XP-SP2-Zip drive

[MikeyG]

Anyone using WinXPsp2 with a Zip drive installed on their system? I
tried to upgrade to WinXPsp2 from Win98se but the Iomegaware software
would not be recognized or function to Protect Unprotect my Zip drive
disks; gave up and went back to Win98se; planning on returning the XP
upgrade.

 

[Richard Urban]

You are giving up Windows XP so you can go back to using a zip drive and
their $10 a piece disks, when CD's cost what, $0.25 each and hold 7 times as
much information. Good for you!

--


Regards,

Richard Urban
Microsoft MVP Windows Shell/User

Quote from George Ankner:
If you knew as much as you think you know,
You would realize that you don't know what you thought you knew!

 

[Bob Knowlden]

I've used Zip drives under XP, but I have avoided installing Iomegaware, and
I have not used the software write protection.

According to www.iomega.com, Iomegaware version 3.1 or later is required for
XP. The current version is 4.02, available for download from the same site.
(The file size is 8.21 MB.)

Even if the version you have is new enough to be supported under XP, if you
installed XP as an upgrade over Win98, you might have needed to uninstall
and re-install the Iomega software to get it working properly. (A clean
install of XP would have been better yet, but rather more work.) I can't say
from personal experience that the software write protect works under XP, but
I'd be surprised if it did not work. Iomega has had 4 years to get it
working.

Are there software sellers who'll accept returns? I thought that most would
not accept opened software for refund. (As the XP CD is copyable, and
there's nothing that would prevent you from writing down the product key,
the seller's position is understandable.)

Good luck.


Address scrambled. Replace nkbob with bobkn.

 

[Sunny]

Anyone using WinXPsp2 with a Zip drive installed on their system? I
tried to upgrade to WinXPsp2 from Win98se but the Iomegaware software
would not be recognized or function to Protect Unprotect my Zip drive
disks; gave up and went back to Win98se; planning on returning the XP
upgrade.

I migrated from NT4 to XP SP2. Zip drives still worked, no need for
Iomega software.

Sunny

 

[Fred S]

I've had my old Zip parallel and SCSI port drive since Win95, then
Win98, Win98SE, WinME, and now on WinXP.

Had to get some drivers from Iomega one or two times but no big deal,
the drives work fine but I don't use them anymore to store data. I do
extract some old stuff from them, however, now and then.

I use CD-ROMS for storage and USB external HDD for most of my stuff,
documents and graphics, etc.

One more thing, if you give up WinXP for a Zip drive, you need to see a
head doctor - big mistake!

Fred

 

[MikeyG]

You are giving up Windows XP so you can go back to using a zip drive and
their $10 a piece disks, when CD's cost what, $0.25 each and hold 7 times as
much information. Good for you!

I guess that I am just, used to using my zip drive and have not given
consideration to using my RW CD drive to store data, sounds like it is
time to throw the Zip drive away. This explains why Best Buy no longer
carries those $10 Zip disks.

 

[MikeyG]

I've used Zip drives under XP, but I have avoided installing Iomegaware, and
I have not used the software write protection.

According to www.iomega.com, Iomegaware version 3.1 or later is required for
XP. The current version is 4.02, available for download from the same site.
(The file size is 8.21 MB.)

Even if the version you have is new enough to be supported under XP, if you
installed XP as an upgrade over Win98, you might have needed to uninstall
and re-install the Iomega software to get it working properly. (A clean
install of XP would have been better yet, but rather more work.) I can't say
from personal experience that the software write protect works under XP, but
I'd be surprised if it did not work. Iomega has had 4 years to get it
working.

Are there software sellers who'll accept returns? I thought that most would
not accept opened software for refund. (As the XP CD is copyable, and
there's nothing that would prevent you from writing down the product key,
the seller's position is understandable.)

Good luck.


Address scrambled. Replace nkbob with bobkn.

Iomega told me that Zip drive users have reported that WinXP with SP2
but not WinXP has caused problems with the Iomegaware software; the tech
person from Iomega never mentioned any other version of Iomegaware that
would work with WinXPSP2. I would have figured that Iomega has had
enough time to get something figured out, but obviously, has not. When
WinXP 1st came out I tried it and did not like it, used to the old
Win98SE, I guess, I returned it to Microsoft by mail and I did
eventually, get a refund, figured I'd just do that once again, if I
decided to give up and stay with Win98SE.

 

[MikeyG]

I migrated from NT4 to XP SP2. Zip drives still worked, no need for
Iomega software.

Sunny

And you use the Iomegaware software, and it works for you?

 

[MikeyG]

I've had my old Zip parallel and SCSI port drive since Win95, then
Win98, Win98SE, WinME, and now on WinXP.

