How to Check for Bad MP3 Files

The MP3 file format is used to store audio files and due to compression is able to provide smaller file sizes while still retaining good quality. You can use software to back up your music collection to MP3 files or purchase tracks online. If the conversion or download of a MP3 file is interrupted, it can result in a bad or corrupted MP3 file. With a large collection, it is not practical to listen to every track to determine which files are bad, so a more efficient way of doing so is to use specialized software.

Open the Checkmate Mp3 Checker website and click the "Download" button.

Click the filename for the Windows version that uses a graphical user interface.

Wait for the download to complete and then double-click the file to open the application. No installation is required and the file is just over 100KB so the download should complete in just a few seconds.

Select the drive or device where your MP3 files are located from the Checkmate MP3 Checker application Location drop-down list and then open the folder containing the files.

Select the files that you want to check and then click "File" from the Menu bar. Select "Scan" to initiate the scanner.

Check the value in the Result column to see if the scanned files are compromised.

Open the Gromkov's Software website (link in Resources) and click the download link for MP3 Validator.

Open the MP3 Validator after the download is complete. The file is less than 100KB so the download should complete in just a few seconds and no installation is required.

Click the "Add Files To Validate" or "Add Folder To Validate" buttons and select the MP3 files that you want to check.

Click the "Scan Entire List For Errors" button -- styled like a blue magnifying glass -- to initiate the scan.

Wait for the "Scan Complete" dialog to display and then check the status column to check if any of the MP3 files are bad. The scan duration depends on the number of MP3 files that you have selected to scan.

Open the Sourceforge page for MP3 Diags (link in Resources) and click the "Windows 32bit installer" link to download the application.

Open the setup file and follow the installation wizard prompts to install the software on your computer.

Click "Finish" to complete the installation and open the application.

Click the check box next to the folders with MP3 files that you want to include in the scan and then click "OK."

Check the columns next to the MP3 files for issues that might be affecting the file. Click the "All Notes" button for an explanation of what the issues are and how they impact your songs.