Zip Drive

  • Thread starter Thread starter Terry
  • Start date Start date
T

Terry

When the first zip drives came out there were some computer makers
including them or giving you the option of adding one.

I think it is a shame that these never took off. I still have one in
my machine and I have one in my niece's machine so we can swap data
between us but not with the rest of the world

I threw away my floppy drives years ago. I wish that the zip drive
had replaced the floppy for portable reusable media.


-
 
What does this have to do with XP?

Zip disk were expensive.
If you were one of the 2% who experienced the click of death and lost data
because of it, you would understand one of the reason why zip disks never
caught on.
 
Here's a good insight into Iomega and their products. Just a week or so
I was in the local Tiger Direct Outlet store. On the CD/DVD Recorder
isle almost every single item was sold out, except - A pile of Iomega
brand units, which was fully stocked.

I've used both Zip and the "Notorious" JAZ drives - in both instances
they were more aggravation than any benefits provided.

Ron Sommer said:
What does this have to do with XP?

Zip disk were expensive.
If you were one of the 2% who experienced the click of death and lost data
because of it, you would understand one of the reason why zip disks never
caught on.
Click to expand...
 
Have you tried USB Flash Memory Drive (Pendrives), they hold much more data
than a Zip floppy, they are faster and are practical to carry in the pocket.
You can get them with up to two GB capacity but even the smaller capacity
holds about the same as a Zip floppy.



http://www.usb-flashdrive.co.uk/

-------------------------
Terry said:
When the first zip drives came out there were some computer makers
including them or giving you the option of adding one.

I think it is a shame that these never took off. I still have one in
my machine and I have one in my niece's machine so we can swap data
between us but not with the rest of the world

I threw away my floppy drives years ago. I wish that the zip drive
had replaced the floppy for portable reusable media.


-
Click to expand...
intact.
 
When the first zip drives came out there were some computer makers
including them or giving you the option of adding one.

I think it is a shame that these never took off. I still have one in
my machine and I have one in my niece's machine so we can swap data
between us but not with the rest of the world

I threw away my floppy drives years ago. I wish that the zip drive
had replaced the floppy for portable reusable media.
Click to expand...

They were excellent in their hay days. The thumb drives are so much
better--nearly every PC has a USB port. For more permanent storage,
you can't beat DVDs.
 
Terry said:
When the first zip drives came out there were some computer makers
including them or giving you the option of adding one.

I think it is a shame that these never took off. I still have one in
my machine and I have one in my niece's machine so we can swap data
between us but not with the rest of the world

I threw away my floppy drives years ago. I wish that the zip drive
had replaced the floppy for portable reusable media.
Click to expand...

I still like Zip drives, too, even though they're now pretty obsolete.
Fortuantely, I never had any problems with them. If you already have lots
of Zip disks, you might want to invest in an external USB Zip drive (now
very inexpensive). Otherwise, look into an external mini hard drive --
surprisingly light and compact, with prices coming down fairly quickly.

MaryL
 
Terry said:
When the first zip drives came out there were some computer makers
including them or giving you the option of adding one.

I think it is a shame that these never took off. I still have one in
my machine and I have one in my niece's machine so we can swap data
between us but not with the rest of the world

I threw away my floppy drives years ago. I wish that the zip drive
had replaced the floppy for portable reusable media.
Click to expand...

Decent USB support in Windows XP and the availability of
USB jumpdrives have pretty much doomed the ZIP drive (and
also the JAZ drive). It is far easier today (versus 10 years
ago) to swap data via high-speed Internet and even the mail
using CD-R discs. And before all ZIP drives go the way of
the dinosaur, it's time to backup and archive all of those
files in the ZIP disks.
 
Terry said:
When the first zip drives came out there were some computer makers
including them or giving you the option of adding one.

I think it is a shame that these never took off. I still have one in
my machine and I have one in my niece's machine so we can swap data
between us but not with the rest of the world

I threw away my floppy drives years ago. I wish that the zip drive
had replaced the floppy for portable reusable media.
Click to expand...


They didn't take off because they weren't what people wanted.

