a disk error occurred during a write operation

[SE14man]

I clicked a song to play it on my computer and it did nothing so i looked at properties and suddenly the following error came up: 'a disk error occurred during a write operation'

What does this mean and how can i solve the issue for good?

Cheers.

[redwudz]

That can apparently happen if you try to modify the property values on some audio files. It might happen even if you just click on 'OK' when you close the page. But I haven't been able to duplicate that problem myself.

The properties values on your song may be damaged or corrupted and that may be causing it.

[SE14man]

Hi,

So its not all down to bad sectors at all then mate?

Cheers.

[redwudz]

My first thought was that it was referencing a hard drive problem, but if it does this only with that file, I would say it's more likely a file problem. It sounds like Windows is not able to write or possibly read from the properties values in the file. If it's a MP3, you could try running it through a audio editor like Audacity, then re-saving it.

However, if you get that with most all audio files, even ones you know to be good, it could be related to hard drive access. If you suspect that, you might run CHKDSK on your hard drive, defrag it and make sure it's not getting too full. I like to keep between 1/4 to 1/3 of the drives capacity as freespace, though with bigger drives, you can reduce that.

[SE14man]

Would also moving it to another hard disk drive solve the issue mate?

ur a big help mate thank u very much for this.

[Krispy Kritter]

Just moving the file won't fix it, but it may help isolate the actual problem. If you get the same errors accessing the file after it is moved to another HDD, then you likely have a corrupt file. Try redwudz suggestion above. If you don't have any further issues, they it is likely the original HDD that is the issue. Download the HDD tools from the manufacturers website and test the drive.

[bighairmonkey]

The ID3 tag, attached to MP3's, allows users to specify song title, artist, album, etc. As of ID3 v2, extra information could be added such as images and comments. But with this extended information came the ability to also attach viruses, malware and file locks to an mp3. Some websites such as www.2conv.com and www.flv2mp3.com use the extended format of ID3 v2 to disallow users from removing their information from the comments section or their associated image from a downloaded file.

If you have access to an ID3 tag editor (not merely the values allowed in Windows Media Player or Windows Explorer), you will be able to see the lock on the mp3 file that throws the "a disk error occurred during a write operation" error and remove it.

If you don't have access to an ID3 tag editor, the easiest way is to use iTunes:

• Load the mp3 into your iTunes library
• Right click on the song and choose "Convert ID3 tags..."
  (Note - this option only appears from the library selection, not from playlists)
• Convert the ID3 tag to v1.0 - this will remove all extended information from your track such as hidden add-ons, malware, images and file locks
• Convert the ID3 tag back to a v2 format so you can add your own extended data (I like v2.3)
• Right click on the song and use the "Get Info" option to add whatever information you want

Once you've converted the ID3 tag to v1 and back, you will have effectively removed the extended data that prevents changes to the original file, and you will be able to change properties, modify data, rename the file, etc via Windows Explorer without the write error.

[Ai Haibara]

If all you need is a tag editor, use MP3Tag (the free program; beware, there's a different program out there (shareware) using the same name). Running it through iTunes sounds like it'd probably be a bit more painful of a process, especially depending upon how iTunes has been set up.

Load the track in MP3Tag (note that the program works with more than just MP3s), highlight it in MP3Tag's browser, and modify the tag (if you don't really want to change the information, you can change it right back). With the track still highlighted click on the Save icon (or select it from the File menu). That should update the tags.

[bighairmonkey]

As long as your utility allows you to view and modify the complete metadata fields for the tag, then go for it.
Lots of tag editors allow you to edit the information in a tag field but not add, remove or modify the actual bits that specify a given field - that's why I suggest converting it to ID3 v1 to drop all extended information (wipe the slate clean) and start from scratch.

Like I said - if your tag editor allows you to do that. Go for it!