Had to get some drivers from Iomega one or two times but no big deal,
the drives work fine but I don't use them anymore to store data. I do
extract some old stuff from them, however, now and then.

I use CD-ROMS for storage and USB external HDD for most of my stuff,
documents and graphics, etc.

One more thing, if you give up WinXP for a Zip drive, you need to see a
head doctor - big mistake!

Fred

As I told Richard, I guess that I am just, so used to using my Zip for
storage that I wanted to continue and never gave thought to using my RW
CD drive for my data storage; I guess it is time to catch up with the
times. Explains why I could not find Zip disks at Best Buy anymore.

 

[MikeyG]

I guess that I am just, used to using my zip drive and have not given
consideration to using my RW CD drive to store data, sounds like it is
time to throw the Zip drive away. This explains why Best Buy no longer
carries those $10 Zip disks.

From what I understand of CD burning is that you could not access,
download, upload; update, individual files like you could with the Zip
drive; I would miss that ability.

 

[Fred S]

As I told Richard, I guess that I am just, so used to using my Zip for
storage that I wanted to continue and never gave thought to using my RW
CD drive for my data storage; I guess it is time to catch up with the
times. Explains why I could not find Zip disks at Best Buy anymore.

MikeyG,

That's understandable, we all do that sometimes but you are going in the
right direction now. Some argue that CD's may not last for 20 years or
more as claimed but certainly far greater than zip disks. Most
importantly, CD's can be opened on other PCs if needed should your
machine (or Zip Drive) go down.

One more thing, regular CDs should be used for permanent storage while
CD-RW's should be used for temporary backups - they can be used over and
over again but retain data for less time overall.

Your zip drive will function nicely with XP although I don't recommend
even bothering with Iomega's software - there are lots of freeware
encryption tools for your data if you choose to keep some there. There
are also much higher risks for data loss on Zip disks as they can
deteriorate and degrade from magnetism just like floppies. I suggest you
avoid using them, take your time and transfer your data to CD's and just
use the Zip sparingly at most.

Lastly, you will be amazed how much better WinXP is after you spend some
time with it. No more resource issues, you can run many apps at once
without fear of crashes - it is solid and dependable, probably the best
MS has ever built (and I'm not a Microsoft fan).

Good luck, Fred

 

[Fred S]

From what I understand of CD burning is that you could not access,
download, upload; update, individual files like you could with the Zip
drive; I would miss that ability.

MikeyG,

See my last reply but you can use CD-RW disks that way - they allow you
to re-write to the CD-RW. What happens is you actually write a new file
when you make a change to the CD. When you do this enough times, you
will have to erase the CD-RW and make room for more data because even
though it looks like you've simply edited a file on the CD, you've
actually re-written the whole file AGAIN and the OLD file is still there
but not shown in the folder listing of files.

Fred

 

[David Vair]

I have a LS-120 floppy drive (120 Megs, similar to a Zip), but I hardly ever use it now that I have
thumb drive. The thumb drive is the easiest way I know of to quickly transer files and make them
portable. You will need no extra drivers for XP and they are really cheap now.

 

[MikeyG]

I have a LS-120 floppy drive (120 Megs, similar to a Zip), but I hardly ever use it now that I have
thumb drive. The thumb drive is the easiest way I know of to quickly transer files and make them
portable. You will need no extra drivers for XP and they are really cheap now.

Never heard of a Thumb drive, I think I will look into that, thanks for
the reply. I used a LS 120 a long time ago and then, I got the Zip 750.

 

[MikeyG]

MikeyG,

See my last reply but you can use CD-RW disks that way - they allow you
to re-write to the CD-RW. What happens is you actually write a new file
when you make a change to the CD. When you do this enough times, you
will have to erase the CD-RW and make room for more data because even
though it looks like you've simply edited a file on the CD, you've
actually re-written the whole file AGAIN and the OLD file is still there
but not shown in the folder listing of files.

Fred

Fred,

Thanks a bunch for your reply, I appreciate you taking the time to help
me with my understanding of CDs CDRWs and WinXP. You know, I figured it
is time to use an operating system that is a bit more modern than Win98se.

 

[MikeyG]

MikeyG,

See my last reply but you can use CD-RW disks that way - they allow you
to re-write to the CD-RW. What happens is you actually write a new file
when you make a change to the CD. When you do this enough times, you
will have to erase the CD-RW and make room for more data because even
though it looks like you've simply edited a file on the CD, you've
actually re-written the whole file AGAIN and the OLD file is still there
but not shown in the folder listing of files.

