Thank you all for replying.
The thing that really disturbed me was MC 11 didn't provide a warning that it failed to import some files. I stated that clearly in the second sentence of my post. I was hoping to get a statement that MC 11 should not do that. I don't think anybody answered that question.
----
For Scott, I think I understand what was causing the import problem. The file names all contained semicolons.
In my F:\newly_ripped_CDs\Gottschalk directory:
Gottschalk - Stars & Stripes, Cakewalk, more - Fiedler_Boston Pops Orchestra - 1993 - 14 - Magic Act- Introduction of the Magicians; Venus and the Three Graces; The Wild Pony; Pas de deux; Ride-Out (.flac
(I counted 207 characters in the file name + path.) After I changed ALL the semicolons to commas, the file could be played from Windows Explorer.
In the F:\newly_ripped_CDs\Gershwin directory. the file below did not appear
Gershwin - Porgy And Bess (Highlights) - Leontyne Price, William Warfield, John Bubbles - 1963 - 01 - Introduction; Summertime (01).flac
I changed the semicolon to a comma and it was imported successfully.
Also in the F:\newly_ripped_CDs\Gershwin directory, the
Gershwin - Rhap. in Blue (1) Con. in F (2-4), Amer (5), Variations(6) - Wild,Earl_Fiedler_Boston Pops Orchestra - 1987 - 03 - Concerto in F- Adagio; Andante con moto (03).flac
was not imported. This is the file that produced one crash and no the error message I cited in my first post. Shortened the file name didn't solve the problem. Just now, I tried changing the semicolon to a comma. Presto, now when I right click on the file name in Windows Explorer and choose "Play with media Center", MC 11 plays the file.
--- some experiments
I made up files with names a,b.mp3 and a;b.mp3 for MP3, m4a and Flac files. All the files were valid music files of the type indicated by the file extension and the MP3 and Flac. The comma and semicolon versions of the files contained the same data.
Importing files:
Five files were imported: a,b.mp3, a;b.mp3 , a,b.m4a , a;b.m4a and a,b.flac.
The a;b.flac file was NOT imported.
Playing from Windows Explorer:
MC11 plays a,b.mp3 and a;b.mp3 as expected.
MC11 plays a,b.flac as expected. No sound and no message for a;b.flac.
(m4a is associated with iTunes so MC11 is not invoked for an m4a file on my PC.)
Playing using the File/Open Media File command in MC11.
(At this point, the files have not been imported.)
MC11 plays a,b.mp3 as expected.
When a;b.mp3 is opened, MC11 plays a different file from my library.
MC11 plays a,b.m4a as expected.
When a;b.m4a is opened, MC11 plays a different file from my library.
MC11 plays a,b.flac and as expected.
When a;b.flac is opened, MC11 plays a different file from my library.
That last result is quite weird!
--- summary
You have strange behavior in opening media files when the file name contains a semi-colon. (For MP3, Flac and iTunes created m4a files at least)
MC11 won't import Flac files if there is a semi-colon in the file name. MC11 won't play them when you right click on the file name in Wiindows Explorer and choose Play with Media center either.
Maybe this is a design choice but I did ask about limitations on file names in my first post.
---- install failed for latest Flac decoder
Scott, I downloaded and installed v 1.62 of the input plug-in. The a;b.flac file is still not imported.
----
Matt, I have gone though the Help many times in the last month looking for information on a number of topics. What I said in my first post was based on trying my best to use available resources over a period of about 6 weeks.
Bill