I'm new to this forum but I've been using LimeWire on a mac for about a year without any problems.

Lately every time I download an audio file it comes up as an unplayable QuickTime file. They used to download in iTunes format - which is what I want. itunes won't convert them and QuickTime won't play them.

Any one know why this is happening and how to fix it? I read a thread from someone about using a program called 'file buddy' but there's gotta be a simpler way. Doesn't the mac have internet settings that allow you to set the formats of incoming files - or something like that. Any help is really appreciated.

(p.s. I'm not a 'computer guy' so the simpler the solution the better.)

Bump. Can anyone help me with this... please?

Go to the control panels and "file exchange." Choose mp3 and click "change" to change the app that those files use. If it was set for Quick Time player, change it to iTunes. This should solve the problem.

Beth555:
Thanks for the reply - but it didn't work. When I went to file exchange, the application set to translate mp3's was a program called SoundJam - which I don't even have on my computer anymore.

I selected it in the hopes that it would allow me to change the translator but the only options I was given were to either "Add" or "Delete". There was no option to "Change".

I tried clicking on the "Add" button but all I got was this message:
"Translation preferences are used to open documents when the application programs which created them are not available. Select an alternate application, with or without translation, to be used to open documents of the same kind as iTunes." Not sure what this means.

Below the message was a window listing three applications that have nothing to do with audio files. Any other ideas would be appreciated.

Thanks again.

instead of trying to add, click on the old mp3 item and remove it. Then add it again, with iTunes as the helper application.

I'm not sure why change isn't a choice. It's right there next to the others on mine.

I also used to use a little program called iTuner. You drag files onto it and it translates them into iTunes files. I got it at download.com

BETH 555--
Thanks again but it still didn't work. For some reason File Exchange isn't recognizing iTunes as a translator - I don't even think it's recognizing it as an application.

What OS are you on? 9.x or X? It doesn't make sense that I wouldn't have the same "Change" option that you have. However, if File Exchange isn't recognizing iTunes as an app it may not make a difference.

I'd go to apple.com to see if there is another version of the File Exchange extension but I don't think they're even supporting OS 9 anymore.

This is so frustrating. It used to work fine.

Anything else you can think of?

madadman,

I suggest you to rebuild your desktop files and try Beth555's suggestions again.

Or, next to rebuilding your desktop files:

Launch iTunes.
Select Preferences... from Edit menu.
Click General tab.
Clict Set button next to "Use iTunes for Internet Music Playback"

Cuneyt & Beth555,

It works! Thanks very much for you help.

What I had been doing was going to the "file translation" tab in the File Exchange control panel. It was actually under "PC exchange that I needed to make the change. There was nothing listed under PC Exchange for mp3 translation so I guess it was just making the best guess.

So I just added iTunes and now LimeWire downloads the files as raw mp3 files. I don't know why they're not coming up as iTunes files but at least iTunes recognizes them and plays them.

Thanks again.
--MP