Yes, I did try Quicktime (6.5.2)

It doesn't even recognize the file. Saying it is "a file Quicktime doesn't understand". This leads me to believe the file itself is problematic. Though I find it odd that nobody else has said anything about this (a file that loads fine, verifies, and yet doesn't play). Well there were a few other threads, but no concrete answers as far as I could see.

So far I haven't been able to find the exact troublesome files. But when I do I'll try to download them again. Too bad some of these files are over 300 MB.

A long experiment.

Do you suggest other mp3 players that have helped in other problems?
Thanks for your response, I appreciate it.

No sweat.

My latest guess points me to the file having a bad extension. It has happened to me once or twice before: a .wmv file wouldn't play because it actually wasn't .wmv. I tried a couple of extensions (I don't even clearly know why I did this) and BAM! The file played a-ok.

Anywho, try VLC or Mplayer (www.videolan.org/vlc/ and http://www.mplayerhq.hu/homepage/design7/news.html respectively). Each should be capable to play the file.
I also figure that the file might have chapters in it, and that's why it's not playable by iTunes. The fact that LW player plays it straght through is because (if I'm right about the chapters thing) that player doesn't have a Chapter select feature (that I know of )

__________________
iMac G4 OSX 10.3.9
RAM 256MB
LW 4.10.5 Basic
ADSL anything from 3 to 8Mbps/around 1024kbps

"Raise your can of Beer on high
And seal your fate forever
Our best years have passed us by
The Golden Age Of Leather"
-Blue Öyster Cult-

Well I gave VLC a try and it didn't work on the suspect files.

But you could see it was thinking hard about it. When VLC tried to open the file the entire computer went into a drag. Normal operations that should have taken mere seconds took minutes to come around. And I kept getting the spinning rainbow ball of death.

So bad it was that each time I had to tried to open it with VLC I ended up rebooting.

I also downloaded the file again (499 MB). And again....it didn't work. Then I saw he file again but offered by someone else (it didn't have a "complete" check mark indicating I had previously downloaded it). But that didn't work either. I downloaded it, verified it, but again.....can't open it.

At this point I'm sure it is the file. However, I just wish there was a way Limewire could identify the problem - instead of me spending hours working on a file that (according to Limewire) is just fine.

In short, I can't tell the good files from bad files anymore. It is now rolling the dice each time download. Ah well. It's all free.

Thanks for your help. And if you, or anyone else, has other keen ideas I'm all ears. I'l hold on to the files - maybe there will be a cure in the future.

I have about 10 or more files like this that do not work in my shared folder.

Hmmm......now that I think about it. Perhaps I should take them out of that folder and not spread them around. BUT, if that were the case why isn't it happening to others?

Am I the only one to struggle with this?

What about Mplayer? Anything that doesn't work on VLC will do on Mplayer for me

__________________
iMac G4 OSX 10.3.9
RAM 256MB
LW 4.10.5 Basic
ADSL anything from 3 to 8Mbps/around 1024kbps

"Raise your can of Beer on high
And seal your fate forever
Our best years have passed us by
The Golden Age Of Leather"
-Blue Öyster Cult-

Jet Black, I got this from the i-Tunes help menu. Most of it will be irrelevant in terms of talking about the store and the websites but it could be that some of the files you have downloaded originally came from a similar site and has parameters / rules in them which prevents you from playing them in the apps you have tried to far. It could be a player specific to where the original files came from. Such is the nature of sharing files on p2p.

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You can add spoken word content, such as audio books, recorded radio broadcasts, or spoken magazines or newspapers to your iTunes library. You can purchase spoken word content from the iTunes Music Store.

1.Click Music Store in the Source list.

2.Click Audio Books, then browse to find the spoken word content you're interested in.

You can also type the name of a book or author in the search field in the top-right corner of the iTunes window, then press Return to see the search results.

Spoken word files you buy from the Music Store end in ".m4b."

You can also purchase spoken word content from the Audible website. Audible spoken word files end in ".aa" and may have different rules about downloading and use. For more information, visit www.audible.com.

You can add Audible spoken word files to your iPod if the files were downloaded from a maximum of two different Audible accounts. You can't drag an Audible file from a third Audible account to your iPod. For more information about transferring or listening to music or spoken word files on your iPod, search iPod Help.

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Thanks for the advice, much appreciated.

I tried the different extensions. Still no go. And again, it turned my computer into a slug. You can see it is "trying" to do something. Just what I don't know.....and the file never comes over. Once I left it to think all night. Nothing had changed come morning.

Macplay I'll have to get and try out. So there is still hope. Meanwhile I'm holding the files (and MANY others that failed to open - though successfully downloaded to the Shared folder)

More later after Macplay.

UPDATE:

Well I couldn't get Macplay for OSx. I downloaded it only to discover it was for classic. No thanks. Haha!

However, I do have GREAT NEWS! As I was looking for other MP3 players (as suggested by GefallenenEngel), I found utilities for splitting MP3 files. I took a chance and figured whatever code is keeping iTunes from bringing the file over might be taken out....if the file is split up into parts. In other words, if the file is corrupt in some kinda way I would find out if I split it up - and see if the trouble is just one part, or the whole.

I downloaded Xmp3split (version 1.0) for OSX.

I used it as is, I didn't go into the preference folder and check what length of file I wanted split, so it did it for me. 136 files of 7 minute chunks. The original file was 499.5 MB, so it was a lot.

SUCCESS!

I can now play the file that iTunes couldn't open. I selected them and sent them over to iTunes with ease. I guess now that I have all the files in iTunes I should join them back into one. But currently I'm just happy to have this right now. More on the post progress later.

I have several files that iTunes never picked up. I'll see if splitting and joining them back into MP3 files will help do the trick. Perhaps others will pick up on this trick.

Thanks for the help, and inspiration. Glad there is peer-to-peer support on these forums.