MP3 Files - Info Shell Extension

ChrisLyndon

ChrisLyndon

Active member
Hi - I used to have an additional "MP3"  tab on the properties window when looking at any folder containing MP3 files. This was something I somehow added on. It is a program called "MP3-Info Shell Extension V3.4.23 (unicode) by Michael Mutschler"  I really need to have this feature on my computer, because it is how I change pictures and label all my MP3 files. I cannot seem to get the program to load. I have downloaded it from the internet, but not sure how to implement it into action, or if it is even compatible with Windows 8.1 - Does anyone know how to implement this add on? If not, can anyone recommend somwething similar that does basically the same thing? Thanks for any help. This si a tool I have used on a daily basis, and really want to be able to change the information and pictures for my files.
 
There should be an exe file in there to run it. I've used this for many years - it works fine on windows 7. Did you download the full installer with it? I think there is a choice on some sites to download the program or to download the program plus installer.

You should have a zip file downloaded. Just unzip to a folder on your desktop and run the exe file. Done.

Make sure you got it from here
http://www.mutschler.de/mp3ext/

Doesn't say if it will work on 8 though but works on everything from 95 to 7 though (I've used it on win95, winMe, XP and 7)
 
trying it now - i think i was unsure how to properly install it, thanks for the instructions. I will let you know if it works
 
I am getting all these different folders, with all different files in them, and none have an "exe" on them - not sure if I am not doing this correctly, but this is not a very user friendly thing to do. I do not remember it was this difficult the last time I loaded it
 
The program you recommended is working GGG - Pretty basic - I am sure there are little intricacies to learn, but I was able to figure out how to change the cover image without any problem. Thanks
 
You're welcome. I have a whole suite of tools, that includes the latest video streaming methods to download. Both Adobe and Apple streaming. Those are all command prompted based though.
 
did you get the original one to work or did you give up on that?
I liked the way that shows the bitrate for each mp3 file in a folder.
I found mp3tag more complicated and does more than I needed.
 
I did not figure it out Eyore, but would really like to. I agree with you, that is is easier to use and less complicated. The other program has way more features than I need, and is also separated from the files in a different program. I prefer your program Eyore because it shows up as an added tab in the properties windo for a folder containing MP3 files. It is easier to navigate when it is all attached that way.

When I upload the program, I get a series of folders and items, none of which I know what they are. There is nothing within those folders that has an "exe" in the name of the item. So I am able to download the software onto my PC, but then have no clue how to implement it so that is reconfigures my system to run the program. If anyone can provide any help, it would be very appreciated. I really do want to have access to this program. Like I said, it is something I have used on a daily basis.
 
ChrisLyndon said:
There is nothing within those folders that has an "exe" in the name of the item.
Click to expand...

On newer versions of Windows, ( since about Vista ) you may need to change your windows explorer settings to show the extensions
1) launch windows explorer ( yellow folder icon on the task bar in 8.1 )
2) select view
3 on the ribbon, check the box that says "file name extensions" in the "show/hide" section

ChrisLyndon said:
So I am able to download the software onto my PC, but then have no clue how to implement it so that is reconfigures my system to run the program.
Click to expand...

I am trying to clarify the terms used here...
You first need to "download" the software ( get the program installer from the internet, I assume ), then you likely need to "install" it. Since the release of Windows Vista, I recommend right clicking on the installer program and selecting "run as administrator". I've found that even if you are an administrator account on the PC, the UAC sometimes will block registry changes causing install issues unless you the installer this way. Once you have installed the program, you may not find any shortcut/icon to launch the new program ( in windows 8 or 8.1 ). Solve this by finding the executable ( filename with the exe extension ), RIGHT click the executable and drag to your desktop ( hold the right button down while moving the cursor ). When you release the mouse button, you should have a context menu with an option to Create shortcut here. Left click that option and you will now have a shortcut on your desktop to launch the new program.

Windows 64 bit versions will usually install 32 bit programs under "Program Files (x86)". The hierarchy is typically: Computer \ Drive ( C: ) \  Program Files or Program Files (x86) \ publisher \ program name \ program files.

