find a utility that will. Here is a screen shot of my attempt to add 4 files. Thanks for the input, everyone.
---
### Author:  [@LyricsLover](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/LyricsLover)
#### Post date: [March 17, 2024, 6:09pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/mp3tag-doesnt-recognize-a-few-tracks/14910/19 "2024-03-17T18:09:13Z")
I just try to describe why Mp3tag is not loading a possibly malformed music file, which pretends to be a M4A. Mp3tag can not "heal" a corrupted file and does not try to harm such a file even more.
If you can not share such a problematic file, the only way to find the reason is to try it by yourself.
If you like, you could try to find the used codec in your "problematic M4A" with this 1-line-command:
`ffprobe -v error -select_streams a:0 -show_entries stream=codec_name,codec_long_name "problematic_filename.m4a"`
For a working M4A it should ouptut something like this:
```auto
[STREAM]
codec_name=aac
codec_long_name=AAC (Advanced Audio Coding)
[/STREAM]
```
Would be interesting, what your "problematic M4A" shows.
Otherwise you would have to upload your files to a file sharing host and share the link to such a file with us. Then we can try to analyze it further.
---
### Author:  [@ohrenkino](https://community.mp3tag.de/u/ohrenkino)
#### Post date: [March 17, 2024, 6:12pm UTC](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/mp3tag-doesnt-recognize-a-few-tracks/14910/20 "2024-03-17T18:12:31Z")
AFAI can see - the files that loaded OK in MP3tag are the only ones in the explorer that show a bitrate ...
So apparently, the explorer also does not really know what to do with these files.
[Next page](https://community.mp3tag.de/t/mp3tag-doesnt-recognize-a-few-tracks/14910.md?page=2)