Write Access errors with Google Drive

Support
1

I observe the following error when using mp3tag in a folder that is synced by Google Drive's synchronisation client "Backup & Sync":

  • Open a folder with media files

  • Open "extended tags" on all files

  • modify embedded image (e.g. add or remove image)

  • save

from here on, it's a bit tricky to reproduce

  • wait a bit, until google drive has synced about half of the files that were modified

  • modify images again, like described above

Most likely there will be an error on some files that says, mp3tag couldn't write-access the files. The image modification will only be applied on some files.

Unfortunately, it's a bit hard to reproduce. Often, you have to repeat the process described above several times. Wait longer or shorter between the modification. I'm not sure if it has an impact.

If you see the error on one particular file once, you will always see it on any further attempt to modify the file. Even when the Google Drive synchronisation is done, the error will still be there. Until you completely close Google Drive Backup&Sync.

To me, this sounds more like a bug in Backup&Sync, so I contacted them via Google One Support. But they keep on telling me it must be a bug in the third-party application, namely mp3tag. So I just wanted to describe the bug here, maybe someone else can reproduce it and maybe we can collect further information to prove wheather the problem is on Google Drive's side, or on mp3tag's.

If you need more information to understand the problem let me know. Then I will provide some screenshots.

2

In general: if 2 programs access the same file at the same time, it is very likely that one will run into an error situation.
This happened before a couple of times even in local environments without network access but more often with network access as these connections are much slower than internal access to storages.

What you could try:
get yourself the sysinternal process explorer
let it run together with MP3tag.
Set MP3tag's process priority to "above normal".
Edit the files as planned.
Check if you get the same error again.

Even more background: as adding a cover most likely will use all of any existing padding in the files, the file has to be rewritten. And as audio files are usually bigger than text documents or spreadsheets, it will take a little longer. And during this time, apparently, the sync process becomes interested in the file and blocks it.

Use the search function of the forum with search words like "cannot open access" to see in which other circumstances the error occurs.