Example:
C:\Program Files (x86)\Adobe\Reader 11.0\Reader
Then in this folder/directory you would find AcroRd32.exe - the executable for acrobat reader.
 
MP3info is downloaded as a zip file. The zip file needs to be extracted to a folder somewhere. The file contains an exe file which you double click on. As it's not a program, it doesn't place a folder in either of the programs folders. You know it's been installed as there is now a new mp3info tab under the properties of an mp3 file (plus a new mp3 icon showing the bitrate.
For mp3tag, the downloaded file is a setup-exe file and, running that, it will install and make a folder in programs (x86) - in Win 7 64 bit anyway. It should also place a shortcut on the desktop. MP3tag isn't a shell extension though - you have to run the program and open the folder you are working on.
You don't need to do anything at all to the system. It's all done for you.

So, to use mp3info you right click the file, select properties and select the mp3info tab. You can then work on that file.
For mp3tag, you run the program (double click desktop shortcut or run the exe file from the programs folder). That opens the program. You then go to the file tab and select new and then browse to the folder you have the files in. All the files (mp3s) in that folder will be listed. Click on the one you wish to edit and the details will come up in the left screen for you to edit.
Adding pictures should be fairly obvious when you do the above.
 
The problem is that when I extract the zip files - there is no item in the new folder that has an "exe" in the name of the file. I tried to do this a couple times and a couple different ways and could not find the "exe" file that you describe. How to use the program once implemented is not the issue. I know exactly how to use this program and all its features. I have been using it for almost 8 years. The problem is getting it set up onto my system.
 
ChrisLyndon said:
The problem is that when I extract the zip files - there is no item in the new folder that has an "exe" in the name of the file.
Click to expand...

Do you have a file named "setup" in the new folder ? If so, that is the installer. ( check the first part of my post above to see the .exe extension )
 
OK see if this helps. This is the zip file for MP3info.
You extract these files to a folder.
The contents of the folder should match this.
See the item marked mp3info.exe? That's the one to double click to get the files to install.
If it's not there or the files don't match the picture, you've downloaded the wrong thing. If the rest of the files are there but no exe file, make sure your hidden items are not hidden (check by searching for another exe file on your PC that you know must be there - like the exe file for your browser)
 

Attachments

eyore said:
OK see if this helps. This is the zip file for MP3info.
You extract these files to a folder.
The contents of the folder should match this.
See the item marked mp3info.exe? That's the one to double click to get the files to install.
Click to expand...

Your screen shot shows that you are using winrar to work with .zip files. Winrar is not included with a standard Windows 8(.1) installation. Windows Explorer does display the contents of .zip files natively as a folder though. I suspect that is how he is viewing the contents of the zip. The Explorer settings will effect the way ( if or not ) extensions are displayed. If viewing that folder in Explorer without showing the extensions, one would see three files, all with the same name ( mp3info ). The difference would be the icon that is displayed for each file.

That screen shot is helpful to show the files that are in the mp3info-0.8.5-win.zip file.

Is the mp3info.exe a setup/installer or is it the application ( you seem to imply that it is the installer program )?
An issue I've run across with Windows 8.1 is that a lot of installers for older applications/programs do not create shortcuts to launch those programs during the installation ( need to manually create the shortcuts ).
 
OK found the problem  ;D
The zip file has to be installed manually as it doesn't have a setup file. I had at the back of my mind that there were two ways of doing this. One manually and one setup file that did it all for you. I actually have both versions on my PC.
I'm guessing he's no longer providing the GUI version (if I get my definitions mixed up, forgive me, by GUI I mean the file that you double click to install it). It appears he is no longer supporting his program.
Here's the file needed which I downloaded from his site in 2011 when I got my Win7 PC

http://www.mediafire.com/download/x6zdus4u87771c2/MP3-InfoExtension.exe

Just download this and double click it (it's clean, trust me) and it will run through the usual routine - do you want to install this file, accept the agreement and finish. I've included what follows just for information on installing the current file on offer

The only way to install the current version he offer is as follows (from the zip file and named install)
Installing the Windows version WARNING - i have no idea what all this means but they are the instructions he gives. This is NOT NEEDED using the installer file I linked to. 