Fred

Fred,

Would you be able to help me with this one?
Below is a javascript that is in a "jar" file in my Mozilla browser
profile directory that I use to run my dial up networking connection
from a menu button on Mozilla's menu bar. When I 1st attempted to use
WinXP sp2 I couldn't find the 'rnaui.dll', I was going to change the
code to direct to "RUNDLL32.EXE RNAUI.DLL,RnaDial", but I couldn't find
it and gave up and no longer had the javascript code to make the button
operational any longer. Think I'd still, be able to use this in WinXP sp2?

function toDialMuP(){
r = java.lang.Runtime.getRuntime();
s = "c:\\WINDOWS\\RUNDLL32.EXE RNAUI.DLL,RnaDial TurboUSA-M";
r.exec(s);
}

MikeyG

 

[Fred S]

Fred,

Would you be able to help me with this one?
Below is a javascript that is in a "jar" file in my Mozilla browser
profile directory that I use to run my dial up networking connection
from a menu button on Mozilla's menu bar. When I 1st attempted to use
WinXP sp2 I couldn't find the 'rnaui.dll', I was going to change the
code to direct to "RUNDLL32.EXE RNAUI.DLL,RnaDial", but I couldn't find
it and gave up and no longer had the javascript code to make the button
operational any longer. Think I'd still, be able to use this in WinXP sp2?

function toDialMuP(){
r = java.lang.Runtime.getRuntime();
s = "c:\\WINDOWS\\RUNDLL32.EXE RNAUI.DLL,RnaDial TurboUSA-M";
r.exec(s);
}

MikeyG

Sorry MikeyG, I'm not well versed in Javascript - I'm sure if you create
a new post you'll get the info you need.

Fred S

 

[MikeyG]

Sorry MikeyG, I'm not well versed in Javascript - I'm sure if you create
a new post you'll get the info you need.

Fred S

Fred,

I took the leap! I am a WinXP sp2 user. I removed Protection from my Zip
disks before the upgrade and so far, all is working fine; still, sorta
stumbling around, but I think I'll get the hang of it. I did a bit of
research on the net and found out how to get a script to launch my
Connection from Mozilla's Menubar Button/Menu Item, so I am feelin'
somewhat, right, at home; again, thanks for your assistance.

 

[MikeyG]

I've used Zip drives under XP, but I have avoided installing Iomegaware, and
I have not used the software write protection.

According to www.iomega.com, Iomegaware version 3.1 or later is required for
XP. The current version is 4.02, available for download from the same site.
(The file size is 8.21 MB.)

Even if the version you have is new enough to be supported under XP, if you
installed XP as an upgrade over Win98, you might have needed to uninstall
and re-install the Iomega software to get it working properly. (A clean
install of XP would have been better yet, but rather more work.) I can't say
from personal experience that the software write protect works under XP, but
I'd be surprised if it did not work. Iomega has had 4 years to get it
working.

Are there software sellers who'll accept returns? I thought that most would
not accept opened software for refund. (As the XP CD is copyable, and
there's nothing that would prevent you from writing down the product key,
the seller's position is understandable.)

Good luck.


Address scrambled. Replace nkbob with bobkn.

Bob,

I did do a Clean Install of WinXP sp2 yesterday, yes, a bit more work,
but I wanted to start with a clean slate, so to speak. I did not even,
attempt to install my Iomegaware ... yet, I removed the Protection from
my Zip disks before the install; maybe I'll give it a try after I have
been with WinXP a little while and this overwhelming / newness wears off.

Thanks, MikeyG

 

[Sunny]

Fred,

I took the leap! I am a WinXP sp2 user. I removed Protection from my Zip
disks before the upgrade and so far, all is working fine; still, sorta
stumbling around, but I think I'll get the hang of it. I did a bit of
research on the net and found out how to get a script to launch my
Connection from Mozilla's Menubar Button/Menu Item, so I am feelin'
somewhat, right, at home; again, thanks for your assistance.

Stick with it, it's worth the effort in the long run

I was reluctant to move from NT4 because I have lots of older SCSI
peripherals I was afraid wouldn't be supported, and I don't like XP's
Fisher Price look one bit - NT4 worked perfectly on my hardware, and did
everything I needed.

But when Microsoft stopped free security updates for NT4, I had no
choice but to upgrade, and decided to try XP SP2. I got all my hardware
working without huge problems, although in a couple of cases I had to
hack W2K drivers as there were none for XP. The XP eye candy is easy to
turn off, in fact the way I have mine set up looks so much like NT4 it's
fooled a few people ;-)

XP now looks almost the same and works just as well as NT4 on the same
hardware I've been running for years (Dual P3 1.4Ghz) - and has all
kinds of useful new functionality.

Even my SCSI Zip drive still works - although I rarely use it. USB thumb
drives are so much better

Sunny