And still don't want either.
 
Terry said:
When the first zip drives came out there were some computer makers
including them or giving you the option of adding one.

I think it is a shame that these never took off. I still have one in
my machine and I have one in my niece's machine so we can swap data
between us but not with the rest of the world

I threw away my floppy drives years ago. I wish that the zip drive
had replaced the floppy for portable reusable media.
Click to expand...

Do you have a question?
 
It would be less expensive to burn what is on those ZIP disks to CDs or DVDs than to
purchase another ZIP drive. Also, ZIP disks have moveable parts and can fail. CDs and
DVDs do not have any moveable parts.
--

T.C.
t__cruise@[NoSpam]hotmail.com
Remove [NoSpam] to reply
 
I do burn all data at the end of the year to DVDs. However, I dislike both
CDs and DVDs when I want to transport data from my home computer to my
office computer (which I do almost every day) because they reset attributes
to read-only, and I have to reset after copying to the other computer -- not
a major task, but it's annoying.

MaryL


t.cruise said:
It would be less expensive to burn what is on those ZIP disks to CDs or
DVDs than to
purchase another ZIP drive. Also, ZIP disks have moveable parts and can
fail. CDs and
DVDs do not have any moveable parts.
--

T.C.
t__cruise@[NoSpam]hotmail.com
Remove [NoSpam] to reply



MaryL said:
I still like Zip drives, too, even though they're now pretty obsolete.
Fortuantely, I never had any problems with them. If you already have
lots
of Zip disks, you might want to invest in an external USB Zip drive (now
very inexpensive). Otherwise, look into an external mini hard drive --
surprisingly light and compact, with prices coming down fairly quickly.

MaryL
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
MaryL said:
I do burn all data at the end of the year to DVDs. However, I dislike both
CDs and DVDs when I want to transport data from my home computer to my
office computer (which I do almost every day) because they reset attributes
to read-only, and I have to reset after copying to the other computer -- not
a major task, but it's annoying.

MaryL
Click to expand...

The 1 GB USB jump drives are ideal for transporting data around.
We have replaced all of our ZIP and JAZ drives with Lexar Jump
Drives. We are not even looking at the USB ZIP drives although
USB/Firewire external hard drive combos are very attractive in
the 80 GB and larger sizes.
 
GHalleck said:
The 1 GB USB jump drives are ideal for transporting data around.
We have replaced all of our ZIP and JAZ drives with Lexar Jump
Drives. We are not even looking at the USB ZIP drives although
USB/Firewire external hard drive combos are very attractive in
the 80 GB and larger sizes.
Click to expand...

Yes, I have a couple of those and thought that's what I would be using next.
Well, my office got a new Dell computer for me -- a very fast, powerful
machine, but they didn't consult me first about the configuration I would
have preferred. This one has two USB connections *on the monitor,* and so
far neither connection has worked with anything I have tried. Two other
people in the department who got the same setup have had exactly the same
result. I wasted a great deal of time with Dell tech support, only to be
told that the USB connections on the monitors "sometimes don't work." There
is one connection on the front of the CPU, but I almost have to stand on my
head to insert anything there (and the two Memorex thumb drives are too
large to fit because it will only accept the "slim-line" thumb drives -- for
want of a better description). It's difficult to describe, but this port is
*parallel* to the CPU and is recessed under a cover; therefore, very
difficult to see or use. Whatever brilliant engineer at Dell came up with
this configuration needs to actually *use* this equipment before working on
another one! I am going to get a cable extender to attach to one of the USB
ports in the back of the CPU and see if I can use one of my micro drives or
thrumb drives that way. I do not have administrator rights to the computer
in my office, so I'm not sure if I will be able to do that.

