getting file onto usb flash drive

It's not clear whether the unacceptable format is the music file's or the USB key's.

Can you reformat the USB key in the Marantz?

I took a look at the manual.

Unfortunately it does not say that Apple Lossless is supported. AAC format is listed (along with some others), which as I understand it uses the same MP4 file "container" and the same .m4a file extension, but is a different (and lossy) format. See page 17 of the manual.

Also, unfortunately, it indicates on the same page that copyright-protected files, including those purchased on the Internet, cannot be played from a usb memory.

Finally, it indicates on page 25 that the memory should be formatted in FAT32 or FAT16, and should be at least 256MB in size, although I suspect that it is just the previous two issues that are the problem.

Regards,
-- Al

Thanks Al. I'll reread the manual for the supported types. As far as I can tell, the files I bought are not copy-protected. The USB key is several gigabytes, and I normally use it on my Windows machine so I assume it is FAT32.

David

The USB key is several gigabytes, and I normally use it on my Windows machine so I assume it is FAT32.

Use the disk management function in administrative tools to verify the formatting. It could be NTFS for fat32 has a 4gb limit in file size.

I doubt that it's formatted as NTFS. NTFS is not really designed for removable drives and Windows warns you about that if you try to force an NTFS format on a removable device.

The most likely issue is the file format. The players I've used won't even list files in an unknown format. Also, you're right, HDTracks does not sell copyright-protected files although you might still run into some purchased from iTunes.