Why are ZIP disks so crappy?

[downhiller80]

Why, oh why, do I have to reboot my machine (hard not soft) when I put a disk in to be able to read said disk?

This is not an isolated thing since the computers I use at college are the same. Both drives are internal IDE 100MB ZIPs.

Seb

 

[fkloster]

I have been using zip drives for years without event. Currently I'm using Iomega's sweet external USB version! Make sure you have updated Iomega drivers....

 

[Ausm]

hmm that is strange never ran into that problem before...


Ausm

 

[Wizkid]

I had the same problem with my machine. Wheneven you switched disks, you would have to reboot for it to notice. It didn't what operating system I tried (95, 98, NT 4) it was always the same. The weird thing is, I sold it to my uncle and it worked perfect for him. His computer is running Windows 95 OSR 2.5.

Have you tried updating the iomega software?

 

[Rigoletto]

Why oh why oh why use ZIP anyway? College computers must be old because CD-R has been better for years.

 

[fkloster]

CD-R is not quite as quick & easy as zip. (yet)

 

[downhiller80]

college comps are (if you're lucky!) p2-366's. Most are P-100's!!

CD-R will never happen while I'm there . . .

Their OC connection is nice though . . .

Seb

 

[andylawcc]

my WHOLE school (a college of 19000 students) use Zip 100, no such problem at all, if so we would be screaming like hell.

 

[Thorn]

<< CD-R is not quite as quick &amp; easy as zip. (yet) >>



Yes it is... ever heard of packet writing?

 

[office boy]

Well er no...
What is it? (packet writing)

 

[PliotronX]

My SCSI ZIP drive works fine..

 

[Eug]

Yeah, packet writing sucks, especially if you ever plan on using those discs on somebody else's computer, since the software is proprietary. I use both CD-RW and ZIP and won't give up either. I use zip as a replacement for floppies and I use CD-R/CD-RW for archival purposes, backups, and stuff like that. I have since uninstalled DirectCD because it has a few software incompatibilities too, and I have no need for the idiosyncracies associated with it, since I have the much easier to use zip drive.

 

[Cruisin1]

I work in the engineering labs at my school and all the computers are built with scsi zips built in. They work great and I've never seen a problem like you are experiencing. As for cd burners being used instead of zip drives I don't see why you would do that. In my schools case the scsi zips are faster than any cdr out not to mention you can use the zip drive just like a regular disk drive, no additional software program is required. Until burners get the ease of use of a zip drive I see no reason for schools to use them yet.

 

[wazootyman]

I know what your problem probably is. Each Zip disk needs a unique label in order for the drive to recognize the change of disks. I originally had this problem too. What I did is just give each of my zip disks a number when I bought them, and have had absolutely no problems with it since. Let me know if this solves your problem; I bet it does...

 

[downhiller80]

Sounds promising. I'll give it a go when I get home. Cheers.

Seb

 

[Sillyputty]

noobs!

When I was in college, it was a BIG deal when someone showed up with a 486/33.

The next biggest deal was the 386/16 in the quad next to mine.

My computer was the 3rd biggest deal. a 286/8.

There were a few Mac SE's, but nothing else.

I was a pioneer amongst overclockers, too. I found a jumper on my mobo that allowed me to switch between 8MHz and 10MHz. I've been running that computer overclocked for 9 years. 9 years! Woo!

The only networking back then was SneakerNet.

 

[NicColt]

I don't believe that you can lock and unlock cd-r yet that I am aware of like you do zip's.
until then zip still offers greater security I'm not saying that it's perfect but better.

 

[Floyd]

&quot;Why are ZIP disks so crappy?&quot;

Gee, I'd rather someone explain why they're so friggin' expensive. Not the drives, but the disks.

Near as I can figure, it's the same reason why dogs lick their b@lls.

Because they can.

Best regards,
Floyd

 

[AndrewR]

<< Why are ZIP disks so crappy? >>



Ummm...IOMEGA!

 

[Rigoletto]

Floyd,

a man walks into a bar and sees the proprietor's dog sitting licking his own balls.
The man says &quot;cor I wish I could do that&quot;.
The proprietor says &quot;throw him a biscuit and he will let you&quot;.

Are zip disks faster than CDRW?
Is there ANYTHING to recommend them nowadays? I can get one in a sale.

 

[NicColt]

<< Is there ANYTHING to recommend them nowadays? I can get one in a sale. >>


Of course cr-rw-r are cheaper and have more space today but just two years ago it was more expensive than zip's. second, if you want to do simple day to day backups of a couple of files zip's are great, you can even do differential backups in the background, much faster than burning for just a couple of files. Also security you can lock the disk compared to the cd where you have to encryp the entire cd. I also use the norton zip rescue I can have my entire system up in 6 minutes after a total system crash and then do a restore. if your working with data under 100 megs fine but for large media cd-r is much better and cheaper. they both have their up's and downs.