==============================

There really is no formal installation procedure.  MP3Info is a single
executable that has no dependencies and uses no registry entries.
If you want to make mp3info available from anywhere on your system,
you can copy mp3info.exe to a directory in your system path.
This command would do the trick:

copy mp3info.exe %SYSTEMROOT%



Installing MP3info from source (UNIX)
=====================================

Unpack and decompress the archive file, then change the current working
directory to the directory created by unpacking the archive.  The following
two commands should accomplish this:

tar -xzvf mp3info-x.y.tgz
cd mp3info-x.y

Next, edit the top of the Makefile and make any changes necessary to reflect
your environment. The defaults are valid for Red Hat and Fedora Linux systems,
but will probably work for many others.

Next, run the following two commands.

make
make install (this command must be run by the root user)

If you want to install just the console version use:

make mp3info
make install-mp3info    (this command must be run by the root user)

If you want to install just the GTK version use:

make gmp3info
make install-gmp3info  (this command must be run by the root user)

... and that's it. There should be a binary named mp3info and/or another named
gmp3info in /usr/local/bin (or whatever you changed the 'prefix' variable to
in the Makefile).



Troubleshooting
===============

If 'make install' results in an error like the following:

    install: cannot create regular file `/usr/local/man/man1/mp3info.1': No such file or directory
   
you probably need to go back and edit the 'manpath' setting in the Makefile. 
The manpath variable must reflect one of your system's repositories for manual
pages -- specifically for section 1 manual pages (so specifying /foo/bar/man
would not be sufficient -- you would need to specify /foo/bar/man/man1 or
/foo/bar/man/sman1 or whatever reflects reality).

If you have trouble determining where your system's man pages are stored, try
examining your MANPATH environment variable or see man's own man page (i.e run
'man 1 man').


Installing the pre-compiled binaries
====================================

Run the following command as the root user.  Note that you must have the
RedHat Package Manager (RPM) installed.  If you don't have RPM installed on
your system, you can get it from the RedHat web site (www.redhat.com), but you
will probably find it easier just to build from source code.

rpm -ivh mp3info-x.y-z.i386.rpm

If you are upgrading from a previous version of MP3Info, use this command:

rpm -Uvh mp3info-x.y-z.i386.rpm
 
I really appreciate all the time you put into trying to help me eyore. I was on the phone with a Dell technician for almost 2 hours, and he could not figure out how to load the program. This is what is contained in the folder that I download. It does not match your folder at all..

 

Attachments

That's correct. That's what I have in my programs (x86) folder. That means it's been installed if you used the file I uploaded. Have you tried looking at a mp3 file and clicking the properties to see if the tab is there?
I don't understand the bit about loading the program? Once installed its there. It only adds the shell extension to the properties tab, it doesn't run like a program. Are your mp3 files showing the icon showing the bitrate?
 
I just checked an MP3 file - the tab is not present either from the root folder properties window, or from the properties window directly from an individual file. I may be using the wrong terminology when I say the program has not loaded. What I mean is that the program has not reset the configurations for my MP3 folders/properties window.
 
OK, let's take a step back and go from basics.
Firstly, is you PC still running 32 bit or is it 64 bit?
Am I right that you used the setup file I posted on mediafire?
If you did, did it run through the setup routine (do you want to run this file - yes -run the installer, confirm the  "I agree" and then the message that it had finished?
If that's all OK and it's not showing. I'd guess that something with Windows 8 isn't compatible with it. I found a lot or programs that wouldn't run on my Win7 64bit system.
See if you have a folder in c/windows/sysWOW64 (if you now have a 64 bit system)
that's where Windows stores 32 bit dll files. If you have that folder, look for a file called mp3ext.dll
If you have, it really should work. You have tried rebooting, I take it?
 
