[b0sc0]

I've got a bunch of two letter folders in my Music folder (actually an external HD) that seem to be added by iTunes. When I open one of these, it contains files with names like d0ef6b35d73ca6d7f433e52dc80e06c751ad0309.file. If I look at the info window for the file, it says it's an iTunes document with iTunes as the default opening app. If I double click the file, to open it, nothing happens. I'm running iTunes 11.0.4 on a Mac Mini running 10.6.8. I remember this starting after an update, but not the latest, because I tried deleting some of them, and it messed up my Library and I had to reload a bunch of music. Are they something that should be hidden, but show up because my music is on an external drive? Are they essential to iTunes to play my music? Can I move them to my startup disk and leave more space for my music on my external drive, or will iTunes not see them if I move them? Should I be able to delete them? There's at least 200 of these folders on my HD with names from 00 to ff. There are none with names past ff, and then just real music folders, but up to ff, my real music folders with names that begin with letters below f are mixed with these odd folders that do nothing when I open them. Would someone please explain this to me?

[drbenru]

OK. WOw. I must say wow again. I'd need to know more on how this happened but what you have sounds a lot like the folder structure inside an iPod.

All the music inside an iPod, was in folders ranging from 00 to FF and inside each folder was a fixed number of songs, all song names renamed to generated numeric files. Somewhere in the iPod was a Library file, that contained the information pertaining as to what each song's actual name and contents was.

I think I got it, but I'm only speculating. Anyway, seems to me you set an external hard drive as your music folder. But you didn't create a folder named iTunes or Library or Music you used the hard drive's root directory as your iTunes folder. At some point, this made iTunes think that it was dealing with an iPod since it keeps these folders hidden on a music folder on the root of the iPod.

Anyway. iTunes might be able to fix this for you. Follow these instructions and iTunes will move all your media to a new iTunes Media folder. I moved my music and my wife's music to the Drobo external drive we bought using this procedure and it worked flawlessly. I created a folder named Media in Drobo. Inside that folder I created two folders "His iTunes" and "Her iTunes" I followed those instructions and in step 6 I created iTunes Media inside His/Her iTunes.

Note that this only moves your media not your iTunes Library Files. Inside the iTunes folder (in your case it may be in the external Hard drive) the most important file is "iTunes Library.itl" this file contains all the info on you music, your playlists, play counts, star ratings, everything important. Make sure you don't delete this file. If it is in your external hard drive you can move it to your startup disk inside the iTunes folder inside Music Folder on your iMac. Having this file here will let iTunes always load, even if you forget to connect your external hard drive, it will simply tell you it can't find your music if you happen to forget. Never move this file with iTunes running. You must quit iTunes to move the library file.

[b0sc0]

I found out that these folders were created when I pointed Spotify to My Music (preferenced the HD as Library in Spotify. I deleted them and it didn't do anything in iTunes, but they magiclly appeared again when I opened Spotify to listen to a Christmas playlist my nephew sent me. I guess Spotify saves the Library as files to play on your iPhone or iPad. I thought they were an iTunes folder because all the files in the numerous folders had "iTunes document" as the file type in the info window.