Hit: Zip Drive

[Larry Weidner <mhslib@win.bright.net>]

LM_NETTERS,

Below are responses to a question I put out regarding purchase of one
Zip Drive to be used to back-up both Mac and Dos/Windows platforms. Hope
it is of use to you.
Larry Weidner
Menomonie High School
Menomonie Wisconsin
mhslib@win.bright.net

We have used one for both.  You'll need a card for the pc with a scsi
adapter as well as an extra program disk.  Both cost us about $70 extra.

I think you just need a different cable for each computer, and disks
formatted for each computer.  However, those Zip drives are fussy little
gizmos, and don't like being carted around much.  They do much better
when
they're not moved around much.  We had problems with ours at home, and
with
the one at school.

I have an Iomega zip drive and I LOVE it!  I started out just using it
for
my home mac for backup and extra storage.  Then my daughter went to
college
and I gave her my mac (just an LC II), so I decided to take it to work
to
see how I could use it in my library until I got another home computer.
It
saved my life one day...or at least my job...I have a small
appletalk/share
network of six macs set up in the library which we use for a variety of
library activities, cd-rom research, wordprocessing, and accelerated
reader.
I use the zip to back up the server.  In addition my zip  floppies still
have alot of my home stuff on them, stuff that I did at home but use at
work, newsletters, memos, etc.  One day a terrible problem occured with
the
AR program causing several incredible problems (too gory to go into
here)
and I was going to have to go through and check each test (3000) to see
which ones were bad and had hit the dust.  When the techies at AR found
out
I used a zip to backup, they were thrilled.  Just trash all the server's
tests and reinstall from the zip floppy, which took just a minute or
two,
compared to the hours it would have taken if I had to reinstall from the
original AR floppies.  Also, it is so portable.  If I need to I can move
it
to another computer in a snap, which is handy especially when a printer
is
down and you need to move big files of stuff to another printer.  The
zip
drive comes with all the stuff you need, plus installation software for
both
macs and windows.  Just be forewarned to make sure you have a scsi port
on
your pc, but I think there's an adapter available if your pcs don't have
a
scsi port.  Our district provides a software program for us to order our
books which amounts to about five floppies, but take of precious hard
drive
space if they were all installed.  So I just copy them to my zip
floppy...really, a zip drive is a wonderful thing!

I just ordered a ZIP drive this week.  I called Mac/MicroWarehouse
before
sending in the order and they gave me this information.  I ended up
getting the configuration  just for the PC because we have few Macs.


The PCs will need to have SCSI cards so you can buy the SCSI version
(which works on both platforms). Appropriate SCSI cables needed.


In order to use one drive on 2 platforms (something Iomega doesn't
support, BTW) here's what you need to do.

1. Buy the SCSI version of the Zip and put the SCSI card in one of the
PC's.

2. The Mac will accept this drive via the built-in SCSI port with no
additional hardware needed.

3. The Zip comes with a Zip tools disk that allows you to put the
tools on one platform, and then destroys the other platform's tools.
Put the tools on the PC. The Mac-formatted zip disks have the guest
program needed to run the Zip drive on the Mac.

As far as sharing disks between platforms, that is a problem. If you
put the tools on the PC, the Macs won't be able to read the PC
Zip-disks. They would only be able to read the Mac PC disks because
they need the guest program built-in to the ac disks.


We had to purchase two different zip drives.  One is for a parallel port
and one if for scsi.  Talk to a sales person, there is a difference.
The
disks are all the same and can be used in both zip drives.  It is well
worth the investment even if you need to buy 2 different ones.


We investigated using one drive for both systems and decided to buy two
drives instead.  We would have had to get a second set of software and
cables, and the cost was very little less than just buying another Zip
drive -- plus much easier!   Our account rep at Academic Warehouse was a
big help to us in figuring it all out.  (They also have better prices
sometimes for schools -- are a part of Mac & Micro Warehouse devoted to
schools.  Call Macwarehouse, ask for the Academic Warehouse rep for your
state, and let them do all the financial figuring!)  By the way, the Zip
is
great -- one of the best things we've bought in years!!!!!!!