My system is 64 bit - I attempted to add in the permissions, following the instructions in the link you sent. I got as far as pasting in the text and pressing "enter" but it brought up an error message.
 
ok - heres the deal - I just discovered something grand. I do not think I will need to install the MP3-Info program after all. I am putting a period on that because it turns out there is a very user friendly way to use the program that I think GGG recomended yesterday. When I right click on a folder, it gives me as one of my choices to open "Mp3Tag" when I select that option, the MP3Tag window opens up, and every file from the folder is in the window ready to be edited as I see fit. In fact, this may be even easier to work with than the old program. Now that i discovered this, I am much more happy about using that program. So I am going to try it out for a while, and if it turns out that it is not easy to use, I will revisit this topic again. I do thank everyone for all the help though.
 
ChrisLyndon said:
My system is 64 bit - I attempted to add in the permissions, following the instructions in the link you sent. I got as far as pasting in the text and pressing "enter" but it brought up an error message.
Click to expand...
Yes, I'm out of sync ;D.  What does that error message say?  I'm asking because you may have a similar issue again in the future with Windows 8.
 
I dont remember exactly - But like I said, I am moving on. I think the new program may turn out to be better. Here are a couple sreeenshots to show how easy it is...

 

Attachments

Cool beans.  I use Tag&Rename but it and Mp3tag are very similar.

I hope you're taking notes on paper on how you're setting up your new machine for when the system drive fails and you can't access any of your files, notes, apps or the Internet. ;)
 
No, when the drive fails to boot.  Are you using a disk imaging/cloning utility to back up the system drive?  Just copying the executable files and the data files isn't enough because you have to also backup the Windows registry and other systems files.  When my system drives fail, I either re-clone the hard drive from the backup or just reinstall everything, whichever is more convenient.l
 
I have registered for a cloud storage service to hold all my hard drive information. So everything including my files is totally backed up. It is free for the first month, but I think it is worth a subscription, so I do not have to worry about backing up all my stuff constantly. I create so many new files, on a daily basis, that it has become a major hassle to manually back things up myself. I had been putting everything on flash drives. I have 10 of them  - This service not only backs up my files, but my entire operating system. So I have no need to be worried. But - Dell is also sending me back up discs in case I ever have a reason to restart my system myself.
 
The backup discs should restore your machine to the state when you first got it.  So how do you access the cloud backup to restore the machine to the last backup you ran?  And more, importantly, have you ever tested the cloud backup system to see if it actually works?  Remember how Pixar almost lost Toy Story because the backups weren't usable? ::)
 
this backup cloud service is provided by Dell - who is a reputable company, and also the manufacturer of my system. Therefor I have confidence that my information is safe. I do not need to perform the backups. They are performed automatically by the program I downloaded. I can use the restore discs to get the computer up and running enough to contact the cloud service representatives, then they will restore my files. So I think I have a pretty sure bet system in place for any unforeseen issues. That being said, I still have all my files as of this date on flash drives, and have no intention of removing any data from those drives, so I will always have that extra extra backup just in case. Also - every single file posted to my website is stored in a cloud as well. So I will never loose any of the music I have posted on the site. All and all, I feel pretty safe.

My new monitor is arriving tomorrow. They messed up the order by putting in two orders and charging me twice, so they ended up sending my corrected order next day express shipping as a way to make up for the mistake, at no extra charge.
 
I'd also suggest that any setup files for programs you download off the internet (especially if you paid for them) you copy on a CD just in case along with text files with registration details. If you do have a disaster it can save a lot of time and worry.
 
The few programs I have that were purchased just require a code to reinstall them. I have these codes written down in my old fashioned address book.
 
thay is version I posted (I use a 64 bit version of Windows 7 and it works for me V 3-4-25). There is a known problem with Win 8 not liking to register the dll file. That seems to ring a bell with me and I "think" I had to register it manually.
Of course, good old Microsoft may have done something with 8  ::)
 
I had a major issue with a infection on my computer from trying to download programs - took the technician 2 hours to fix my hard-drive. So I am not going to be downloading anything else. What I have is working just fine.
 
There are many you can only get by download. If you pick a decent site you won't get anything bad. You have to download some programs (like Flash). No other way of getting them. Do you not have an antvirus and antimalware installed?
 
