Not necessarily a WinME problem but, since it happened on an ME machine, here goes: I had 20,000+ mp3's in over 700 folders on an external drive, when I suddenly found myself looking at 14,000+ songs that won't play. Properties show that all the file sizes are still intact but, as they scroll down in the Playlist editor in Winamp, I notice the .mp3 extension gets dropped and the time (song length) isn't shown. The ID tag info does show correctly. The oddest part of this is that there's also a smattering (sorry to have to use a word like that!) of files that DO play. There seems to be no rhyme or reason as to which ones are corrupted- some folders contain no playable tunes, some 1 or 2, some more than that. I tried some of the obvious things- checking the properties and file associations, trying them in other media players and I even tried some recovery software. No luck. They're still dead and I'm still mourning the loss of a year and a half's work. Any thoughts as to where to go on this? Email me for more details if you think it'll help or just post your questions here- Thanks in advance!

You should have backed up the files every now and then to a CD-R. I have squeezed over 300 MP3's on to one disc. I was galvanized into backing up the 600 or so MP3's after receiving a virus. If the virus had got the better of the AV program all would have been lost. Sorry I can't be of help.

Don't you mean a year and a half's theft? I mean to download a few albums isn't such a big deal but that's got to be classified as grand theft audio. No wonder the RIAA is having a fit. Now I suppose those could have all been free songs...lol, yeah right. Anyway maybe a virus corrupted them. Better run a scan.

he mite have got lotsa free mp3s at mp3.com and thats not theft

Bob: A lot of people will rip their own personal collection of CD's into MP3's so they can use them in MP3 players. I myself have ripped CD's I have purchased into MP3's so I can play them back with ease on my computer. I knew a DJ that had over 30,000 MP3's so he could easily call up any song at events he did. So don't assume this person has committed theft. Rember, innocent until proven guilty. Laters, KTTD

hello try an online scan at housecall anti virus i think you have a vbs script virus and the reason some still play is its not done converting them all .there are some tools out there for reconverting them back to mp3 if its a new strane you cant reconvert them till some one comes out with a fix in witch case just burn these all to cd,s in the un playable stae and than reformat this drive and fdisk the mbr for the drive if and when you fined a tool to reconvert this vbs virus you can than take them from the cds be care full useing or handleing these files they can infect other drives back up every thing be for doing so. have a nice day

I'll start with Bob's comment- I don't believe that this forum was designed as a site to debate the issue of file-sharing but, since you "took it there"... Yes, roughly a 25% of the music I lost WAS from downloading but, just like the guy Kevin mentioned, I do some DJ work and had converted LEGALLY PURCHASED music to the mp3 format for the same reason- ease of use. For your information, Mr. High and Mighty, the majority of downloaded music isn't up to par with what can be played commercially. And, since you seem to be so up on the issue, maybe you'll be able to explain why record sales have gone up steadily over the years? Could it be that people, like me, use it as a learning tool? Since I started on Napster almost 2 years ago, my appreciation for a wider variety of music has grown considerably. It also helps so that when I AM in the music stores, I know EXACTLY what I want and don't have to spend hours and hours, previewing potential purchases. What it all comes down to is, I don't appreciate your comments and hope you'll refrain from making judgment calls on future posts. Again, this is a forum for the resolution of computer problems, not a debate on issues like file-sharing. Now that I got that out of my system... Yeah- I back up from time to time- something I'll be sure to do a lot more often now and I already scan for viruses daily. I appreciate the pointers though. Wawadave- as I'm writing this, the drive I have the tunes on isn't connected but, as soon as I'm off, I'll be sure to check into what you mentioned. I should have thought of that- I went through that same problem in my first months on Napster. Thanks to all- except for Bob. (Sorry folks- His stance was as offensive as any I've seen here!)