MaryL
 
MaryL said:
Yes, I have a couple of those and thought that's what I would be using
next. Well, my office got a new Dell computer for me -- a very fast,
powerful machine, but they didn't consult me first about the configuration
I would have preferred. This one has two USB connections *on the
monitor,* and so far neither connection has worked with anything I have
tried. Two other people in the department who got the same setup have had
exactly the same result. I wasted a great deal of time with Dell tech
support, only to be told that the USB connections on the monitors
"sometimes don't work." There is one connection on the front of the CPU,
but I almost have to stand on my head to insert anything there (and the
two Memorex thumb drives are too large to fit because it will only accept
the "slim-line" thumb drives -- for want of a better description). It's
difficult to describe, but this port is *parallel* to the CPU and is
recessed under a cover; therefore, very difficult to see or use. Whatever
brilliant engineer at Dell came up with this configuration needs to
actually *use* this equipment before working on another one! I am going
to get a cable extender to attach to one of the USB ports in the back of
the CPU and see if I can use one of my micro drives or thrumb drives that
way. I do not have administrator rights to the computer in my office, so
I'm not sure if I will be able to do that.

MaryL
Click to expand...
The thumb drive that I bought came with an extension cable.
As long as the cable has only one connection, Windows will not add hardware.
 
Ron Sommer said:
The thumb drive that I bought came with an extension cable.
As long as the cable has only one connection, Windows will not add
hardware.
Click to expand...

My thumb drive does not have an extension cable. It plugs directly into the
USB port on the front of my computer. That's why I was considering a USB
extension cable. I also have a couple USB mini hard drives (one with 60GB
and on with 100GB). These two have very short extension cables, but I can't
reach the back of the computer at the office to use those every day -- thus,
again, the possibility of an extension cable.

I'm not sure what you mean by "as long as the cable has only one connection
Windows will not add hardware." I could have the administrator add
hardware, but I am concerned that this will be seen as new hardware each
time I connect or disconnect. I do not have administrator rights to the
office computers. (I am using Win XP-Home Edition at home and Win
XP-Professional at the office.)

MaryL
 
For portable drives that require a cable, I use a retractable USB cable.
They are spring loaded and handy. The problem with portable drives
is picking them up by the cable. Since USB mini plugs have no locking
provision - you can easily drop them. On my Firelight USB drive, I
have the USB mini-connector attached to the retractable with a piece of
"Strapping" (has fibers embedded in it) tape. Then I only have to use
the A-Type side to extend and plug in. Only issue with Spring loaded
cables is an occasional misalignment on retraction - Talk about a mess
about the same level of aggravation as untangling Christmas tree lights.
 
MaryL said:
My thumb drive does not have an extension cable. It plugs directly into
the USB port on the front of my computer. That's why I was considering a
USB extension cable. I also have a couple USB mini hard drives (one with
60GB and on with 100GB). These two have very short extension cables, but
I can't reach the back of the computer at the office to use those every
day -- thus, again, the possibility of an extension cable.

I'm not sure what you mean by "as long as the cable has only one
connection Windows will not add hardware." I could have the
administrator add hardware, but I am concerned that this will be seen as
new hardware each time I connect or disconnect. I do not have
administrator rights to the office computers. (I am using Win XP-Home
Edition at home and Win XP-Professional at the office.)

MaryL
Click to expand...
Plugging in a cable with more than one connection ( a hub ) would cause
Windows to add the extra connections.
 
Mary,

If you zip the files before writing to the CD/DVD they will remain as
they were, that is the attributes hold.

I still have my zip disk and it still works but I have to say I don't
use it at all. I use CD's and a flash drive all the time. I've created
batch files that automatically make a copy of my data files to my flash
drive and another one that copies them to my laptop. Another does the
same thing over my home network. No need to use "briefcase" this way and
I control exactly what gets copied. Works like a charm.

Nearly all the reasons posted in this thread are pretty much right on.

Fred

I do burn all data at the end of the year to DVDs. However, I dislike both
CDs and DVDs when I want to transport data from my home computer to my
office computer (which I do almost every day) because they reset attributes
to read-only, and I have to reset after copying to the other computer -- not
a major task, but it's annoying.

MaryL


It would be less expensive to burn what is on those ZIP disks to CDs or
DVDs than to
purchase another ZIP drive. Also, ZIP disks have moveable parts and can
fail. CDs and
DVDs do not have any moveable parts.
--

T.C.
t__cruise@[NoSpam]hotmail.com
Remove [NoSpam] to reply



When the first zip drives came out there were some computer makers
including them or giving you the option of adding one.

