# Windows media player 11 library gone?



## Jbagel2

I know there is another thread just like this one. but it is listed as solved, and it is not solved. my library dissapered?? and it wont let me add anything to my library????? i go into manage folders and add folders that contain my music and click ok..... ...... nothing happens. not only that but it wont find my mp3 player anymore. it just says connect device, even though my device is connected. the other threads last post was saying something about the problem being from URGE, well i don't have that installed. so i would love a little more help if anyone has any ideas.


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## scotteedog

Same!!! I'm having the same problem, and I also don't know why the other thread says solved?? (I don't have/never had URGE).

I also can't add or see anything in my library, that once had thousands of songs! It is very frustrating/annoying!

I try adding folders for it to monitor but once I click the OK button to get WMP to search for and add files to my library, nothing happens, and when you look back at the list of "monitored" folders, it is empty again!

The only thing I can think of that may have caused it is the installation of Pinnacle's PCTV TV Centre software (to watch TV on my laptop). I upgraded it a few days ago and my library hasn't been the same since.

If anyone can help at all it would be much appreciated,

Thanks in advance,

Scott! :-D


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## tony_montana

re install windows media player


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## Carrotglace

I've reinstalled twice. 

Anytime I try to add to my empty library, it does absolutely nothing. Going back to the Add files option just gives me another blank menu, as if it's forgotten I've even attempted to add anything, or I get 'Windows Media Player has encountered a problem, and needs to close. We are sorry for the inconvenience.'
It does the same thing if I try to sync a device such as an MP3 player, or connect my PS3 or Xbox360.
Today I got a new one with it.
Diwatson Postmorten Debugger has encountered a problem and needs to close. Etc, etc...
It worked fine until the last update. 
I'm running XP, and my PC isn't top of the line, but it is less than a year and a half old. 

All my media is still there, I can run it with Winamp.

I can manually drag and drop files into the playlist, and they will play. After I shut down WMP it forgets they exist though. WMP seems to have become incapable of holding any information, or interacting with any outside source. I'd love to use it, I like it more than Winamp, but this is just frustrating, and it's screwed up my media network in a major way. I'm a little more than upset over it, and I can't fix it.


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## Carrotglace

Solved.

This is pretty simple to do. You're going to have to rebuild your library though. It's a corruption of some sort in your media files folder.

Follow this path:

%USERPROFILE%\Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\Media Player\ "

Copy and paste into the address bar if you like, you'll be inside the folder you need to find. 'Media Player' Delete it, and replace it with the another folder with the same name.

This should fix the problem.

For those of you out there using media sharing, you may need to follow another step here, as there's a file you can't delete while media sharing is running.

Goto Start menu -> Run: Type in "services.msc" without quotes.

Find the service called "Windows Media Player Network Sharing Serivce", Right-Click on it so it says 'Stopped'. Now go back to the Media Player folder and delete it.

Now go back to WMP, and you should be able to put your music and video files back in. Unless you've got playlist files elsewhere, you'll probably have to remake them from scratch, but at least WMP will work again.


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## lewis54uk

Hi, i tried finding that folder couldnt see it anywhere! help please!


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## Carrotglace

Just open any folder on your PC, and cut and paste this line into the address bar at the top just like you would with a web address if you were on-line:

%USERPROFILE%\Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\Media Player\ "

It should put you inside the folder you need to find. [This is assuming you haven't deleted it, or installed it elsewhere. If that's the case, you'll have to find it for yourself I'm afraid. This is where the installer will put the folder on it's own.]

Back out of the folder, [Use the green arrow pointing up on top of a folder next to the forward and back buttons on your taskbar -once- to do this.] delete the folder titled 'Media Player', and then make a new folder titled 'Media Player' to replace it.

[Left click the mouse inside the window and it one of the options will be 'new folder'. Click on it, and then type 'Media Player' while it's still blue. Then hit enter, and you're done.]

After you do this, go to Windows Media Player, click on Library, and Add Music just like before.

Media player should work the way it should after you do this.

If you're running media sharing, you'll have to follow the instructions on the second half of the post and turn it off in order to delete all of the Media Player folder. [The PC will give you error messages saying the file is in use and can't be deleted otherwise.]

If not, then you should be fine.

That's about as much as I can simplify the instructions. Good luck.


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## lucumo21

I had same issue (can;t add to library) and it was driving me crazy!!

I'm using vista so the media player directory was in a different location...

C:\Users\<USERNAME>\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Media Player

delete this "media player" folder altogther, then restart media player and bang the library search will now work!!

good luck


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## naj

hey iem new to this forum...
iam having the exact problem .... and i've tried all the things mentioned above ...
it doesn't add songs...
please help


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## jeanzlr

Thanks a LOT!!!
It worked for me!!   
im using XP pro.


