FIX: Error in Windows Media Player 9 Series When You Play Specific MP3 Files

Symptoms

When you play certain MP3 files, you may receive the following error message in the Windows Media Player 9 Series:

When you click More Information, you receive the following error message:

Cause

This occurs because the Windows Media Player 9 Series does not support MP3 files that have unsynchronized ID3v2 headers. Earlier versions of the Media Player ignore the header if it is unsynchronized.

Resolution

A supported hotfix is available from Microsoft. However, this hotfix is intended to correct only the problem that is described in this article. Apply this hotfix only to systems that are experiencing this specific problem. This hotfix might receive additional testing. Therefore, if you are not severely affected by this problem, we recommend that you wait for the next software update that contains this hotfix.

If the hotfix is available for download, there is a "Hotfix download available" section at the top of this Knowledge Base article. If this section does not appear, contact Microsoft Customer Service and Support to obtain the hotfix.

Note If additional issues occur or if any troubleshooting is required, you might have to create a separate service request. The usual support costs will apply to additional support questions and issues that do not qualify for this specific hotfix. For a complete list of Microsoft Customer Service and Support telephone numbers or to create a separate service request, visit the following Microsoft Web site:

http://support.microsoft.com/contactus/?ws=supportNote The "Hotfix download available" form displays the languages for which the hotfix is available. If you do not see your language, it is because a hotfix is not available for that language. The English version of this fix has the file attributes (or later) that are listed in the following table. The dates and times for these files are listed in coordinated universal time (UTC). When you view the file information, it is converted to local time. To find the difference between UTC and local time, use the Time Zone tab in the Date and Time tool in Control Panel.

Date Time Version Size File name
--------------------------------------------------------------
04-Feb-2003 20:43 9.0.0.3000 2,058,888 Wmvcore.dll
The following files are available for download from the Microsoft Download Center:
Download the wm814129.exe package now.

Workaround

The hotfix in this article permits Windows Media Player 9 Series to play back MP3 files with this type of ID3v2 header. Additionally, an end user can use current versions of most third-party tag editors and resave the header. In most cases, this removes the unsynchronization.

Status

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a bug in the Microsoft products that are listed at the beginning of this article.

More Information

MP3 audio data is identified by a sync signal at the beginning of an MP3 frame. Unsynchronization is a process by which some tag editors modify the ID3 header so that older players that do not understand ID3 tags effectively discard the header information because the sync signal does not exist in the header.

As part of this hotfix, the Windows Media Player 9 Series does the following:

• Permits reading of files that have the unsynchronization flag set.

• Permits write back to these files (if metadata or information changes) when the unsynchronization flag is not set.

Note Old players that do not understand ID3 headers may interpret an ID3 header that does not have this flag set as an actual audio frame. This can sound like a "pop" to the listener. If an older player that does not support this flag is used, either do not write back metadata to the file, or use an older program that still supports this flag to set metadata.