maybe your codec is broke... or your distro doesn't support MP3 'out of the box'
i know redhat (some version of) wouldn't support MP3 out of the box due to some legal technicality, you could download the appropriate file and install it to enable support

never heard of phlak (i assuming thats the linux u r using), you may want to try out knoppix, it'll just run directly from a CD and from what ive seen and heard it can read from NTFS volumes.