mp4 files unplayable after renaming or copy pasting

I have a Windows 7 machine and for a few months now I have a strange thing going on on my PC. When I rename or copy and paste it in a new folder, an .mp4 video it becomes unplayable by any video player. I can see the files and thumbnails and after a couple of minutes I can see them slowly lose their thumbnails and become unplayable just if a process is running and destroying them.

After a search on the net I found that this is happening because an extra atom is added to the file, corrupting the file (Xtra : WM/MediaClassPrimaryID"). I have found ways to fix this and make them playable again either by removing this extra field with a Hex editor or with automated tools such as MP4XtraAtomRemover.

My question is though: How do I stop this from happening? Is there a setting in media player or windows that I can change? It is really annoying.

papakias

Posted 2018-06-16T13:40:21.713

Reputation: 357

remux them into MKV – gamer0 – 2018-06-16T13:57:30.133

Normally this issue only happens when you transfer mp4 files from a phone to PC, never heard of this happening on just a rename. – Moab – 2018-06-16T14:10:22.543

1"become unplayable just if a process is running and destroying them" I would scan your system for malware or virus. – Moab – 2018-06-16T14:11:13.390

@Moab I have scanned my system with Avast, Malwarebytes antimalware and AdwCleaner. Everything is fine. – papakias – 2018-06-16T14:21:40.057

@Moab the files come from my phone. The funny thing though is that I first copy them to desktop and they play normally. When I put them into folders and move them elsewhere, then the problem happens. It even corrupts old files that I have. – papakias – 2018-06-16T14:23:52.350

@papakias Windows craziness. FIrst time I have heard of this. But W7 has a self healing file system, if it detects corrupt files or file system it will either repair them or delete them without user interaction, maybe it "repairs" them. – Moab – 2018-06-16T14:43:49.783

@Moab So my guess is that windows detects the files coming from my mobile and tries to 'repair' them by actually corrupting them. Thanks Microsoft. Again if anyone knows how I can configure this, I would appreciate it a lot. – papakias – 2018-06-16T15:45:29.223

I see this happening with A7S camera footage alot. Have a go at renaming the extension from MP4 to M4V (They are interchangeable). This should allow your file to play without having to mess with the atom. – Myles – 2018-06-18T12:59:16.400

@Myles that is very interesting! I will surely try it. So I will just need to change the extension and the file will play even though it is altered by the system? – papakias – 2018-06-18T13:34:39.310

This works for me yes. I use QuickTime player a lot to play MP4 files and the 'bad atom' message is common. Renaming to M4V works with the specific camera footage we've been dealing with so its worth a try for sure. – Myles – 2018-06-18T14:00:44.883

Hmmm that is a very interesting solution! I will try that! Is there a way to do this from the mobile device or do I need to do this through windows? – papakias – 2018-06-22T08:10:18.843

I'm not sure whether we can do that from Android. But see if you can do it via windows before you initiate the copy. – Mugen – 2018-06-22T08:21:02.687

@papakias I've edited my answer with one more solution in case the first one doesn't work for you. An alternative file copier for windows will also have to pause and resume functionality. – Mugen – 2018-06-22T08:51:13.440

thanks! The first solution seems more attractive. – papakias – 2018-06-22T09:42:27.477

mp4 files unplayable after renaming or copy pasting

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