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General discussion

A disk error occurred during a write operation. -properties

Aug 5, 2008 10:13AM PDT

winXP Home, Toshiba Laptop:
I am trying to enter PROPERTIES info into [Title] and [Comments] fields of the Summary tab, of .mp3, and .wmv files.
I am unable to do so, and get this error msg instead:
"A disk error occurred during a write operation."

Is there a way around this?
Thanks in advance!

Discussion is locked

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If They're On A CD, You're Out Of Luck..
Aug 5, 2008 10:18AM PDT

If you're trying to change the information on files which reside on your hard drive, then you might try changing the properties of the file so they aren't "Read Only". And make sure the Security permissions are correct so that you have taken ownership of the file.

Hope this helps.

Grif

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Add a comment to a file
Aug 5, 2008 1:00PM PDT

I follow exactly, the HELP file for "Add a comment to a file".
But no go.

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As noted, you can't do this to
Aug 5, 2008 11:36PM PDT

CDs. I think you need to tell all the details.

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A disk error, as in HardDrive, C: , and .wmv files.
Aug 6, 2008 7:14AM PDT

Yes,I sent a reply that encompassed all the info that anyone would possibly need. Somehow it never got posted.
I was too tired to write it all out again, so I sent the one you responded to.

But yes, the error occurs on my hardDrive, C: .
I can change the [Title] and [comments] info on other file types, such as .txt, .wma and .ini , but not for the .wmv files.

Thanks!

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Probably file locks in the ID3 tag extended data
Nov 7, 2011 2:34PM PST

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.

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Thank for the info!!
Jan 27, 2013 4:49AM PST

This is the answer!! Thanks for the info!!

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Could be that what you are adding is too long...
Sep 24, 2013 12:04AM PDT

In trying to add lyrics to the properties of MP3 files, I found that some lyrics were simply too long. If I cut off the last stanza, everything fit and no disk error occurred.