There is no way that Wavepad would convert every one of your music files into an unreadable format, simply by opening a few of them. I think that Windows has simply changed the program that is used to open these music files.
I'm guessing your music collection is in MP3 format. Firstly, check to see whether the extension on the files have changed. Make sure they are still *.mp3. If you can't see the extension for the files, open 'My Computer', click 'Tools', then click 'Folder Options'. Select the 'View' tab up the top of the new window, and under 'Advanced settings' make sure there is NO tick in the box next to 'Hide extensions for known file types'. Click 'Apply', then 'OK'.
Now make sure your music files are still *.mp3. If they have changed from the original format, then I can almost guarantee that it wasn't WavePad that did it. I can find no way in WavePad for it to mass convert files without you telling it to. You may wish to consult a local computer technician to make sure there's nothing else on your computer that might have changed the files. If they ARE still *.mp3, keep reading.
Open 'My Computer', click the 'Tools' menu, and click 'Folder Options' again. This time select the 'File Types' tab at the top of the new window. Go down the list until you can find the 'MP3' listing. Click on it once, then under 'Details for 'MP3' Extension', make sure that Windows Media Player is selected, and if it isn't, click 'Change' and select Windows Media Player from the list.
Sorry if this seems like an obvious answer, but from what I can tell, there is no way that WavePad would have been able to convert ALL of your music files into an unreadable format without you telling it to convert them. If, as you say, you simply opened up a few songs in WavePad, then there is something else going on with your computer.
Hope this helps.