I did not have anti-malware - but now I do. I always had anti-virus - I also installed Ad Block just now - this issue was with malware. I had a major infection because of some malware that got downloaded unknowingly as I was downloading some ot he programs I need. It has been resolved, and the tech also showed me a safe site to do future program downloading from called Filehippo.com - he said that anything downloaded from that site will not have any malware attached. He also downloaded all the remaining programs I need to have on my harddrive. So I really do not want to try and download anything else, after all the trouble it caused. And I do not need MP3-Info - because like I said - MP3Tag is going to work out just as fine, and may be even better.

I just plugged in my new monitor. The difference in clarity is amazing. It is almost too good, because I am finding a lot of issues in some of the art work on my site. I can see some glitches that were not at all visible using my old monitor. I am going to have a lot of cleaning up to do on my images. The screen is so much wider, and I can see the blue margins of my web site pages the way they are supposed to appear. Before I could not see these margins correctly.

I just did a little clean up of the first page of the audio tour. I had to repaint some of the title card, and also had to resize the fonts because they were not fitting in corectly. Everything looks fine on that page now. Let me know what you all think...

http://disneychris.com/a-day-at-disneyland.html
 
glad to hear you have the antimalware. So many people don't realise that most antivirus programs don't catch a lot of trojans as a matter of course. Remember to scan your system on a regular basis though.
Filehippo is good but there are many other trusted sites (but still watch for stuff with bloatware which you have to uncheck the box when installing. Flash has a little "extra" that you have to uncheck remember).
I run SpyBot tea-timer as a background program and malwarebytes as a back up - no one program gets everything). If you get really pedantic about it, most of the major antivirus sites have a facility for a "one off" scan (which you can do as often as you like) just to make sure  ;)
Those margins are the ones we discussed when you first set up the site which didn't show properly on your screen.
Looks good on a new screen doesn't it.
 
I purchased a one year subscription to Malwarebytes - This was the program that was used to clean my harddrive, and was highly recommended by Dell - The cost is quite reasonable - $25.00 for one year.
 
I use the free version myself (it does the same job but you have to physically run it). SpyBot tea timer is a free program that gives real-time protection so I use the two.
It's a very reasonable price to have it all in one place and let it do it's work by itself though. Good choice.
 
Chris,  go to this page http://sourceforge.net/projects/mp3ext/files/?source=navbar    3.4.25 is 32 bit and 64 bit exe file. 

This will install.  Its the version I;m using.  .23 is only 32 bit, .24 is only 64 bit. 

Initially I only had the info tag on the folder properties, not for individual files.  I ran used the config  ,then installed the mp3exe.dll via the admin command prompt.  I also had to remove my play to get it to associate the mp3's with mp3exe and display the icons and get the tool tips to work.
 
ChrisLyndon said:
ok - heres the deal - I just discovered something grand. I do not think I will need to install the MP3-Info program after all. I am putting a period on that because it turns out there is a very user friendly way to use the program that I think GGG recomended yesterday. When I right click on a folder, it gives me as one of my choices to open "Mp3Tag" when I select that option, the MP3Tag window opens up, and every file from the folder is in the window ready to be edited as I see fit. In fact, this may be even easier to work with than the old program. Now that i discovered this, I am much more happy about using that program. So I am going to try it out for a while, and if it turns out that it is not easy to use, I will revisit this topic again. I do thank everyone for all the help though.
Click to expand...
I'm glad to be a service good sir.
 
pyrotech said:
Chris,  go to this page http://sourceforge.net/projects/mp3ext/files/?source=navbar     3.4.25 is 32 bit and 64 bit exe file. 

This will install.  Its the version I;m using.   .23 is only 32 bit, .24 is only 64 bit. 

Initially I only had the info tag on the folder properties, not for individual files.   I ran used the config  ,then installed the mp3exe.dll via the admin command prompt.  I also had to remove my play to get it to associate the mp3's with mp3exe and display the icons and get the tool tips to work.
Click to expand...

My apologies. It looks like I posted the wrong version to mediafire  :-[
I have all three versions on my PC and chose the wrong one (they changed the name so I missed it).
Really sorry about that and thanks to pyro for not calling me a complete ass.  ;)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top