Can anyone tell what this means? And why I am just recently seeing this?

I can tell you why in a small sense but can't put it in the bigger context in the absence of details from you. It usually happens when somebody buys a new computer and doesn't transfer their iTunes library from the old one. Basically the iTunes library does not recognize the iPhone because it has not synced to it previously.

That message usually appears when you try to sync with a computer you have not synced before.

Other than that, without any more details form you, its hard to say why its happening.

Are you syncing to different computers?

tigerstix79 wrote:

.but now I have ITunes going to the ITunes folder on my MAC, back to where it originally was.

Which means you are syncing to an unknown library, since your actual library is in the external drive . Depending on how you moved your library to the external drive, it may be a simple fix, or not.

Force Quit iTunes, and then hold down the option key on your keyboard while clicking the iTunes icon on your dock. iTunes will open and request you point it to an iTunes Library.

Point it to the external drive, and the folder where you put your library. This should load your library, and all relationship to your iPhone.

You may need to option/alt key + start iTunes and locate the actual iTunes Library.itl file in the folder you moved to the external drive.

You have to guide iTunes to the file on the external drive, not move the file in Finder.

Put one finger on the option key on your keyboard and hold it down. Double click on the iTunes icon and when iTunes asks you to select a library, navigate to the .itl on the external drive as part of starting up iTunes.

No, that's not what we said you needed to do. Please read carefully.

Moving just the itl file is pointless.

Return the itl file to the external drive from where you moved it, where all your music files are, and then point iTunes to that, by starting iTunes while holding down the option key.

tigerstix79 wrote:

But I was my ITunes Library BACK on my MAC... The same library that is on the EXT is also on my MAC...

I don't understand this. "Was"? Want? If "want" that indicates you wish to have it back there but your next sentence is saying that you already have the same library on both the internal and external.

You have to carefully read what we write, and you have to carefully write what you want us to read and in doing so make sure we interpret it correctly. 🙂

A library isn't a single file. It is everything in the iTunes folder working in harmony (supposedly). The .itl file tells the iTunes application where exactly your media files are located, where the artwork files are located, where the genius and other files are located, and also carries an identifier so when you attach a device the device will recognize that library as one it knows and will sync with it.

By the way MAC in all uppercase has a special meaning for computers and actually could also mean a computer running Windows. I presume you have a Mac.