Why is Windows Media Player 12 not adding certain files to my library?
April 21, 2010 9:38 PM Subscribe
Why is Windows Media Player 12 not adding certain files to my library?
I've just become aware that WMP 12 doesn't suck anymore. For some reason though, it's not adding certain tracks to my library. These appear (I have a really large library so I'm not positive) to all be iTunes tracks (m4a), currently residing in the iTunes sub-folder. No, they aren't DRM protected, and yes it has has added most of the iTunes folder contents; there just appear to be some that are getting left out. These files will even open and play in WMP, but still don't show up in the library. As far as I can tell you can't manually add files to the library, so what's the what?
I've just become aware that WMP 12 doesn't suck anymore. For some reason though, it's not adding certain tracks to my library. These appear (I have a really large library so I'm not positive) to all be iTunes tracks (m4a), currently residing in the iTunes sub-folder. No, they aren't DRM protected, and yes it has has added most of the iTunes folder contents; there just appear to be some that are getting left out. These files will even open and play in WMP, but still don't show up in the library. As far as I can tell you can't manually add files to the library, so what's the what?
In response to the K-Lite suggestion
Please don't install codec packs blindly. They are full of misc crap that will result in odd behavior later on down the road when you try to play some other file. Win7 has a lot better codec support in-box, so installing a codec pack meant for XP, etc will result in the excellent in-box codecs getting overrulled by who knows what.
If you think that a missing codec is causing your issue, identify the exact codec you need, and then install just that codec. This will minimize the risk of problems, and you'll know what to try uninstalling if things start to go weird.
To determine the codec type for a given file, use GSpot.
That said - your issue is likely not codec related, as you said that you were able to play the files just fine by themselves.
You can manually add a single file to the library by dragging and dropping it from explorer into your WMP library, in the track pane (the cursor should get a box with "+ Add to Library").
posted by Diddly at 11:21 PM on April 21, 2010
Please don't install codec packs blindly. They are full of misc crap that will result in odd behavior later on down the road when you try to play some other file. Win7 has a lot better codec support in-box, so installing a codec pack meant for XP, etc will result in the excellent in-box codecs getting overrulled by who knows what.
If you think that a missing codec is causing your issue, identify the exact codec you need, and then install just that codec. This will minimize the risk of problems, and you'll know what to try uninstalling if things start to go weird.
To determine the codec type for a given file, use GSpot.
That said - your issue is likely not codec related, as you said that you were able to play the files just fine by themselves.
You can manually add a single file to the library by dragging and dropping it from explorer into your WMP library, in the track pane (the cursor should get a box with "+ Add to Library").
posted by Diddly at 11:21 PM on April 21, 2010
Seconding Diddly's "please don't install codec packs blindly" statement. That's just asking for trouble down the line…
And, yes, doesn't sound like a codec issue 'cos WMP will play the files - just not add them to the library. I've noticed this a few times, and in a couple of cases the only thing I can track it down to is odd things with the metadata - broken ID3 tags, unsupported characters in the file name or metadata, etc. So try renaming the files, re-typing the tags in iTunes (or stripping them altogether), etc, then re-adding.
posted by Pinback at 11:53 PM on April 21, 2010
And, yes, doesn't sound like a codec issue 'cos WMP will play the files - just not add them to the library. I've noticed this a few times, and in a couple of cases the only thing I can track it down to is odd things with the metadata - broken ID3 tags, unsupported characters in the file name or metadata, etc. So try renaming the files, re-typing the tags in iTunes (or stripping them altogether), etc, then re-adding.
posted by Pinback at 11:53 PM on April 21, 2010
I have had a similar problem. Here is how I got around it. I can get to them by using the Folder view from the Albums / Artists / Folder menu on the top left. I resorted to using this option when a number of albums of perfectly ordinary mp3s were not included automatically in the other views. This works well for me as I took the time to organize the music into Artist/Albums in the actual windows directories. Not sure how much help it will be if the music is not well filed.
posted by therubettes at 3:25 AM on April 22, 2010
posted by therubettes at 3:25 AM on April 22, 2010
Also, I find a happy helper to be MusicBrainz and their tool Picard when it comes to cleaning metadata on MP3's. There are other tools that use the MB database (and with slicker interfaces), but I like the cross-platform nature of Picard, giving me the same experience on Linux and Windows.
posted by Samizdata at 7:33 AM on April 22, 2010
posted by Samizdata at 7:33 AM on April 22, 2010
Response by poster: Diddly, I took your advice, but strangely, even after I drag and drop them (and getting the "+ to library") they still aren't there!
posted by Roman Graves at 11:41 PM on April 23, 2010
posted by Roman Graves at 11:41 PM on April 23, 2010
Response by poster: Well, problem solved. I had to do a lot of digging on the Microsoft Answers site, but found out that it was a corrupted library file. The discussion is here in case some other poor soul comes across this in the future.
posted by Roman Graves at 12:31 AM on April 24, 2010
posted by Roman Graves at 12:31 AM on April 24, 2010
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posted by turgid dahlia at 10:56 PM on April 21, 2010