Ditto Drive on Windows XP?

[MS]

I have data on (Iomega) Ditto tapes that I would like to retrieve. I still
have my ditto drive.

Problem--my current computer only runs Windows XP. Since Iomega stopped
selling the Ditto drive, they stopped supporting it, and never made an XP
driver for it. It does not work with the Win 95 driver.

(BTW, I think that SUCKS big time, companies that stop supporting a product
as soon as they stop selling it. Regardless of whether they are
manufacturing and selling a product any more, there are still people using
it, and some have newer operating systems on their computers, which there
should be drivers for.)

I wouldn't use Ditto for back-ups any more, as there are much better options
today, all of which I have--a large external hard drive, and both CD and
DVD burners. However, there is still data I would like to be able to
retrieve from my Ditto tapes, and I would guess that there are many people
in that same boat.

Has any third party written a driver for a ditto drive in Windows XP? I
tried to find one last night, and couldn't. I did find a program for Linux
(Ftape) that was supposed to read Ditto tapes. I don't know anything about
Linux, but a Linux program wouldn't work on a computer running Win XP, would
it?

Anyone know of any software that would work to read the Ditto drive in Win
XP?

The same drive was sold by Sony as the "Storstation". Did that have separate
software, or did it just use the Iomega software? Has that software perhaps
been updated for XP? If so, where can one obtain it?

Any current tape drives (hopefully not expensive) that can read Ditto tapes,
that work with Win XP?

Thanks to anyone who can help with this.

 

[D.Currie]

I have data on (Iomega) Ditto tapes that I would like to retrieve. I still
have my ditto drive.

Problem--my current computer only runs Windows XP. Since Iomega stopped
selling the Ditto drive, they stopped supporting it, and never made an XP
driver for it. It does not work with the Win 95 driver.

(BTW, I think that SUCKS big time, companies that stop supporting a product
as soon as they stop selling it. Regardless of whether they are
manufacturing and selling a product any more, there are still people using
it, and some have newer operating systems on their computers, which there
should be drivers for.)

I wouldn't use Ditto for back-ups any more, as there are much better options
today, all of which I have--a large external hard drive, and both CD and
DVD burners. However, there is still data I would like to be able to
retrieve from my Ditto tapes, and I would guess that there are many people
in that same boat.

Has any third party written a driver for a ditto drive in Windows XP? I
tried to find one last night, and couldn't. I did find a program for Linux
(Ftape) that was supposed to read Ditto tapes. I don't know anything about
Linux, but a Linux program wouldn't work on a computer running Win XP, would
it?

Anyone know of any software that would work to read the Ditto drive in Win
XP?

The same drive was sold by Sony as the "Storstation". Did that have separate
software, or did it just use the Iomega software? Has that software perhaps
been updated for XP? If so, where can one obtain it?

Any current tape drives (hopefully not expensive) that can read Ditto tapes,
that work with Win XP?

Thanks to anyone who can help with this.

Rather than trying to get that drive to work with XP, you might be better
off picking up an old computer at a garage sale and install the drive there.
Once the data's off the tapes, you have your choice of moving the old hard
drive, networking the computers, or whatever else makes sense.

 

[Richard Urban]

They stop supporting hardware because technologies change. Why waste time,
effort and money.

--
Regards:

Richard Urban

aka Crusty (-: Old B@stard

 

[MS]

They stop supporting hardware because technologies change. Why waste time,
effort and money.

Why??? That isn't obvious?? They made millions of dollars selling Ditto
drives and tapes, I think they have some responsibility to the users they
sold them to.

True--technologies change. As most people have CD burners now, many have DVD
burners, many have large external hard drives (I have all three), not many
people now probably want to use those tape drives as a backup medium. I
certainly don't.

HOWEVER----millions of people probably have those Ditto tapes lying around,
with data they backed up previously. (Just a few years ago, really not long
ago, that was one of the most popular backup devices.) In backing up to
those tapes, I'm sure they were under the impression that they could restore
that data when desired.

Probably the majority of Windows users have upgraded to XP by now, and most
of those do not any more have any access to a 95, 98, or ME machine. I'm
sure there must be many people in the same predicament as I--who wish to
restore a file or files from a Ditto tape, and cannot due to the lack of
support from Iomega.

YES--regardless of technological change, regardless of the fact that they
are no longer making money by selling that drive, I think a company has some
responsibility to the users they sold a product to.

I for one, will never buy an Iomega product again.

 

[Richard Urban]

And 3-4 years from now there will be no support for "vanilla" CD burning.

--
Regards:

Richard Urban

aka Crusty (-: Old B@stard