I used to be able to download any mp3. Now over 60% of the mp3 files I download and try to open in toast won't open - not a format recognized by toast. Any info appreciated as I'm getting bummed

chuck

Which Mac OS are you using? And what type of icon do these mp3's have? Also, which mp3 players do you have? Do they play in iTunes?
I haven't come across that problem unless they were a pc format that Toast didn't understand. If you have MP Rage you can change their file properties to say that of iTunes by changing the creator of the file. Also Audion has some mp3 codecs that iTunes doesn't have. I had a 3hr concert mp3 I dwnlded yesterday but Audion was the only one that could play it. I used Audion to convert it to AIFF.
Oh & iTunes refused to import/play the concert & Toast also refused. Yours could be the same format I had, but then nowadays there's so many variations of them they might be something else again. You are aware there's multiple types of mp3's requiring different codecs to play them don't you? Each mac mp3 player can play a no. but not always all. As I said, for the difficult ones I've found Audion to do the job.

I'm not talking about playing them on a player. I'm just trying to load them into toast on my computer so that I can see if they are legitimate mp3's. I'm using 9.6 as I've been using it for years and I'm familiar with it. If that's the problem, then I'll have to try and download limewire to OS10 and give it a go. I don't use an mp3 player. I just write CD's for my portable CD player. Until a month ago, every mp3 I downloaded from Limewire was playable. Now two out of three won't play in toast. I pick mp3's from the lists and choose high potential for my download and watch to see if it downloads. Then when it appears on my hard drive I often can't open it in Toast. I don't know what you mean about icons. Thanks for the response.
aj

Icons are the pictures on the files (often whatever icon they have will tell you which mp3 player encoded them.) By 9.6 I presume you mean 8.6. Your method simply might not always work. If you intend to burn them to cd (not mp3 disk I presume), then at some stage they'll need to be converted to aiff. Toast can do that. However, there's some types of mp3's Toast simply can't recognise. Which gets back to perhaps getting a hold of some mp3 utility that can convert them outside of Toast (if Toast can't do it.)
(By the way I'm on a dialup so things are slow, I was still editing my post when you responded.)
New mp3 types of encoding have been coming out & developing faster than Toast & others can keep up (plus I think some mp3 types have exclusive rights.)
If Java is not giving your LW any problems then if you're happy with OS 8.6, then stick with it. As for mp3 players for 8.6, MP3 Rage will work. And Audion 2.6.2 works from os8.5 up. You know don't you Audion is one of the xtras that Roxio offers. iTunes needs at least os9. See if you can get a hold of Audion & use it to convert to aiff those mp3's that don't work in Roxio Toast.

Sorry I haven't responded to your kindness sooner, but I have been away from my computer. I will try your suggestiones and I'm using 9.2 not 9.6 - sorry for the missinformation. thanks again
chuck