# Solved: itunes question



## begud4me (Jan 6, 2004)

ok i have posted this on the apple discusion boards but no one has an answer...

ok i am running the newest version of itunes. i keep all my music on an external hdd. all files are sorted and stored in a folder called iTunes Music on the HDD. I recently put some new music on the drive. In itunes i did an edit/select all/delete and clicked keep files. then i did an add folder and added the iTunes Music folder on the HDD (this is what i usually do when i get new music). The only problem is the new stuff isnt showing up...i looked at the files under properties and they are showing up as mpeg layer 3 files....I even tried going in and adding the secific folders the new music was in and they still dont come up in itunes. I have also double clicked a specific song and it doesnt play...does anybody have any ideas????


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## Cal UK (Jan 10, 2007)

Itunes can't play mpeg layer 3 (MP3) it needs to be in the format *checks iTunes* m4a.


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## begud4me (Jan 6, 2004)

are you sure? im pretty sure most of my other older stuff is mp3.


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## guilo (Dec 9, 2003)

iTunes can read mp3. all my music is mp3.
however, you can convert it and see if iTunes will play it then. its worth a shot.


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## shyataroo (Oct 6, 2006)

@ the "iTunes can't pay mp3" no offfense good sir or madam, but if iTunes couldn't play mp3 it would not have any market share much less the large lead it has currently.

try double clicking on the new music when iTunes is closed ...it will open and add to the library and it should play


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## VegasACF (May 27, 2005)

Cal UK said:


> Itunes can't play mpeg layer 3 (MP3) it needs to be in the format *checks iTunes* m4a.


Oy. Why are such things said?

iTunes can read, write, and convert between MP3, AIFF, WAV, MPEG-4, AAC, and Apple Lossless, as well as _any_ QuickTime format, including video formats. iTunes can even detect, and automatically convert into a more usable format WMA files.

In order to play _other_ formats such as the Ogg-contained Vorbis or Speex codecs, iTunes requires the Xiph QuickTime Components to be installed.


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## techy689 (Jan 9, 2007)

well iTunes doesn't save mp3 files in it's folder. it usually converts them to aac. however if your settings have blocked this it probably wont. go through each menu and each setting, there's probably something that needs to be changed.


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## VegasACF (May 27, 2005)

s4baz said:


> well iTunes doesn't save mp3 files in it's folder.


Oy, x2. This is _patently_ untrue. It saves files as the filetype you tell it to use. This _may_ require a user to venture into the preferences for the application and make changes. I know, it's shocking. People have _no_ problem going in and remapping _every key_ for Unreal Tournament 200X but somehow can't be expected to select from five files types for importing files.



s4baz said:


> it usually converts them to aac.


Oy, x3.

_Usually_?!? The software just decides on a _whim_ how it wants to encode files, and most often it picks AAC? I think not. It saves files as the filetype you tell it to use. Again, you might have to plunge into the preferences for the application to make this happen.



s4baz said:


> however if your settings have blocked this it probably wont.


 Not a clue what this means. Probably something that can be fixed in the preferences, though. :shrug:



s4baz said:


> go through each menu and each setting, there's probably something that needs to be changed.


Finally, a nugget of truth. Though all you need to do is [*sigh*] go to the preferences for the software.

iTunes will behave _however_ you tell it to behave, within the parameters available. It is software. It does not have a mind of its own. If you set it to import files as mp3 it will do so. If you set it to import files as AIFF it will do so. If you set it to import files as Apple Lossless Encoder it will do so. If you set it to import files as WAV it will do so.

Not knowing a piece of software, nor how its preferences are set, is _not_ the software's fault. It is, as we used to say when I was in the tech support field, a DFO problem. Know your software. Set the preferences how you want them to be.

If I have Photoshop set to output TIF files and I am flummoxed by the fact that I am expecting JPG files where does the problem lie? Am I simply to believe by way of my bewilderment that Photoshop can't output JPG files? Perhaps I should look into the preferences to see if I have Photoshop set to output files in something other than JPG format?

If I have Pro Tools set to output files as AIF files and I am bewildered by the fact that I am expecting WAV files where does the problem lie? Am I simply to believe by way of my perplexedness that Pro Tools can't output WAV files? Perhaps I should look into the preferences to see if I have Pro Tools set to output files in something other than WAV format?

The software will behave as you have it set to behave. It's just a bunch of mathematic equations, set up to give you a solution when you present it a problem (formulae, if you will). If you set the variables of these formulae as you want them you will get the results you desire.


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## shyataroo (Oct 6, 2006)

I am pretty sure we can mark this as solved. (grumbles about how Vegas completley obliterates any possibility of finding something wrong with macintosh's OS)


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## VegasACF (May 27, 2005)

I'm not sure the OP's (original poster's) problem was solved. There were too many fires that started between then and now that had to be put out.

To the OP: I would recommend having iTunes open in a window and having the files that are not being recognized open in a window (or in a series of windows, as the case may be should they already be divided into an artist/album hierarchy. Drag and drop the files, either one-by-one or as a group onto iTunes and it _should_ import them into its playlist.

Be warned that, depending upon your (you'll never see _this_ coming) PREFERENCES SETTINGS (heh!) iTunes may want to create copies of these files on the boot drive. You'll just have to poke around the prefs and see how you have it set. Worst case scenario is this will eat up extra HD space and will create links to the new copies (in whatever format you set in the [wait for it...] PREFERENCES SETTINGS. I recommend scoping this out _before_ you do the drag and drop routine, just to avoid the problem, as if you remove the recreated files (in whatever format you choose) the links within iTunes will be likewise removed. If you tell iTunes to leave the files where they are it will do so.

I hope this is of some help to you. This process works for both Mac and Windows.


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## begud4me (Jan 6, 2004)

wow lol yeah that did start a wildfire. but vegas yeah i have tried the drag and drop process with no luck .... i also learned the hard way about the little check box that says coy new files to itunes library and was punished with a full hdd. i am going to get a mp3 converter and see if i can make them mp3s again even though the are already mp3s...lol anybody know a good mp3 to mp3 converter <<joking


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## begud4me (Jan 6, 2004)

oh yeah problem definitly not solved.


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## VegasACF (May 27, 2005)

Will QuickTime open and play these files? Any other MP3-compatible player? If not, there is a problem with the files. Are they all from the same source? 

I had a bunch of MP3 files from the same source long, long ago (way before iTunes was even a blip on the horizon), and they just refused to be played by anything I could throw them at. MacAmp, WinAmp, etc. There was just something wrong with the files. I had to trash them all. 

Hope this isn't the case with your files.


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## begud4me (Jan 6, 2004)

yeah i had to trash and re-import everything. it was just wearing thin on my paitence. i really appreciate everyones help and comments, but the mystery of the unplayable mp3s may never be solved. good night and good luck


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## VegasACF (May 27, 2005)

So did that work? Are the files compatible with other MP3 players? Are you giving up on these files? If so you should mark this as "solved," even if you did not receive an adequate answer, just so the topic can sink below the waters and drift down to the bottom with the rest of the threads that require no more comment.


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## shyataroo (Oct 6, 2006)

perhaps you could have experienced the only mass corrupiton of mp3 files at the same time.


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