I think it is a shame that these never took off. I still have one in
my machine and I have one in my niece's machine so we can swap data
between us but not with the rest of the world

I threw away my floppy drives years ago. I wish that the zip drive
had replaced the floppy for portable reusable media.



I still like Zip drives, too, even though they're now pretty obsolete.
Fortuantely, I never had any problems with them. If you already have
lots
of Zip disks, you might want to invest in an external USB Zip drive (now
very inexpensive). Otherwise, look into an external mini hard drive --
surprisingly light and compact, with prices coming down fairly quickly.

MaryL
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
MaryL said:
Yes, I have a couple of those and thought that's what I would be using next.
Well, my office got a new Dell computer for me -- a very fast, powerful
machine, but they didn't consult me first about the configuration I would
have preferred. This one has two USB connections *on the monitor,* and so
far neither connection has worked with anything I have tried. Two other
people in the department who got the same setup have had exactly the same
result. I wasted a great deal of time with Dell tech support, only to be
told that the USB connections on the monitors "sometimes don't work." There
is one connection on the front of the CPU, but I almost have to stand on my
head to insert anything there (and the two Memorex thumb drives are too
large to fit because it will only accept the "slim-line" thumb drives -- for
want of a better description). It's difficult to describe, but this port is
*parallel* to the CPU and is recessed under a cover; therefore, very
difficult to see or use. Whatever brilliant engineer at Dell came up with
this configuration needs to actually *use* this equipment before working on
another one! I am going to get a cable extender to attach to one of the USB
ports in the back of the CPU and see if I can use one of my micro drives or
thrumb drives that way. I do not have administrator rights to the computer
in my office, so I'm not sure if I will be able to do that.

MaryL
Click to expand...
Mary,

Yes, the cable extender will work just fine - that's what most users do
these days - puts the USB connector right on the desktop where you need it.

Not sure about your monitor connections other than they need to be
plugged into a USB port and may not have been hooked up. Also, some USB
drives need a powered USB port, but that's rare.

Fred
 
Thanks, Fred. I hadn't thought of zipping them to avoid resetting the
attributes.

Would you mind posting the batch files you use?

MaryL


Fred S said:
Mary,

If you zip the files before writing to the CD/DVD they will remain as they
were, that is the attributes hold.

I still have my zip disk and it still works but I have to say I don't use
it at all. I use CD's and a flash drive all the time. I've created batch
files that automatically make a copy of my data files to my flash drive
and another one that copies them to my laptop. Another does the same thing
over my home network. No need to use "briefcase" this way and I control
exactly what gets copied. Works like a charm.

Nearly all the reasons posted in this thread are pretty much right on.

Fred

I do burn all data at the end of the year to DVDs. However, I dislike
both CDs and DVDs when I want to transport data from my home computer to
my office computer (which I do almost every day) because they reset
attributes to read-only, and I have to reset after copying to the other
computer -- not a major task, but it's annoying.

MaryL


It would be less expensive to burn what is on those ZIP disks to CDs or
DVDs than to
purchase another ZIP drive. Also, ZIP disks have moveable parts and can
fail. CDs and
DVDs do not have any moveable parts.
--

T.C.
t__cruise@[NoSpam]hotmail.com
Remove [NoSpam] to reply





When the first zip drives came out there were some computer makers
including them or giving you the option of adding one.

I think it is a shame that these never took off. I still have one in
my machine and I have one in my niece's machine so we can swap data
between us but not with the rest of the world

I threw away my floppy drives years ago. I wish that the zip drive
had replaced the floppy for portable reusable media.



I still like Zip drives, too, even though they're now pretty obsolete.
Fortuantely, I never had any problems with them. If you already have
lots
of Zip disks, you might want to invest in an external USB Zip drive (now
very inexpensive). Otherwise, look into an external mini hard drive --
surprisingly light and compact, with prices coming down fairly quickly.

MaryL
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
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