Windows XP and long file names

R

rfdjr1

I posed this question a while back and there didn't seem to be an answer so I
thought I'd try again in case some new posters are here. I often try to rename
..mp3 files I download which have way too much information than I need, like
artists, album name, year, track number, track name.mp3. I try to pare that all
down to Artist and song name.mp3. Many I can do simply by opening my music
folder and right clicking on the file, then rename, then doing what I want to
do. Until I hit a certain length filename, then Windows Explorer tells me it has
encountered a problem and shuts down, going back to my desktop. Someone did
mention that even with Windows XP, if the path name was more than 255
characters, there'd be a problem. If the path were to for example consist of:

E:\Music\Country\Artist Name\filename.mp3

(Is this the entire path??)

Then it crashes at 112 characters, the most recent file I tried working with,
which is substantially less than 255 characters. I don't think I have a file as
long as 255 path included. Any idea why Windows Explorer won't let me work on a
file like this? I can't even right click and delete the file. Same thing,
Windows Explorer shuts down. Thanks for any insight.
 
C

Carey Frisch [MVP]

Use Windows Media Player to organize your music files.
That is the application you need to use.

Windows Media Player 10 How-to Center
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/knowledgecenter/howto/mp10/default.aspx

--
Carey Frisch
Microsoft MVP
Windows Desktop Experience -
Windows Vista Enthusiast

---------------------------------------------------------------


I posed this question a while back and there didn't seem to be an answer so I
thought I'd try again in case some new posters are here. I often try to rename
..mp3 files I download which have way too much information than I need, like
artists, album name, year, track number, track name.mp3. I try to pare that all
down to Artist and song name.mp3. Many I can do simply by opening my music
folder and right clicking on the file, then rename, then doing what I want to
do. Until I hit a certain length filename, then Windows Explorer tells me it has
encountered a problem and shuts down, going back to my desktop. Someone did
mention that even with Windows XP, if the path name was more than 255
characters, there'd be a problem. If the path were to for example consist of:

E:\Music\Country\Artist Name\filename.mp3

(Is this the entire path??)

Then it crashes at 112 characters, the most recent file I tried working with,
which is substantially less than 255 characters. I don't think I have a file as
long as 255 path included. Any idea why Windows Explorer won't let me work on a
file like this? I can't even right click and delete the file. Same thing,
Windows Explorer shuts down. Thanks for any insight.
 
R

rfdjr1

T

TaurArian

I believe so.
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa365247.aspx

--

TaurArian [MVP] 2005-2008 - Update Services
http://taurarian.mvps.org
======================================
How to ask a question: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/555375
Computer Maintenance: Acronis / Diskeeper / Paragon / Raxco


|I posed this question a while back and there didn't seem to be an answer so I
| thought I'd try again in case some new posters are here. I often try to rename
| .mp3 files I download which have way too much information than I need, like
| artists, album name, year, track number, track name.mp3. I try to pare that all
| down to Artist and song name.mp3. Many I can do simply by opening my music
| folder and right clicking on the file, then rename, then doing what I want to
| do. Until I hit a certain length filename, then Windows Explorer tells me it has
| encountered a problem and shuts down, going back to my desktop. Someone did
| mention that even with Windows XP, if the path name was more than 255
| characters, there'd be a problem. If the path were to for example consist of:
|
| E:\Music\Country\Artist Name\filename.mp3
|
| (Is this the entire path??)
|
| Then it crashes at 112 characters, the most recent file I tried working with,
| which is substantially less than 255 characters. I don't think I have a file as
| long as 255 path included. Any idea why Windows Explorer won't let me work on a
| file like this? I can't even right click and delete the file. Same thing,
| Windows Explorer shuts down. Thanks for any insight.
|
 

Ask a Question

Want to reply to this thread or ask your own question?

You'll need to choose a username for the site, which only take a couple of moments. After that, you can post your question and our members will help you out.

Ask a Question

Top