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## Machuca

Well It looks like i have exactly the same problem. I Try to add my music to my windows media player from a folder in that folder i have 783 songs but wmp only recognizes 223 songs and only add those i even reboted my hard drive and instaled Xp. and to see if that fixed the problem but it did nothing i still have the same problem i have tried almost everything... but if any one can help me give me a hand  thanks. I did not have urge and now i installed it and its the same thing with it or without it.


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## anamandy

I'm having the same exact problem with Music Match. Can't seem to find the file. Anyone with any info on how to recover this large file would be appreciated.


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## aob9

I'm having the same problem with WM11 but only with the music part of my library. Video's and pictures are registered with no problem. But, no matter how many times I try to rebuild, following the instructions here, my music library fails to register fully.WM sees approx. 3000 MP3 files but only registers 768 every time. I hate the fact that there is very little manual control over WM11's library. I may have to ditch for Realplayer which doesn't give any such trouble......or Sony's Sonic Stage, also works fine with my music files.


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## anamandy

Jbagel2, I solved my problem by delteting Music Match and using real player instead.  I was able to import music from 'my music files' right into real player. Real player is really cool too.


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## tftxw5

have the same problem and I have tried every solution there is on the web and must say that I have had some success with rollbacks and restorepoints and reinstalls. Note that I have limited success but it only has been temporary. After a few days the library disapears again and the folder monitier will ot hold a folder for searching purposes. I have come to the conclusion that the problem is not due to any ones individual computer but the microsoft soft ware itself so rollbacks and reininstalls are at best just a bandade on the problem. One solution I do have is to create another user on your computer and add your music files to the other user.........I feel however that at some point the new user will have that library disapear as well...............it is unfortunate that Microsoft for know is silent on the issue (unless anyone has heard otherwise..............I find that the album cover function to be good as my 5 year old uses the pictures to browes and explore music and now it is much more difficult for him.


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## swimster144

GO TO THE LAST 2 PARAGRAPHS IF YOU DON'T CARE ABOUT HOW I DISCOVERED THE PROBLEM.

So I JUST had this problem happen to me after having had WMP 11 work great for months. I hadn't even changed my software in weeks before this randomly happened. I had WMP 11 delete the entire library and it wouldn't let me add any monitor folders, as described by some of you earlier in this thread.

I took Carrotglace's advice on how to fix this by deleting that folder and creating a new one, and it worked. But, like he said, I had to rebuild the entire library. This causes you to lose all your add dates for all the media files as well as your recently added list (which sucked for me, because I regularly utilize that info and list). SO, what I did was just go through each of the files contained in that 'Media Player' folder and looked through the properties of each file taking note as to which file might have been modified at right in between when I last had functionality and when I lost it this morning. I actually found a file that had been modified at the right time. It was the 'wmpfolders.wmdb' file. I really don't know what exactly the function of the file is, but I opened it in notepad, and systematically compared it to the new file that was created after I created the new 'Media Player' folder and had ran and shut down WMP 11 a couple times. I noticed that at the bottom of the coding, it had a couple lines that had exclude values set to "-1" instead of 0 as in every other line in both documents. So I changed the values back to 0 and reinstated all the old files contained in the old "Media Player" folder, and BAM!.... Functionality back! AS well as all library data.

LONG STORY shorter, apparently WMP 11 modified some code in the "wmpfolders.wmdb" file at the bottom of the document (opened in notepad) to have exclude values set to "-1" instead of 0. In my case, it looked like they were playlist and sync lists that were all of a sudden being excluded from being the same lists as my Zune software uses, thus causing WMP 11 to seemingly delete the entire library.

Everyone who has had this problem has probably, at some point leading up to when they had the problem, installed some sort of new media software... Anyways, go through that file's code and change those values, and you should be good.

Hope this helps.


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## Runningman7270

Hi Guys,
Just joined this forum, PLEASE PLEASE help, I seem to be having the samr problem as you guys with media player not showing my music. It worked on initial set up for abou t 2 weeks now all it will find are the sample music tracks. I have tried following some of the advie here but when trying to fond the folder as suggested earlier all I get is "Path can not be found, check spelling".

This is so frustrating....so much for Vista being the best thing since sliced bread!!!!!

Cheers guys Regards

Runningman7270


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## MorganB

When I try to follow your directions about deleting the media player file I get the message "Cannot delete CurrentDataBase360. It is being used by another person or program." Now what do I do?Please help and Thanx.


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## ariseymour

*Still not entirely solved

*I have the same problem as described - everything wiped from the library, unable to add any files, folders disappearing from the add list as soon as I close the dialogue.

The first solution given - the one to delete all the files - I have tried and it doesn't work, when I relaunch WMP it doesn't rebuild them, it just leaves the folder empty.

With the second solution - I restored the files from the bin and looked for wmpfolders.wmdb - that file doesn't exist on my system.

Has anyone got any other suggestions?

Cheers.


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