Anyone got a Zip 100 Atapi running on a Via 686B Southbridge?

[lars2]

I can´t get my Zip 100 Atapi to run on my on-board IDE of my Epox 8kta2 with 686B Ultra100 Southbridge. From all I heard so far, it seems to be a general incompatibility. So does anyone have the combination Zip 100Atapi and 686B running, regardless of the exact mainboard type?

I can read from a Zip, but the system will hang if I write larger files onto the Zip. I have tried every possible setting in the bios, and both Zip floppy mode and non-floppy mode. The drive works fine on my Promise Ultra66 controller, but of course, I can´t boot from it that way.

Thanks for any input
Lars

 

[thebestMAX]

Lars-

Have you had any success with this problem. Same thing happens to me with Pro 2a and ata-100 southbridge.

PM me, PLEASE. Was going to PM you but you dont have it enabled.

 

[Davegod75]

same problem here ...i'm selling my zip drive.

 

[thebestMAX]

Im at that point myself. May try a USB version but only if I can return it if it doesnt work. Need it for backups but could use my RW-CD.

Am convinced it is a Via chipset ata-100/driver problem.

Drive works fine in other computers.

 

[Thump553]

I have a classic Athlon Abit KA-7 system I built this spring. Went round & round at that time trying to find out how to get my parallel port zip drive to work in turbo mode-never could and ran across a lot of people with the same problem.

When the reduced costs of CDR's and writers I rarely use the zip anymore, but if I do I hook it to another machine on the home network and transmit the files that way.

Looks like this may be a VIA problem if people are still having problems 8 months later.

 

[Mr. Burns]

I'm having the exact same problem with an MSI pro2a. Can read from a zip no problem, but trying to copy (large) files causes the system to basically hang. I built 3 identical systems for my lab, and they are all having this problem (under win2k pro and server). Have tried all possible configerations, hardware and software. Problem is that we use zip drives (unfortunately) in all our computers, so we need to get it working. Please, anyone that has any insight into this problem let us know!

 

[LeeBear]

Hi, I don't know if this is of any help but have you tried using the lastest VIA IDE drivers, not the ones on the VIA site but the ones from Soltek's site, they seem to be newer. And in the read me file it specifically says they fixed ZIP 100 compatibility problems. Give them a try you can get them at:

http://www.soltek.com.tw/downloads/drivers/580_3011.exe

Just remember when you do the install you have to install the "miniport" driver not the "VSD (vendor support driver)".

-Lee

P.S. these drivers also seem to fixed my lockup problems I've had with Media Player on my MSI K7Tpro2A, but the drawback is my disks speed seems to be slower.

 

[Mr. Burns]

Haven't tried these yet but I did try the latest beta 4in1 drivers, which did not help. I'm not a big fan of the via drivers, but I'll give this a shot tomorrow. Unfortunately, these probably show your ide devices as scsi (like some of the previous ones), which is a problem for burners...

 

[eugovector]

I'm also having this problem. I thought my zip was running fine for a couple days, but now I'm having the exact same problem you guys are. Please PM me if anyone has found the fix. Im going to try those Soltek Drivers now.

 

[thebestMAX]

EUGO-

As you said, I thought mine ran ok for a few days also but not sure if all I did was read. Could have sworn I did back up a few things OK.

Let us know.

 

[Heretik]

I just discovered the same problem on my ATAPI ZIP today (using K7T Pro-2A) and installed the beta IDE drivers from SOLTEK site. The miniport drivers cleared up the problem with the ZIP....BUT....I lost ~2MB/sec burst speed and CPU utilization jumped up from ~8% to 16.8%
Hopefully VIA will come out with a final version that fixes these issues in near future......

 

[~zonker~]

I couldn't load any OS (NT, DOS, Win2) with a KT7A as long as my ATAPI ZIP was connected to the IDE channel. I finally figured it out, disconnected the ZIP and got the OS installed...

I reattached the ATAPI ZIP drive yesterday and yes, I can read and write files without any problems, this is under Windows2000 Pro, btw

 

[Wolfman35]

I had the same problems installing an IDE Zip drive under 98SE & ME on a couple of K7T Pro2A's but did NOT have that problem with several Epox EP8KTA2 (which is also a 686B based board) so I believe it is in MSI's implementation rather then VIA's drivers. Just my experiences but it seems the Pro2A has many "Issues" that do not appear in other 686B boards. On the other hand ... I had no problems with the original K7T Pro's and few problems with the Pro 2.

 

[RDSport323]

My Zip drive works fine in my machine BUT...,

I have a MSI K7T Pro2A w/ the ZIP connected to the secondary IDE controller, as a slave.

At first, I booted up, it detected the drive, in Win2k but when I put a disk in, it still says "please insert disk".. So I accidently left it inside the machine, rebooted my computer, and to my luck, now it reads the Disk, and it works fine, I can copy, read, write, delete, anything...

if u want more specifics, PM me, or email me at rdsport323@mindspring.com

thanks

 

[Mr. Burns]

Update for those interested:

Ourmachines now finally seem to be working OK, after much trial and error. We have got everything working by moving the zip drives to the primary IDE as slave, and the cdrom as slave on the secondary (even if this means no master on secondary). This hardware configuration seems crucial, though I have no idea why. Secondly, we installed the latest iomegaware software for the zip drives followed by the latest via busmaster drivers (3.11 beta). This configuration seems perfectly stable, even under large file transfers to/from the zip drive.
Note that with the zip on the secondary IDE, the system is subject to frequent freezing/crashing after installing the 3.11 busmaster drivers...

 

[Octoberblue]

My money's still on the 686B southbridge as the problem. VIA's never been known for fine-tuned timings. Their memory timings have always been behind the curve, and the ATA 100 spec is really just a tightening of the timings on the drive and controller interface. It's been widely reported that the 686B southbridge causes slow down in the AGP bus and sometimes causes instability. The sad part is that instead of demanding that VIA get it right the mobo manufacturers are slapping extra controllers (like asus with the promise controller) on the board in what I'm beginning to suspect is an attempt to make sure you really DO have ata100 support one way or another. I want to love VIA but they're making it difficult.

 

[richleader]

Hmmm, my atapi one works, I can't get a blasted parallel one to though.