When I tag mp3 files, Windows Media Player stops working

[davea]

I have downloaded some mp3 files from youtube. I can play them with Windows Media Player. These files don't have a Title or Artist. I cannot add those in File Explorer, those fields are not editable. I can tag them with MP3TAG. However, when I do that I can not play them with windows media player, I get an error message "Windows Media Player encountered a problem while playing the file." When I look in File Explorer, the title and artist file are still empty. If I remove the tagged fields in MP3TAG, Windows Media Player works again.

Any suggestions?

[ohrenkino]

@davea

Any suggestions?

a) use the suggested tools to check your files for integrity.
b) see here:

Mp3Tag Corrupts my MP3 files after editing

I've downloaded an example file where the source was listed as Youtube and the resulting file is not an MP3 — despite having the MP3 file extension. It's an MP4 dash file using AAC as audio codec. The fact the site is providing them with an *.mp3 extension is a serious mistake on their part and results in people polluting their libraries with camouflaged files. For obvious reasons, it's impossible to contact them and point out the issue. I'm also assuming the interest is elsewhere, since most …

[MotleyG]

@davea

I have downloaded some mp3 files from youtube.

There is no download option from YouTube. I believe you have likely used a 3rd party online converter tool. This is the source of the problem for this and several other recently reported issues. See the link posted above for more info.